[mickael-kerjean]

> Imagine some theoretical technological advancement. Now take it out of context, put it in the worst possible circumstances, and imagine it appeared into a society like ours without any prior thought or discussion about the possible downsides of that technology

This is precisely why I love Black Mirror. Despite the warnings, we're allowing companies to build killer robot and are running a large scale experiment to build a god. For a long time, I thought ethics is what prevented us from cloning human but recent years are showing balance sheet will outweigh it. As Netflix is 99.9% garbage, watching something like Black Mirror is refreshing

[moduspol]

We always have moved forward technologically despite doomers. They were there for first person shooter games, the Internet in general, dating apps, etc.

That’s not to say those things didn’t have significant downsides. They do. But it took years to get there and they weren’t an overnight surprise, like they seem to be in the Black Mirror episodes I saw.

Imagine what a few Black Mirror episodes would look like if they were made in the 50s or 60s about some technology we have today. It’d be silly. Our culture and values have changed so much since then over time as the technology came about.

[anon7725]

“Tonight's story on the Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a map of the United States and there's a little town there called Peaksville. On a given morning not too long ago the rest of the world disappeared and Peaksville was left all alone. Its inhabitants were never sure whether the world was destroyed and only Peaksville left untouched, or whether the village had somehow been taken away. They were, on the other hand, sure of one thing. The cause. A monster had arrived in the village. Just by using his mind, he took away the automobiles, the electricity, the machines, because they displeased him. And he moved an entire community back into the dark ages, just by using his mind.”

It’s A Good Life (The Twilight Zone, 1961)

Seems rather on the nose for 2025.

[a_bonobo]

>We always have moved forward technologically despite doomers

Have we? There's a de facto moratorium on gene editing in humans that all nations have so far adhered to (except for one person who promptly went to prison), there's a general moratorium on gene terminator seeds that so far all nations have adhered to, and we're in discussions for a deep sea-mining moratorium. Not all technologies move forward without impediment.

[noufalibrahim]

The problem is I feel is that the "value system" tied to tech. innovation is very simplistic and often doesn't really have any forcing functions other than short term profit for a small number of people.

Things like AI, surgical bots etc. can definitely be useful and can better our condition. They probably are doing that too but the amount of serious long term thinking from a traditionally ethical standpoint is limited compared the amount of research that goes into making the technology more powerful.

Feels like a car with an overpowered gas pedal but very rudimentary brakes and steering.

[mcphage]

> Imagine what a few Black Mirror episodes would look like if they were made in the 50s or 60s about some technology we have today. It’d be silly.

It might be silly, but that doesn’t mean it would be wrong. We depend heavily on a number of technologies with significant downsides, which are downplayed or ignored or can-kicked into the future.

[rapnie]

> We always have moved forward technologically despite doomers.

We nowadays always introduce technology no matter what. Focused on 'users' as a small subgroup for which we rationalize and validate the introduction. Success measured by profit and damn the externalities. It got reasonable outcomes in terms of (technological) progress for a long time. Today if the technology isn't outright owned by a billionaire class who get their hands on the innovations first, it is stock market driven development that not necessarily serves society. Today all the externalities are compounding into a real Black Mirror mess.

[saratogacx]

It isn't like it didn't happen. Here's an example [0] where a factory owner started replacing the workers with automation/robots. This was in 1964. There's another episode [1] where a scientist creates a computer that can converse with him and it goes all wrong.

These kinds of plots were actually quite common as people wrestled with the unknown future of the coming nuclear age.

    [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_Center_at_Whipple%27s
    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Agnes%E2%80%94With_Love

[danielscrubs]

Does Pirates of the Caribbean have to live up to the same standard? Or is it only sci fi? Star Trek?

The BBC black mirror seasons where great and a fresh take on sci fi. They filled the gap X-Files left behind, and it doesn’t need to do more.

[petepete]

It was on Channel 4 not BBC.

Brookers' earlier and finest work (Screenwipe) was on BBC4 though.

[jrvieira]

That's a very simplistic and deficient way of stating a half-truth. The dangers of technology and their ethical implications have historically been a serious consideration in the way we regulate a lot of stuff, from TikTok to nuclear development.

You are also biased in the way you only see what came to be and ignore what did not.

[goatlover]

Part of moving forward is that we've avoided nuclear war so far, but we certainly built the arsenals to stop all forward progress.

[collingreen]

There have been enough declassified "close call" stories that I don't think "we haven't had nuclear war yet" doesn't carry much water for me. Kind of like "I have never died", which is technically true but I have lots of info that makes me think extrapolating my past doesn't mean I'll never die in the future.

[coldtea]

>We always have moved forward technologically despite doomers. They were there for first person shooter games, the Internet in general, dating apps, etc.

You say as if they weren't right about those things, and they aren't the toxic to society crap they're today.

[MichaelDickens]

> Despite the warnings, we're allowing companies to build killer robot and are running a large scale experiment to build a god.

I am doing everything I can think of to stop AI companies from building a god (to borrow your words). Last year and this year I've donated five figures to nonprofits that are trying to slow down AI development. I write letters to legislators whenever the opportunity arises — I wrote a letter to Gavin Newsom urging him to support SB-1047, which unfortunately he did not do; also wrote a letter to Scott Weiner offering support and encouraging him to keep trying.

You could do the same. I'm not confident about what's the best thing to do and I think the things I've done probably didn't help, but they are worth trying anyway.

[collingreen]

I like that you are trying to influence the world into a shape you think is better and more just.