Wait… I’ll Become a Robot Soon?
By: Youssef Zaki
English Editor
Black Mirror, as we all know – presumably – is a dark science fiction series on Netflix about the near future; it aired an episode almost nine years ago with the title “The entire history of you”.
Each episode in this series had its own separate story from the others, but they all tackle a dark and dramatical approach on how emerging technology and software can destroy the livelihoods of innocent citizens.
This particular episode’s plot was about a small chip inserted under human skin which allowed memories to be manipulated or reviewed as they’re all stored as audiovisual recordings on it. Most of the audiences who watched this series and other types of science fiction fare, naturally, saw that as a flight of imagination which could hardly occur in real life.
But then …
In August 2020, inventor Elon Musk unveiled a pig called Gertrude which had a tiny computer chip in her brain as a presentation of his new project and ambitions to create a working brain-to-machine interface.
Musk explained how his use of the project will be restricted to curing diseases such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease by allowing patients to control computer or phone software using their minds.
We have to stop for a minute here and think, are humans going to become machines with computerized brains only for the benefit of the capitalist market?
We’ve all seen how our privacy has been violated by billion-dollar companies through social media then sold and used for marketing purposes; its effect on our lives was that we all became numbers on a database representing potential consumers.
Logically, this project needs to be revised, we have the right to refuse compliance to the capitalist business owners, who have proven to misuse our private data over and over as tools for advertising and profit.
It is now obvious to a large group of people that the information gathered from this chip is going to also be sold to other firms for sales purposes.
To take this action we need first to understand who the people we want to stop are. Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, has now become the fifth wealthiest man in the world with a net worth exceeding that of Mark Zuckerberg’s, Facebook CEO.
He is an individual with high political power and control over the economy of the world. Musk founded and funds “Neuralink”, the company that is currently working on the development and testing of these chips.
So, is it too late?
The world can become a lifeless planet while humans still live in it, only the higher class enjoying what earth has to offer and the others trying to survive and provide for their families. Respect of privacy will become history and each individual will become a gear inside bigger machines to cope with ordinary life.
The free market economy is not only starting to destroy mother nature, it is also heading towards an era where minds will be controlled by softwares and all decisions taken will be made by those in command.
This could either conclude the time of free mankind behavior or be the start of a new chapter in history where conscious individuals will take action and refuse to be controlled.
