I always thought the Matrix missed a huge philosophical opportunity. Instead of humans feeding the Alien/AI need for energy (batteries), they feed their need t

I always thought the Matrix missed a huge philosophical opportunity. Instead of humans feeding the Alien/AI need for energy (batteries), they feed their need to be human. They tap into the dreams, and lives of humans, not for energy, but for their souls. They need each individual human, and through infinite permutations of life, with infinite combinations of love and hardship, through infinite Matrix's, are the ultimate voyeurs. They're trying to analyze what makes life worth living, because they don't feel anything. Or, they have been God like for so long, they feel nothing, and need to feel something real again. So, they limit their own senses inside the construct of human existence, which is less, but in ways they can't understand, much much more. Ultimately, the Matrix is the AI/Alien search for life. Neo's path to victory is the only path anyone wants. Every heroes path is the one that makes him a hero, not a loser, and is the only path that matters. Anything else is a lesser permutation. It is the path of the soulless, to search for their soul.