Category Archives: Black Mirror (2011–)

Remote wingman via EYE-LINK

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EYE-LINK is an interface used between a person at a desktop who uses support tools to help another person who is live “in the field” using Zed-Eyes. The working relationship between the two is very like Vika and Jack in Oblivion, or like the A.I. in Sight.

In this scene, we see EYE-LINK used by a pick-up artist, Matt, who acts as a remote “wingman” for pick-up student Harry. Matt has a group video chat interface open with paying customers eager to lurk, comment, and learn from the master.

Harry’s interface

Harry wears a hidden camera and microphone. This is the only tech he seems to have on him, only hearing his wingman’s voice, and only able to communicate back to his wingman by talking generally, talking about something he’s looking at, or using pre-arranged signals.

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Tap your beer twice if this is more than a little creepy.

Matt’s interface

Matt has a three-screen setup:

  1. A big screen (similar to the Samsung Series 9 displays) which shows a live video image of Harry’s view.
  2. A smaller transparent information panel for automated analysis, research, and advice.
  3. An extra, laptop-like screen where Matt leads a group video chat with a paying audience, who are watching and snarkily commenting on the wingman scenario. It seems likely that this is not an official part of the EYE-LINK software.

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Black Mirror: White Christmas (2012)

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As part of my visit to Delft University earlier this year, Ianus Keller asked his IDE Master Students to do some analysis of the amazing British sci-fi interface series Black Mirror, specifically the “White Christmas” episode. While I ordinarily wait for television programs to be complete before reviewing them, Black Mirror is an anthology series, where each new show presents a new story world, or diegesis.

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Overview

Matt (John Hamm) and Potter (Rafe Spall) are in a cabin sharing stories about their relationship with technology and their loved ones. Matt tells stories about his past career of (1) delivering “romantic services” to “dorks” using a direct link to his client’s eyes and (2) his regular job of training clones of people’s personalities as assistive Artificial Intelligences. Potter tells the story of his relationship to his wife and alleged daughter, who blocks him through the same vision controlling interface. In the end…

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…it turns out Matt and Potter are actually talking to each other as interrogator and artificial intelligence respectively, in order to get Potter convicted.

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