Date: 7/17/2023
Written by: Daniel Arrizza
Black Mirror shows us a broken world. A future one, with fantastical technologies, but one where we haven’t regulated them nearly enough.
As an engineer I like to build things, but even more, I like to fix things. Let’s fix Black Mirror.
Summary: The Prime Minister has to have sex with a pig in order to save a princess.
Resolution: Technology comes up in terms of media control to try to take down views of the ransom demand. In the old days governments could control network television, while internet companies have become elusive to regulation. I think we can reduce government control of content by adding warning labels to controversial content, as opposed to banning content outright (like they do in many autocratic countries). This would require a team of writers, communicators, and PR specialists - all being tasked with countering misinformation and disinformation. We’re going to need to do this as dictatorial countries like Russia and China have already proven to be meddling in our online discourse.
Summary: A man cycles endlessly to accrue points, so he can speak truth to the masses
Resolution: Gamification takes advantage of human weakness - our need to feel accomplishment. I think games that you have to pay for are more ethical than needing to buy in-game currency. We should probably tax in-game currency purchases at a higher rate than normal sales tax. The deeper issue is that people are cycling for no real reason and rewarded with meaningless virtual items. They don’t have the ability to vote on how resources are divided. This is capitalism without democracy. Bring back democracy (and don’t outsource governance to AI).
Summary: A man discovers his wife’s infidelity by replaying memories
Resolution: The device called the grain allows for memories to be stored, replayed, and deleted. Memory replay isn’t on the face an issue. I can remember things now, though not in such detail. It does become tempting to live in the past, rather than forge ahead. Could we do terrible things then just delete those memories, allowing us to live with the fruits of those evil deeds? There goes personal responsibility.
Even more critically in the episode, memories can be shared with others, becoming a precondition for employment. It’s too tempting to also request this of your romantic partner, as we see in this failed marriage.
Perhaps this technology could exist to help you store and replay a very selective set of memories, like a wedding. Deleting and sharing should definitely be illegal.
The series explores what happens when our technology outpaces wisdom. And for today, where we do live with technologies that cause real harm, the onus is on us to make things better.