Black Mirror is a British television series that has aired since December 2011. The brainchild of creator Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror sets out to create a dystopian future about the unintended or unforeseen consequences of the technology of today or tomorrow. Many different areas are brought into question concerning the show from science, technology, philosophy, sociology, and psychology.
However this brings into question, how real is Black Mirror? The answer to that question is more disturbing than one would hope. Tomorrow's technology is in our hands today, and the continued greed for more might be our downfall. Let's explore the different aspects of the show that brings in popular culture and science into perspective.
Technology
Without spoiling the show for anyone who hasn't seen the specific details, the technology within the show are considered quite high tech, but they aren't as far away as one would think.
Take for example the technology within the episode "The Entire History of You" (pictured above), technology is used to be able to record and document anything a person sees and be able to retrieve at any point someone wants. It can be pretty much like having TiVo for your eyes, you record everything and are able to jump in and out of memories as you please whether that be for analysis or sheer enjoyment. Samsung has already created contacts that were dubbed, Black Mirror Lenses, that able the wearer to live-stream their life. This includes being able to retrieve the memories whenever they like, which is incredibly similar to that worn in the episode.
Another great example can be found in the episode "Nosedive", society basically functions off of an app that allows people to rate other people which in turn gives them a status simple within society. China has already created a system like this that allows people to rate one and other is set to roll out in 2020.
Science
With Black Mirror being a television series it can sometimes be hard to understand that some of the stuff within the show actually align with reality. Television sometimes follows technological advances in order to provide better material for their audience.
Within the episode "Arkangel", the future holds technology that allows parents to see and limit what their child sees through their eyes. This is called visual reconstruction, and its a lot closer than most people think. Nowadays scientists are able to use a fMRI or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, to map out specific brain activity of someone then use supercomputers to convert brain activity into images. This theoretically means we are able to reconstruct entire memories and mental images.
Another scientific feat explored within the show is mind uploading or the process of taking consciousness to the digital world. In "Hang the DJ" or "Black Museum" minds are uploaded into a digital format that allows for an alternate consciousness. Scientists are now saying a full digital consciousness will be possible by 2045. Projects like the Allen Brain Atlas are trying at a smaller level of recreating it by simulating a rodent brain by using simulated neural networks or the Blue Brain project using supercomputers to simulate the multilevel consciousness of a brain.
Philosophy
Although not as technical as science and technology, philosophy is explored deeply within the show. Different areas are stressed specifically in terms of what technology can do for us and what it truly means in terms of a day to day reality.
Pictured above is Nick Bostrom, he made international news as a Swedish philosopher that came up with a question that shook the reality of some people. Bostrom asked, "Is our reality just a computer simulation?" This concept is brought up a lot within Black Mirror, specifically within "Hang the DJ". Elon Musk has released statements regarding the high likelihood our consciousness is within a computer simulation, even Neil DeGrasse Tyson has put a 50/50 odds on it.
Total information is definitely something all of us have asked for in the past, but the better question is do we really want that? Do we really want to live in a reality where every question you can come up has an immediate answer? Even just within the episode of "The Entire History of You", having the ability to constantly go back and view events causes unforeseen stress and intense analysis, imagine having the ability like that regarding everything. The last seen in Indian Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comes to mind. 
Another philosophical question throughout history involves the demonizing of the enemy during war. Normal people have a hard time thinking of the enemy as another person so usually, someone has to create some sort of trope in order to dehumanize the enemy. In "Men Against Fire" this ideology is explored further.
Black Mirror is a very interesting show in terms of how they present it and what is presented particularly to the audience. Somethings fly under the radar while other creating lines of conversation that follow popular culture. So, how real is Black Mirror? Very.
Questions to Consider
1. What other topics are covered in Black Mirror that you find controversial?
2. Does Black Mirror bring good or bad perspectives to the audience? Why or why not?
3. What's your favorite episode or Black Mirror if you've seen it, or what episode would you want to watch after reading this post?
4. Is there anything we've covered in school that can relate to the show?
Sources
https://bluebrain.epfl.ch/
https://futurism.com/sonys-new-contact-lenses-let-record-store-everything-see/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FsH7RK1S2E
Hi JT,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I've only seen a few episodes of Black Mirror but it is absolutely realistic in my opinion. There is one episode where a mother pays to have a chip implanted in her daughter, and then is able to use an iPad-like tablet to see the world from her daughter's eyes. From there she is able to sensor different things she does not want her daughter to see. For example, if she sees that her daughter sees violence, the mother can sensor it and any time something violent is in front of the daughter, the daughter will only see a blur and hear nothing. I believe a technology like this is incredibly controversial. Unfortunately, as much as we want to protect our loved ones, I believe we are doing them an unbelievable disservice by hiding certain parts of the world from them. It creates an unsafe environment where an individual does not know what is truly going on around them. Unfortunately, I think this technology is realistic and might be produced (if it hasn't been already) one day.
Hi Kendra,
DeleteI agree that the technology might be created one day, and it does a great injustice to children. Without learning what's appropriate and what's not, children will never truly grow up. They wont understand the result of actions.
Great stuff you two. What scares me the most about this article and I mean really scares me is China's plans to implement it's own social credit system. http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/03/life-inside-chinas-social-credit-laboratory/.
ReplyDeleteThe crazy part is, is that the majority of Chinese people (who have grown up in a communist society) are used to the government controlling and monitoring their lives. I can't speak because I have never been to China and there may be some good that comes out of the system but it is scary to think that people will be grouped with others based on social behavior controlled by machines. Brave New World-esque and we all know how that story goes.
Hi Kevin,
DeleteThis movement scares us too. To further perpetuate the hierarchy within a already split country, creates more unintended consequences than one could imagine. I feel like science fiction might have actually gotten this one correct, and the ultimate crash and burn of the program will be explosive.