- AI in Black Mirror: Exploring Potential Applications
- Concerns and Perspectives on AI from the Black Mirror Cast
- Black Mirror’s Relevance in an Increasingly Dystopian World
AI is a trending topic, from the creation of photos that are alarmingly believable (pope coat, anyone?) to the use of Chat GPT for a variety of purposes, with developers advocating for its regulation before it’s too late.
Consequently, it was inevitable that one episode of the new season of the dystopian drama Black Mirror, which returns this week, would concentrate on a potential application of the technology.
I mean, if Rishi Sunak had been replaced by AI, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed,” he joked.
He would be an excellent character to pop up like the paper clip that used to appear in Microsoft Word.
“I’d like Rishi Sunak to pop up and say, ‘It looks like you’re writing about how depressing the government is. Would you like some assistance?'”
But there is no escaping the potential threat posed by AI to screenwriters. One of the stumbling blocks in the current Hollywood writer’s strike is the regulation of the technology.
Brooker himself tested Chat GPT to see if it could write an episode of Black Mirror for him. The results were disappointing. But he acknowledges that it cannot be left unregulated.
“[AI] cannot replace a human writer,” he said. “The problem will be when people try to use it to shortchange human writers or cut them out of a portion of the process or ownership of their ideas.”
“Because, in reality, what those generative AI chatbot gizmos are doing is scavenging information that we humans have typed in and regurgitating it as its work, whereas human writers are undoubtedly influenced by things all the time, but not to the same parasitic degree.
“Therefore, I believe that this is something that needs to be examined. These kinds of instruments could be extremely useful and potent in the hands of a human writer… There are tools in Photoshop that are useful for visual artists, so I’m not inherently opposed to it. However, I believe that its use requires careful consideration.
Schitts Creek actress Annie Murphy, who appeared in Black Mirror’s AI episode, says the topic is important.
It’s so timely, so relevant, and I think especially with the writer’s strike and the upcoming actor’s strike where so many of the concerns are AI and being replaced by it and having those concerns not met with any kind of empathy is a bit alarming,” she said.
“Now is a wild, wonderful, and frightening time to be alive.”
Her co-star Salma Hayek questions whether this is the best method to develop the technology. “I feel like saying, ‘Hey, I exist, and I do not want to be replaced by a machine’,” she acknowledged.
“Also, a portion of me admires it – the minds that invent artificial intelligence and all these incredible technological advancements. I admire it, but I’m also terrified of them.”
“I feel like saying, ‘Hey, you people are so smart, can you please find a cure for cancer or a pill so that we don’t get white hair or cellulite?’ – can we shift the focus so that we’re not being replaced and humanity still feels human?
Writing a dystopian drama when the world already appears somewhat dystopian poses a challenge.
Earlier episodes of Black Mirror have addressed topics such as our preoccupation with social media, technology that records everything we do, and the use of avatars to represent ourselves – all of which are becoming increasingly prevalent in our world.
“An alarming number of previous storylines that we’ve had on the show appear to be coming true with alarming frequency,” Brooker conceded.
“I believe that as the world becomes increasingly absurd, it simply means that you have to approach things in a slightly different manner – I guess you just have to keep turning the thermostat up.
“Therefore, I’m not sure that it becomes more difficult as the world becomes scarier. It just means you’re typing while trembling with fear.”
The sixth season of Black Mirror has been released on Netflix.
