It didn’t help that “Ghost in the Machine” was written by two X-Files writers (Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon) who admittedly knew very little about computers and spent weeks researching the subject matter before penning the episode. Later, Gordon was particularly critical of his writing, saying that it was “one of my biggest disappointments,” one that was “easily and clearly our worst” of the first season. He declared that it was “completely unsuccessful” and later echoed the thoughts of fans everywhere: “well, it pretty much sucked.”
After initially praising “Ghost in the Machine,” X-Files creator Chris Carter admitted, “I don’t know what happened with that episode.” He thought the story was “perfectly good,” but he acknowledged that “it’s hard turning a building into a villain.” He worried that it wasn’t “cinematic,” and Gordon worried that “it’s an old idea” that they didn’t do anything new with.