4 Chilling Black Mirror Episodes That Are Already Becoming A Reality

By Fattima Mahdi Truth Theory

If you thought Black Mirror was just a dystopian series that would never actually become a reality. Think again. Certain episodes of Charlie Brooker’s eerie series are proving to reflect the ways in which our society is being shaped today. The future is now.

‘The Entire History of You’

This episode portrays what could happen if every waking moment of our lives was recorded and replayed at our discretion.

Facebook is home to over a billion users who upload pictures, share content and update their ‘About You’ section with milestones, such as engagements and marriage. In some ways, there is already an entire history of us, created by us. Furthermore, Google have already launched video glasses, which have an extended recording time. With these advancements in technology, it is possible that we could create a virtual history, as well as a live stream version of ourselves.

‘Be Right Back’

In this episode a woman’s husband dies. She finds out about a service that can essentially bring her husband back to life. She uses his videos, photos and social media posts to help recreate aspects of his personality. We have already taken steps to make AI as smart, if not smarter than humans. Personality detection services like Crystal, pulls online data about people and uses this to tailor messages to their personality.

‘Nosedive’

The first episode of season 3 uses social ratings as a way to stratify society. People have a contact lens that lets them see the ratings of other people. The ratings influence the score in real time and as we see in this episode, it can also have disastrous social consequences.

We already have ratings for on-demand services such as Uber. In addition, Microsoft Holelens mixes the physical and digital world together. The goggles may not look stylish, but they are proof that we are inching towards the technology shown in this episode.

There are also social credit scores being issued in China. The scores take into account loan payments, traffic tickets and other factors that would break “social trust”. For those that have broken social trust beyond the norm, they are prevented from accessing services.

‘Shut up and Dance’

With a lot of our data being collated and stored online, there are many growing threats to our privacy. In this episode, a teenager’s webcam is hacked and he is blackmailed, forcing him to follow distressing instructions.

In society today, hackers already take over people’s webcams, access their phones and leak sensitive information online. Ashley Madison is a controversial dating site for married men, that was hacked and a long list of cheaters names were made public. The only difference here is that the hackers didn’t get inventive and use the information to coerce the culprits to be their puppets.

‘Hated in the Nation’

The season three finale focuses on autonomous drone insects that pollinate flowers, in a post-bee world. The bee drones are hacked and instead, are used as part of a game to kill people, with the public deciding the victim via a Twitter hashtag.

Drones are being used more and more in society today. Amazon Prime Air uses drone technology to deliver products to customers efficiently. In addition, tech companies such as Prox Dynamics have already shrunk robotics down to the size of a humming bird. Furthermore, it was also recently announced in March that a mini drone called Plan Bee could be the solution to our pollination problems. The development of this drone is still in infant stages but with scientists predicting that bees will soon face extinction, it looks like it won’t be long until they become a reality.

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I am Luke Miller, content manager at Truth Theory and creator of Potential For Change. I like to blend psychology and spirituality to help you create more happiness in your life.Grab a copy of my free 33 Page Illustrated eBook- Psychology Meets Spirituality- Secrets To A Supercharged Life You Control Here

Written by: Fattima Mahdi

Fattima Mahdi is a author, mentor, lyricist and professional roller-skater. She uses both her love for writing and music to address socio-political issues prevalent in society today. She is also the proud author of Love Don’t Come Easy. Read More stories by Fattima Mahdi