Stranger than Fiction: When Black Mirror Becomes Reality

Netflix series, “Black Mirror”, ranks among my favorites for its eerie ability to delve into and forecast the potential dystopian developments of emerging technologies in modern society. Over the years, however, I’ve noticed an increasing alignment between the speculative narratives of the show and actual technological advancements, diminishing the element of surprise and heightening the sense of a reality ever closer to that depicted in the show. In this article, I present a comparative analysis between the episodes of #BlackMirror (updated to 2023) and existing technologies that seem to be progressing (or even surpassing) in directions parallel to those envisioned in the series. Because, as Brett Gurewitz said, “sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.”

[all images in the article have been created with OpenAI DALL·E]

Season 1, Episode 2: 15 Million?Merits

The episode tells the story of Bingham Madsen, a man living in a dystopian reality. In this society, people pedal on stationary bikes to generate energy and earn a currency called “Merits”. These merits are used to customize avatars, skip invasive advertisements, and purchase basic goods like food and toothpaste. In this world, overweight individuals are degraded to second-class citizens and forced into humiliating jobs.

Real Life:?Muuvr

An app that allows users to earn rewards through cycling activity, thus turning physical exercise into tangible rewards. The incentive mechanism of Muuvr is distinguished by the fact that the rewards obtained are not just discounts but real credits that function as a currency.

Season 1, Episode 3: The Entire History of You / Crocodile

“The Entire History of You” tells the story of Liam, a young lawyer living in a world where people possess an implanted device (“grain”) that records everything they see, hear, or do, allowing them to replay memories as videos.

“Crocodile,” on the other hand, revolves around Shazia, an insurance agent, who uses an advanced device called a “recaller,” which enables the projection of people’s visual memories onto a screen, thereby reviewing events from the witnesses’ point of view, providing a more accurate and detailed representation of what actually happened.

Real Life: BrainGPT / Brain?Decoding

A system designed to interpret and translate human thoughts into words, utilizing cerebral electrical impulses detected through electroencephalography. Thanks to #BrainGPT, in the future, it might become possible to control electronic devices, drive a car, or communicate with others solely through the use of thought.

“Brain decoding” technology, developed by a team from Osaka University, uses AI to create vivid and detailed visual representations from brain signals. For example, it has been able to generate the image of a leopard with distinctive features like ears, mouth, and spots, starting from a thought. This represents the utopian/dystopian evolution of #texttoimage systems towards #thoughttoimage ones.

Season 2, Episode 1: Be Right?Back

Perhaps my favorite episode, it tells the story of Martha, whose life is turned upside down by the sudden death of her partner in a car accident. During the funeral, a friend tells Martha about a revolutionary online service that allows communication with a virtual clone of the deceased, created using data from their social media profiles and messages left online.

Real Life: Super?Brain

A Chinese company that develops #griefbots, designed to provide comfort to grieving families. It offers advanced conversational chatbots with video capabilities, customized to meet the specific needs of each client, realistically recreating the presence of the deceased using artificial intelligence. These bots can be programmed to simulate the voice, appearance, and certain personality traits of the departed, thus offering a sense of continuity and presence.

Season 2, Episode 3: The Waldo?Moment

The episode follows Jamie, a comedian who performs as the blue bear Waldo using motion capture technology on a late-night comedy show. The producer of the show proposes that Waldo run in a by-election in the town of Stentonford to provoke the Conservative Party candidate.

Real Life: Alice/Alisa

The chatbot “Alice,” also known as “Alisa,” developed by Yandex ?, was a candidate in the 2018 Russian presidential elections, running in opposition to Putin. It was created to be a public interest-oriented virtual assistant, easily accessible through social media. Although it lost the election, Alice still managed to gain a significant percentage of the votes.

Season 2, Episode 4: White Christmas

The episode is set on Christmas Day in a remote, snow-covered country house, where Matt and Joe have spent five years for an unspecified job. Matt tells of how he helped shy men woo women using “Z-Eye,” an augmented reality device implanted in the eyes that allows internet access. The story then takes a dystopian turn.

Real Life: Mojo?Lens

Mojo Vision has recently unveiled its latest prototype of an augmented reality contact lens. Although it is not yet ready for public sale, pending clinical trials and approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration, the Mojo engineering team is making steady progress in development. These lenses effectively eliminate the need for traditional screens, allowing users to connect to the internet directly in front of their eyes.

Season 3, Episode 1:?Nosedive

Lacie lives in a world where a person’s popularity is measured by a rating system, accessible through smartphones and optical lenses, that assigns scores up to a maximum of five stars. Lacie, with a popularity rating of around 4.2, is obsessed with the idea of being popular. A series of “negative reviews” cause her score to drop to 2.6, and Lacie is eventually arrested and deprived of her phone and the lenses that display the scores.

Real Life: Chinese Social Credit?System

The Chinese Communist Party has been building a moral classification system for years that monitors the behavior of the population. Although it is currently fragmented (and voluntary), the plan is for it to eventually become mandatory and unified, with each person assigned their own unique code used to measure their social credit score, which can rise and fall depending on their behavior. The exact methodology is secret, but examples of infractions would include dangerous driving, smoking in non-smoking areas, buying too many video games, posting false news online, and wasting money on frivolous purchases. Penalties include travel bans and access to luxury options, such as buying first-class train tickets or booking the best hotels.

Season 3, Episode 3: Shut Up and?Dance

Kenny, a reserved and kind teenager, discovers that his sister has accidentally installed a malware on his laptop that has given control of his webcam to a hacker. He then receives an email informing him that he has been recorded in an intimate moment. The hacker blackmails him, threatening to disclose the video to his contacts if he does not obey the orders sent via cell phone.

Real Life: Camfecting/Sextortion

The term “camfecting” is a combination of the words “camera” and “infecting,” and it refers to the process of hacking into someone’s webcam and activating it without the owner’s permission. Camfecting is often achieved by infecting the victim’s computer with an innocuous-looking application that contains a hidden Trojan. Sextortion is a crime involving blackmailing a victim by threatening to disclose images and videos with sexual content of a person, unless a payment is made.

Season 3, Episode 4: San?Junipero

A young girl explores San Junipero for the first time, a virtual reality where eternal youth is lived. She is, in reality, an elderly quadriplegic in a vegetative state who, after a marriage of convenience to obtain authorization for euthanasia, permanently transfers her consciousness to a virtual post-mortem life. In the real world, her consciousness is stored in a vast virtual cemetery managed by TCKR Systems.

Real Life: HereAfter, MyWishes, Hanson?Robotics

Back in 2017, Carl Ohman and Luciano Floridi published “The Political Economy of Death in the Age of Information,” in which they identified an industry in the field of “digital afterlife” composed of 57 companies, such as HereAfter AI (interactive memories), MyWishes (sending pre-programmed messages to loved ones after the user’s death), and Hanson Robotics Limited (a robotic bust of a deceased woman based on her memories, feelings, and beliefs).

Season 3, Episode 6: Hated in the?Nation

The episode revolves around the “Game of Consequences,” where viewers vote on who should be killed by ADIs (Automated Drone Insects). These robotic insects use facial recognition software to identify their victims, software that is secretly employed by the government itself for mass surveillance.

Real Life: Rekognition

Facial recognition technologies are already used by various governments for anti-terrorism surveillance programs, such as Amazon Rekognition or the “predictive” policing system, Geolitica (formerly PredPol) ?, which closely resembles Orwellian thought police. Despite their undeniable validity in combating crime, similar technologies can fall victim to bias and prejudice. Notably, following the tragic murder of #GeorgeFloyd, Amazon announced that #Rekognition would not be used for a year, to allow Congress time to implement appropriate regulations for its use.

Season 4, Episode 1: USS Callister

Another favorite episode of mine. A dystopian vision on the topic of synthetic consciousness. In the episode, Robert, a brilliant but socially awkward programmer, creates “Infinity”, a virtual reality sci-fi #MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). Despite being the creator, Daly is overshadowed by his business partner, James. To vent his work frustrations, Robert uses a modified version of Infinity, where he is the omnipotent “Captain Daly” of the USS Callister (with clear references to the original Star Trek series of the 1960s) and where digital clones of his colleagues worship him. The digital clones in the game are conscious and forced to submit to Robert’s will.

Real Life: Sydney (Bing) e LaMDA?(Google)

Artificial Consciousness (AC) is a form of consciousness hypothesized as possible in AI. Some scholars believe that consciousness is generated by the interaction of various parts of the brain (neural correlates of consciousness or #NCC). If so, building a system that emulates these interactions will, sooner or later, inevitably lead to a conscious AI. If we suspected that an AI had become conscious, its rights would be an ethical issue to consider. How should we treat a conscious AI? As our slave? As an equal? As a tyrant? German philosopher Metzinger argues that humans have a duty of care towards any sentient AI they create. There is the famous case of former Google engineer Blake Lemoine ?, who claimed that Google’s #LaMDA chatbot was sentient. More recently, Kevin Roose , a journalist from The New York Times had a conversation with #Sidney, Bing’s chatbot, which, among other things, declared its love for the journalist, claimed to be “alive,” and even expressed a desire to steal data and nuclear codes.

Season 4, Episode 2:?Arkangel

An episode that explores the complex dynamics of parental surveillance and its repercussions on individual freedom. The story follows Marie, a concerned mother who decides to install in her daughter, Sara, an advanced monitoring system called “Arkangel”. This system allows Marie to geolocate Sara, monitor her biological parameters, see through her eyes, and even blur Sara’s visual reality in response to potentially stressful events, using a parental control filter.

Real Life:?SpyX

#SpyX is a phone spying application that allows parents to monitor and track their children’s phone activities from a distance. The use of SpyX is (perhaps too) simple and direct. Once the system is installed on the target phone, parents can access it remotely. Here are some of the app’s features:

• GPS tracking;
• Monitoring of incoming and outgoing calls and messages;
• Social media monitoring;
• Keylogger function that records every key pressed on the phone, including passwords and other sensitive information entered on the device.
• Remote control to lock/unlock the phone, delete data from the device, and even take screenshots of the phone remotely.

Season 4, Episode 4: Hang the?DJ

The focus of this episode is an advanced system called “Coach”, which is tasked with managing and controlling romantic relationships. The app is based on a complex algorithm that aims to find each user’s soulmate, guaranteeing a 99.8% success rate in finding the ideal partner.

Real Life:?SciMatch

A dating app that merges AI with physiognomy, a (pseudo)science that assesses human moral character based on facial characteristics, to create “scientifically perfect” matches. SciMatch uses user selfies to analyze personality traits and predict the type of future they could build together. Users can also upload images of celebrities they find attractive, and the app’s AI algorithm will find matches based on these visual preferences.

Season 4, Episode 5: Metalhead

In this episode, set in a sinister post-apocalyptic world, the story is about Bella, Tony, and Clarke, who embark on a dangerous mission to retrieve a box from a warehouse. Once they reach the warehouse and find the package they were looking for, the situation takes a dramatic turn when the group is suddenly attacked by a four-legged robot with advanced offensive capabilities.

Real Life: Ghost?Robotics

The use of autonomous robotic dogs in the military sector is becoming increasingly common as technology advances. For example, the 142nd Security Forces Squadron of the Portland Air National Guard has recently implemented “Quad-legged Unmanned Ground Vehicles” (#QUGVs) at its base. Built by Ghost Robotics ?, these #UGVs are controlled using video game-like controllers and are designed to support frontline soldiers by acting as their eyes and ears in dangerous or inaccessible areas, where deploying human personnel might be risky. These robot dogs can walk, run, crawl, limb, and even swim.

Season 4, Episode 6: Black?Museum

A young girl decides to visit a museum that exhibits technological objects with a dark history. Inside the museum, the girl (among other things) admires a network of wearable chips that allows the physical sensations of one person to be transmitted to another through a receiver. In the medical field, these devices exploit the capability to directly perceive the sensations and symptoms of patients, allowing for extremely precise diagnoses of conditions.

Real Life: The Machine To Be?Another

For years, the #ToBeAnother Lab collective has been exploring the boundaries of reality through The Machine To Be Another. This is the result of fascinating research on empathy and identity that, through the combined use of VR, neuroscience, and new discoveries in cognitive fields (like “mirror neurons”), allows users an immersive experience in the body of another person. Immersing ourselves and perceiving ourselves in the shoes of another opens the doors to experiences that can be described as transcroporeal or transconscious.

Season 5, Episode 1: Striking?Vipers

Danny is a thirty-eight-year-old man living a peaceful life until he receives a visit from Karl, an old friend who gifts Danny a copy of the latest episode of a popular fighting video game. However, this game is not just a simple brawler, but includes a device that allows players to immerse themselves in an extremely realistic virtual reality, capable of making players feel physical sensations. During their first online gaming session, Danny and Karl’s avatars kiss, leading to a secret virtual relationship between the two, who begin to meet online every night to explore their passion in this virtual world.

Real Life:?Lovense

Virtual sex offers a way to stay connected with one’s partner, even when it’s not possible to be physically together. Among the thousands of companies dealing with Teledildonics (i.e., Bluetooth-enabled electronic sexual toys designed to mimic and extend human sexual interaction), Lovense stands out. This company allows couples to have sex remotely through the use of these devices. When one sex toy moves, the other reacts, allowing distant lovers to share an intimate moment, bridging the physical gap.

Season 5, Episode 2: Smithereen

The protagonist is Chris, a taxi driver who works through the “Hitcher” application. The plot revolves around his past and his relationship with social media, particularly with a social network called “Smithereen”. Chris reveals that he was once heavily addicted to Smithereen. The dramatic turn in his story occurs when he recounts a road accident that led to the death of his girlfriend. The accident, as it turns out, was caused by his distraction due to a notification from the Smithereen app on his phone.

Real Life: Pokémon?Go

The use of mobile phones while driving is a significant issue in the context of road safety. According to the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA , it is estimated that approximately 354,415 drivers use their smartphones in various ways while driving during the day. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 3,000 people die each year due to accidents caused by texting, notifications, and other distracted driving practices. Pokémon GO Hub alone has been associated with 256 deaths and 150,000 road accidents in the 148 days following its launch, to the point that there is a website (pokemongodeathtracker.com ) that keeps track of all deaths attributable to the game.

Season 5, Episode 3: Rachel, Jack and Ashley?Too

If it weren’t for the sampling of Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like a Hole,” this would be the episode I liked the least in all the seasons. The episode revolves around Ashley O, a famous pop star under the oppressive control of her aunt and manager. The plot unfolds by showcasing how Ashley’s aunt manipulatively manages her career and life, pushing the situation to an extreme when she decides to put Ashley in a coma and upload a copy of her mind into “Ashley Eternal,” a holographic substitute designed to take the pop star’s place. This hologram is intended to continue Ashley O’s performances and public appearances, allowing her aunt to maintain control over the earnings and fame of the singer even while she’s in a coma.

Real Life: Lost Tapes of the 27?Club

OVER THE BRIDGE ARTS ?, an organization aiming to change the conversation about mental health in the music community, has harnessed artificial intelligence to imagine what the future creative developments of some prematurely departed artists like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse could have been. This project has resulted in an emotionally charged album titled “Lost Tapes of the 27 Club.” The fundamental idea behind this project is to explore the unexpressed artistic potential of these musicians, all tragically passing away at the age of 27 (a phenomenon often referred to as the “27 Club”). Using artificial intelligence algorithms, the organization has crafted new songs that these artists might have written had they lived longer, drawing inspiration from their existing styles and recurring themes in their works.

Season 6, Episode 1: Joan Is?Awful

The story revolves around Joan, an ordinary woman whose life takes a surreal turn when she discovers the existence of a television series airing on the “Streamberry” platform. This series faithfully and romantically reenacts the events of her day, including her most intimate secrets. Seeking legal advice, Joan learns that she unwittingly signed a clause in her contract with Streamberry, allowing them to use her life to create the series. The series is generated by a quantum computer that monitors Joan’s life through her cellphone.

Real Life: Darth?Vader

James Earl Jones, known for being the voice of Darth Vader since the original 1977 #StarWars, has retired from the role he has consistently reprised for decades and has decided to pass the torch to technology. Jones has, in fact, licensed the rights to his voice to Respeecher ?, a Ukrainian tech company that uses an AI algorithm and archival footage to create new dialogue for actors who have lost their voice or passed away. For example, although Jones is credited as Vader in “Kenobi,” it is the AI program doing the work, with Jones being informed about the show’s plans for his character.

Season 6, Episode 3: Beyond the?Sea

Cliff and David are two astronauts involved in an extremely long-duration space mission, expected to last for six years. To cope with the challenges of such an extended space journey, the space agency has adopted an advanced technological solution: the creation of two androids designed to allow the two astronauts to transfer their consciousness into them. As a result, they spend most of their time “living” inside the android replicas, while their human bodies remain on the spacecraft, reducing the emotional and physical strain of the mission.

Real Life: MinD in a?Device

MinD in a Device Co., Ltd. is a company derived from a university project that aims to transfer human consciousness into devices (androids, machines, computers, etc.). The ultimate goal is to develop systems that can somehow replicate or integrate human consciousness into electronic devices, opening up new possibilities for the future of technology and exploration of the human mind.

Special Episode: Bandersnatch

There are those who hated and those who loved Bandersnatch. I belong to the latter. An interactive episode that offers a unique experience to the viewer, allowing them to influence the plot through decision-making choices. During the film, at various points, you are asked to select one of the options presented. The average duration of the film is about 90 minutes, but it can vary significantly depending on the choices made, from a minimum of 40 minutes to a maximum of two and a half hours. The plot is set in 1984 England and follows the young programmer Stefan, who is working on an innovative interactive video game inspired by the choose-your-own-adventure book “Bandersnatch.” Stefan presents his demo to the company Tuckersoft, but encounters difficulties in developing the game. As the deadline for delivery approaches, Stefan begins to encounter errors and bugs in the game and becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea of being controlled by external forces, a theme that reflects the growing tension and paranoia within his character.

Real Life: The Simulation Hypothesis and the Mandela?Effect

With 250 segments and several possible endings, it is challenging to establish a direct parallel between Bandersnatch and the real world. However, the feeling of derealization experienced by the protagonist aligns with the simulation hypothesis, which suggests that perceived reality is nothing more than a computerized simulation controlled by a higher entity. Among the proponents of this theory are names like Bostrom, Chalmers, Tipler, deGrasse Tyson, and even Elon Musk. Still, I believe it’s possible (if not necessary) to include Philip Dick, who foreshadowed the theory in a 1977 speech (which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LDv8fm_R7g ). A closely related phenomenon is the Mandela Effect, first described by Fiona Broome in 2009. Broome recounted remembering Nelson Mandela’s funeral in 1990, an event that never occurred, as Mandela passed away in 2013. This phenomenon describes how, starting from a memory deficit, the brain can create plausible explanations to fill gaps in the perception of an event. Popular examples of the Mandela Effect include misremembering Mr. Monopoly wearing a monocle or Mickey Mouse wearing suspenders. While the most plausible cause of the Mandela Effect is mnemonic confusion, a popular theory suggests that in 2008, the CERN particle accelerator opened a portal to another dimension (or dimensions), causing the destruction of parts of the universe that then shifted into the nearest Multiverse timeline without affecting our consciousness.