What dystopian science fiction future is the most plausible?

Posted 24Nov2017.

I’m quite surprised that no one has suggested 2009’s Surrogates… especially since we are all sitting at computers and interacting without contact.

It is an interesting concept – sort of a cross between the “Sims” and drones. Artificial and customizable “surrogates” have taken the place of actually being present for everything from the mundane to the dangerous, and a disturbingly large portion of society in this “future” are relegated to disheveled operators who never leave the house.

This film doesn’t have the “glamorous dystopian” shine as most of the other suggestions – the idea is quite functional as well as logical. Presently, our online activities have replaced much of what our daily routines once were – banking, shopping, long-distance communication, entertainment, and political arguments… er… discussions. With the increased availability and novelty of robotics or other remotely-operated devices, Surrogates actually makes a lot of sense as to where we might be headed in the near future. Even characters like “The Prophet” and his group of anti-surrogate activists follows the growing trend of “anti-whatever” warriors in our society.

We love to be seen. Instagram, selfie-sticks, drones which will follow us while we surf, ski, or whatever – all of these things lend to the idea that, if we could actually be seen as what we hoped we look like rather than who we are, we would be out there customizing a synthetic version of that image to do all the stuff which we are unable to do in reality. It could even be suggested that the anonymity of these avatars would facilitate the same type of ethically questionable behavior we see today: fake identities online, aggression from the safety of our desks, and bravery without the risk of true failure.

So, between this movie and Daniel Wilson’s Robopocalypse series, I would say that our desires for technology to replace active participation lend to a pretty disturbing future.

Now, if you will excuse me… I need to get back to building an EMP device in my kitchen – the toaster told me it’s a great idea. 🙂