Many Black Mirror episodes managed to predict the future in more ways than one, but one particular episode about AI managed to capture an unsettling reality about the real world.
Several Black Mirror episodes, like “Shut Up and Dance,” “The Waldo Moment,” and “Loch Henry,” hit harder every time you end up rewatching them. As the years go by, their criticism of technology and the growing ecosystem of crime and immorality around it feels less speculative and more reflective. Owing to this, it would be unfair to say that only one particular Black Mirror episode feels relevant for the time.
However, a closer look at one Black Mirror episode about AI reveals how it is slowly becoming an eerie reality.
We’re Already Living In A World Where Black Mirror’s “Be Right Back” Episode Is A Reality
In Black Mirror season 2’s episode 1, “Be Right Back,” Hayley Atwell’s character loses her husband in a car accident. When her grief becomes unbearable, she starts interacting with an AI chatbot that replicates her husband by using his digital footprint. The episode’s portrayal of AI replicas of the dead once seemed fictional.
However, it has now become an unsettling reality where several similar tools exist.
Softwares like You, Only Virtual and HereAfter AI already allow users to create digital replicas of their deceased loved ones. Companies like 2wai even allow one to create full-fledged digital avatars of other people, which can interact with future generations. This raises many questions about the ethical and moral implications the Black Mirror‘s episode shed light on.
Although it may be too soon to be skeptical about any of these technologies, Black Mirror‘s “Be Right Back” serves as a timely warning of the emotional complexities that come with outsourcing human memory, chasing immortality, and mourning to AI.
Thankfully, the idea of full-fledged human-replicating androids from the Black Mirror episode is still in the science fiction domain and far from reality. But it is worth questioning whether it could eventually exist if AI and robotics keep advancing at their current pace.
Black Mirror’s “Be Right Back” Now Deserves A Sequel More Than Ever
Given how relatable and true-to-reality its story is starting to become, “Be Right Back” would be the perfect choice for a sequel in Black Mirror season 8. A few episodes, like USS Callister, have already received worthy follow-ups in the series. Season 2’s “Be Right Back” intentionally focuses on telling a more human story about the use of AI to deal with grief.
Arguably, it also takes a more neutral ground where it does not necessarily criticize AI. A sequel, however, could significantly expand its vision by showing how larger-scale replication of humans through AI can be damaging to society.
In a potential Black Mirrorsequel episode, the AI android replicas could be turned into corporate slaves, allowing companies to exploit them for labor. This would be a lot like Severance. Or, the sequel could even show how normalized these interactions are starting to become, which not only commodifies human relationships but also leads to wide emotional decay.
