Stream on Netflix (trailer)
Spoiler warning: Medium
Total score: 12 (Accuracy: 4, Entertainment: 4, Impact: 4)
Black Mirror has won popular and critical acclaim as an ahead-of-its-time exploration of futuristic technology.
Some of the episodes are uncanny in how accurately they project technological changes and their effect on human behavior, from the social scoring system depicted in Nosedive (season 3, episode 1) to the process of creating an AI based on someone’s online presence shown in Be Right Back (season 2, episode 1).
Other episodes seem a bit more far-fetched, like being trapped in a video game simulation (USS Callister) or taking advantage of quantum mechanics to manipulate reality (Bête Noire). But regardless of whether these scenarios are realistic, what makes Black Mirror such appointment viewing is its portrayal of how people adapt (or not) to new technology.
After all, technology can be used for both good and evil, which means the difference between a dystopia and a utopia is often just a matter of perspective and willpower. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at three of the episodes in the latest season of Black Mirror based on their potential for positive impact.
Eulogy (episode 5)
Synopsis: An immersive system that enables users to step into photographic memories of the past leads a lonely man to reflect on a heartbreaking period in his life.
Analysis for Impact: The idea of memory recall is something that Black Mirror has explored in several previous episodes, and is also a common trope in sci-fi films like Minority Report (2002) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). While it’s easy to see the potential government or military applications of such technology, Eulogy explores a potential use case that all of us would probably benefit from — reliving critical moments in our lives to explore what went wrong or what we could’ve done differently.
I can certainly think of a few memories I wouldn’t mind recreating. But let’s imagine an application that lets survivors of climate-related disasters relive what they felt when they lost their homes or loved ones. Would this help the survivors process the trauma of what they experienced? If these memories could be exported, would they help those largely insulated from climate disasters (i.e., the ultra-wealthy) to understand what it’s like to watch your home burn or to see your home get flooded?
Wealthy people are responsible for driving booming markets for eco-tourism and sustainable travel options. And for those who can’t afford to get away, there is no shortage of captivating nature documentaries. But what’s more captivating than being able to put on a VR headset that allows you to experience snow for the first time in your life? Or to see long-extinct species like the dodo or soon-to-be-extinct species like rhinos?
There are several businesses working on such applications, especially as VR and AR technology has evolved. Perhaps in the near future people will be able to “step” into a natural disaster or a protected habitat as easily as they would step outside. Rather than relying on facts and figures about environmental catastrophe, maybe we need to try emphasizing sights and sounds instead.
Hotel Reverie (episode 3)
Synopsis: Hollywood A-list actor Brandy Friday (played by Issa Rae) is signed as the lead actor for a high-tech remake of a vintage romantic movie. But she has to stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home.
Analysis for Impact: The question of how technology will affect the film and TV studios was at the center of the recent strikes by both ‘the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. Many people across Hollywood are understandably worried about how AI could potentially replace thousands of writers, designers, animators and other production assistants. For studio executives, lower production costs usually means higher profit margins. But for everyone else, AI could put them out of a job.
Hotel Reverie takes this threat a step further by imagining a technology with the power to remake an entire film using little more than a few computers. Instead of a small army of creatives, the filmmaking process is reduced to a few tech geeks and an advanced AI algorithm. This idea is presented to a theatre director as a way to monetize their IP on a limited budget.
It’s not hard to imagine many smaller studios adopting this kind of technology if it could knock down the cost of producing a film from, say, $10 million to $1 million. The question is how would critics and audiences react if they knew. Let’s not forget that there was already a recent controversy around The Brutalist, a Best Picture nominee that reportedly used AI to recreate some of the historic scenes.
I have mixed views on the use of AI in filmmaking. On the one hand, I don’t want to see artists driven out of work. But on the other hand, I see the potential for AI to help more important stories get told, especially for under-represented voices that may not be able to get financial backing from a major studio. For instance, what if someone wanted to make a film about the firefighters responsible for battling wildfires, but they didn’t have the budget to simulate such a fire without using AI? Or what if a filmmaker wanted to explore a world of extinct animals and saw that using AI would be much cheaper than hiring a team of CGI specialists?
These are all positive use cases, albeit with some inevitable risks and negative impacts. The question for those considering the use of AI is whether the positive outweighs the negative. Is the story more important than a few dozen jobs? What about a few hundred jobs? Or is there a way for studios to take the increased profits and redistribute the gains among the most affected sectors?
Hotel Reverie doesn’t directly answer any of these questions, but it offers a compelling introduction to a complicated and controversial topic.
Common People (episode 1)
Synopsis: When a medical emergency leaves a schoolteacher fighting for her life, her desperate husband signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive – but at a cost.
Analysis for Impact: Healthcare is one of the few places where everyone tends to agree more technology is a good thing. But of course, just because a medical technology exists doesn’t mean that it’s actually affordable or accessible for the people that need it.
This is the set up for Common People, where a life-threatening illness forces the main character (played by Rashida Jones) to receive a brain implant from a company called Rivermind that will allow her to function more or less normally. The catch is that the implant comes with a monthly subscription fee, a fee that Rivermind seems intent on continuously increasing to generate more revenue. The result is a caste system where those with money get access to premium features while those with limited funds are forced to get by with only the basic features.
Something similar is already playing out in the U.S. healthcare system. The ultra-rich enjoy access to special medicines and procedures that the average American would never be able to afford. Brian Johnson, the man who’s trying to live forever, said he spends about $2 million a year on various medicines and supplements. LeBron James, perhaps the greatest basketball player ever, reportedly spends $1.5 million each year on things like cryogenic therapy to help take care of his body. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are forced to ration their insulin because their insurance will only cover a certain amount.
If tech companies are going to try to monetize different healthcare outcomes, there should at least be some ground rules to ensure the technology is accessible and affordable to as many people as possible. This doesn’t mean that everyone should get to have all the latest medical gadgets, but it does mean we should try to resist any division of the haves and the have-nots when it comes to healthcare.
Common People doesn’t offer the main protagonist many options for resistance, which is probably how many of us will experience major advancements in healthcare technology. But the more we start asking the right questions, the easier it’ll be to build a healthcare system that works for all.
Dmitriy Ioselevich is the founder of 17 Communications
