Black Mirror presents exaggerated situations about how technology can affect us and how society can change until it reaches dystopian limits.
Although they exaggerate, there are times when real life, for better or for worse, reminds us a lot of episodes from the series,. Shall we take a look?
1 – The Entire History of You
In this episode we found a premise that doesn’t seem so distant. There are lenses that record everything you experience and you can use these to replay moments from the past in full detail. What consequences might this have on a relationship?
Google Glass played with accompanying you in your day to day activities and let you capture certain moments in your life. Snapchat Spectacles glasses followed the same strategy.
Samsung is also working on it. In 2016, it patented transparent lenses with a camera, a mini projector and antennas to connect to your smartphone.
For now, these have not become universally popular, but it may only be a matter of time before technology takes another step forward in helping us with our memory. Just imagine how long it would take for your relatives to show you their trip to Egypt.
2 – Metalhead
This time, the chapter was based on reality. They presented a crude post-apocalyptic version that instilled fear in us, using the classic revolt of the machines.
The inspiration comes from the Boston Dynamics “dogs”, which are being programmed to help us. To give you an idea of how the process is going, the “dogs” already know how to open doors.
3 – Be Right Back
To overcome the loss of her partner, a young woman turns to a company that downloads her digital profile (everything published on the Internet) to simulate a replica. That is, he behaves just like the real one, with his “slang” and his jokes.
Again, there are several companies that are already working on getting to that point. There are now chatbots that imitate a real person. So, if you incorporate artificial intelligence based on what has been posted, you can “show” certain behavior patterns and memories based on those publications. Companies like Eterni.me and LifeNaut are already working on virtual immortality.
4 – Nosedive
In this dystopia, life is based on a personal score that other people give you. The higher your score, the better the things you can access. So, there are neighborhoods reserved for people with more than four stars, cars that you can’t drive if you don’t have at least three stars ..
This enslavement to appearances is something that didn’t sound that terrible for the Chinese app, Shima Credit. This app scores users according to their civic participation and their purchasing power. And what is civic participation? Donating blood, posting positive messages about the city and not having relationships with low-scoring people.
Potentially, these users might wait less time at the hospital, have a faster Internet connection or receive exclusivity at certain bars and restaurants.
Will it end up becoming reality? We’ll know in a couple of years.
5 – Crocodile
Not everything has to be bad! Although fleeting, in this episode we can see a pizza van that drives itself. Very recently, Pizza Hut announced that they were working with Toyota to make this a reality. We’ll have to wait until 2020 to see if the project ends up being successful.
Introducing the first Pizza Hut fully autonomous delivery concept vehicle. Excited for our future with @Toyota #CES2018 pic.twitter.com/YGNQUgijha
— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) January 8, 2018
What does the future hold? Can we ban people in real life? Will a caricature character appear who talks about politics? There are some things that don’t seem that impossible…
