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Black Mirror's pessimism porn won't lead us to a better future
A new progressivism embracing construction over obstruction must find new allegories for technology and the future
It is an inherently populist narrative, one that appeals to nostalgia: intellectually, we understand the present is better than the past in large part due to scientific and technological change, yet emotionally and instinctually we can’t help but feel this time in history is different, that the future can only get worse. A new progressivism, one that embraces construction over obstruction, of pragmatism over precaution, must find new allegories to think about technology and the future – stories that challenge a mindset the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, criticized for leading us to miss massive opportunities “because of the fears of small risk”. We must move away from binary tales of catastrophe, not towards naive utopianism that ignores problems and risks that comes with change, but hopeful solutionism that reminds us we can solve and mitigate them – stories that don’t make us forget that brain chips can liberate paraplegics, robot dogs can protect us from landmines, AI can prevent super bugs and VR can connect us rather than cut us off from reality – even if their vibes are “a bit Black Mirror”.
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