World Without Oil was successful because its purpose is based in dealing a potentially real issue: petrol is not sustainable. And that’s why I’m not happy with any of my brainstormed ideas so far: they don’t have the urgency or usefulness I would like. What’s something interesting and potentially threatening about new technologies to humanity?
I’m not happy with the idea of complete restriction of social media / phones etc, but that’s just silly and they’ve proved to have many virtues (not to say I think my previously mentioned gripes are no longer valid). As with any major innovations, there’s just changes to the way we operate and communicate…
Eg: 10 Most Extraordinary Twitter Updates
50 things that are being killed by the Internet
Psychological effects of Internet use
I’m also not happy with the idea of forcing people to use technologies in excess, because that does not sound fun to me, who would want to watch it, and turns out similar sites already exist- “lifecasting” is already a thing, it seems.
Eg: Justin.tv
New Idea: Going back to my original concern – addictions to the Internet – I could maybe make a game where users have to get by in a world if there were AN EPIDEMIC of technological addictions…
-people working inefficiently because of online distractions
-children being neglected due to parents being more concerned with screens (similarities may be drawn between other addictions like gambling and certain substances)
-other duties and services not performed as a result of people spending more time online than planned
-et cetera.
But I dunno, this doesn’t seem particularly enthralling to any audiences…
New Idea 2: What about a world where artificial intelligence is as powerful as our own? It’s got HEAPS of background in science fiction which, you know, is fiction, but often the concerns are drawn from concepts in the context of the times, and it could be interesting to see how people would actively change their lives. And this concern isn’t too abstract it seems… I just searched some journal databases via UTS library and came across these interesting articles:
-Allenby, Braden R., and Daniel Sarewitz. “The accelerating techno-human future: technology and humanity are co-evolving in ways that past generations had never imagined possible, according to the authors of the techno-human condition. This is not necessarily a good thing, they warn. With unprecedented levels of innovation come new societal tensions and cultural clashes. People everywhere are challenged to adapt to accelerating change.” The Futurist Sept.-Oct. 2011: 30+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 22 Sep. 2011.
-Shaker, Steven M. “The coming robot evolution race: Homo sapiens may have ‘won’ the evolutionary race to perfect humankind, but artificial intelligence and robotics will evolve faster and farther. Rather than compete with them, we may do well to make them our allies and co-evolve, suggests a technology trend analyst.” The Futurist Sept.-Oct. 2011: 20+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 22 Sep. 2011.
I could appeal to a sci-fi loving fanbase (and of course there are plenty of these online) by creating an alternate reality game if robots were to really co-exist in society- how would people change? What different behaviours, values, choices?
Is this an online documentary, or just speculation? I don’t even know anymore. I’m tired, and it feels like I’m clutching at straws. Perhaps I need to pursue a new train of thought entirely… sigh!