I misread that as the Fitzgerald was scammed by AI and was trying to wrap my head around what that meant!
Time travel. Lightfoot wanted a hit song, so he sent a Terminator into the past to give him a theme. He infiltrated the crew, and at a crucial moment started violently ripping off hatch clamps and vent pipes. Then he laughed evilly, and jumped into the water, ending up as a timeshare salesman in Mexico.