[tinfoilhatter]

The Matrix was inspired by the Gnostic schools of thought. The authors obviously knew loads about esoteric spirituality and the occult sciences. People have been suggesting that we are trapped in a simulacrum / matrix for over two-thousand years. I personally believe The Matrix was somewhat of a documentary. I'm curious - why do you think a concept such as presented in The Matrix, is still far off?

[yoz-y]

As the siblings said.

I think we are close to Wally or Fifteen Million Credits, maybe even almost at the Oasis (as seen by IOI). But we have made little progress in direct brain stimulation of senses. We are also extremely far from robots that can do unsupervised complex work (work that requires a modicum of improvisation).

Of course we might already be in matrix or a simulation, but if that’s the case it doesn’t really change much.

[ljm]

Fifteen Million Credits is already here.

The difference is that we don't have credits the way the characters do in Brooker's universe; we have social clout in the form of upvotes, likes, hearts, retweets, streaming subs, etc. most of which are monetised in some form or are otherwise a path to a sponsorship deal.

The popularity contest this all culminates in is, in reality, much larger in scale than what was imagined in Black Mirror. The platform itself is the popularity contest.

[godelski]

  > We are also extremely far from robots that can do unsupervised complex work

Don't worry, they'll just sell teleoperated robots[0]. I'm absolutely positive this definitively 100% won't get outsourced and result in you getting a s̶l̶a̶v̶e̶ s̶e̶r̶v̶a̶n̶t̶ low cost helper from a third world country. The dehumanization is a feature!

[0] I'm not joking, they are openly stating this...

[aurea]

Some would argue that most stories in Western societies are echoing the Bible. The Matrix is in many ways the story of Jesus (Morpheus is John the Baptist).

[yoz-y]

I thought the Wachowskis even said so explicitly. Might be mixing it with deus ex where it is right on the nose.

[jumpkick]

Brain/computer interface that completely simulates inputs which drive perceptions which are indistinguishable from reality. At least, that’s what is portrayed in the movie. I’m not OP but this to me seems far off.

[tinfoilhatter]

Fair point and thank you for sharing it! It definitely does feel far off in that aspect. I suppose though, that if we are all trapped in a false reality it is impossible to know (without escaping the false reality) how advanced base reality actually is. I always interpreted the whole jacking into the Matrix thing, metaphorically, but with a literal interpretation the OP's comment makes much more sense to me. Thanks again!

[quetzthecoatl]

Matrix was a direct rip off of ghost in the shell series which did a much better job at capturing the essence of the issue in depth (the writers almost admit to it and there are videos out there that does scene by scene comparison). Ghost in the shell is majorly influenced by Buddhism. While there are obvious overlaps between platonism (that forms the core of gnostism - salvation through knowledge to the real world, and the current world ~= suffering and not real), it wouldn't be correct to attribute gnostism as the influence behind The Matrix.