Fuck AI

The QAA podcast recently had an episode on AI generated images and right wing movements and they said something that really stuck with me- AI "art" is so popular among right wingers and barely literate tech bros because it is truly art the way they see all art, images with only surface level literal meaning and no subtext, context, or anything actually thought provoking. The dumbest thing about this is that there are several Black Mirror episodes that are ultimately hopeful or value-neutral about the effects of technology on the future- San Bernardino and Striking Vipers come to mind. Then again, both of those are about how sexuality intersects with transhumanism, which right wingers generally see as bad things so maybe they see those as dystopian episodes as well.

You can have sci-fi that showcases cool technology and how it relates to society. We've done it before, and it's some of the most popular and influential sci-fi ever created. It's called Star Trek (communicators, transporters, medical scanners, replicators, holodecks, etc). But even utopian sci-fi like Star Trek is mainly centered around conflict, what it means to be human, and other philosophical and existential questions. A show that's only about how cool the tech is, really isn't a show at all. It's an advertisement.

It's funny that these tech bros don't understand that 90% of the show is not condemning technology, but how capitalism corrupts technology.

It's called Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism, you wouldn't like it anyway.

Why don't people make movies about how cool war is? You get access to all kinds of useful natural resources and get to ki... I mean not look at brown people anymore!

Drink verification can!

what if we made a show that made it easier for tech bros to exploit tech to make more money? sounds super cool

Every silver cloud has a dark underside.

Star Trek. Tech bros are reinventing Star Trek (but presumably shit because none of that gay luxury space communism).

We have the “white mirror” thing. It’s called Star Trek.

What Mark here wants, essentially, is an infomercial TV series.

In addition, it’s difficult to comprehend someone this ignorant of the scifi genre as a whole. It’s likely difficult for young people today to comprehend it, but we had almost no TV and movies in the genre back in the day. This current explosion of options is just that: current. Star Trek and Star Wars were unique, which is likely why they stood out.

Tech gone bad and AI run amuck are major themes even at Star Treks inception.

I feel bad for Mark, in some ways, since he’s likely never read a science fiction novel.

"White Mirror" as a name makes no sense. A screen doesn't turn white when it's off.

White mirror looks scarier.

Black mirror is the optimistic version in our timeline.

White mirror sounds like the best episode of a black mirror season

It’s called Star Trek.

White Mirror sounds like some white supremacist shit…