johngoddard on Nostr: CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE I wake up to Alexa’s ominous red eye staring at me from the ...
CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE
I wake up to Alexa’s ominous red eye staring at me from the corner of my apartment.
It follows my every move as I get ready for the day.
Although it sits there silently, I know that the AI behind it is carefully measuring the social and environmental impact of all my actions.
It records everything: my energy consumption, the environmental rating of the clothes I’m wearing, and even the social justice rating of the media I’m consuming.
Somewhere deep within the bowels of the Capitol Building, a team of Social Scientists reviews my decisions in order to give me a Social Score.
And this Social Score determines my place within the Organised Economy.
Suddenly, my retina lights up
It’s a notification that my monthly universal basic income has been credited to my Central Digital Bank account.
Now I know that I have to get to the grocery store as quickly as possible.
Because these days inflation increases weekly. If I wait too long, I won’t be able to afford enough food to last me the month.
So I ask Alexa for a car, and after a few minutes a State-owned driverless vehicle arrives at my door.
Before I’m permitted to enter the vehicle, I’m forced to watch an ad for this new drink called Pfizade.
I wonder what’s in it?
I stare blankly out the car window as a fleet of drones films the entirety of my 12-minute trip to the grocery store.
Inside the store, I vaguely notice a mechanical whirr as those same drones follow me up and down the aisles, watching intently as I select my food items.
Most of the shelves are empty, but that’s normal these days.
I navigate my way through a mass of Citizens with sunken eyes and sallow skin, who are all scrambling to get nutrients before they’re driven further into poverty by inflation.
I keep my head down as I shuffle past them, careful not to engage in unnecessary conversation.
Because I know that saying the wrong thing is punishable by an immediate fine and reduction in Social Score.
I’ve even heard that simply looking at someone for too long can be considered a crime these days, depending on where that person sits in the Victimhood Hierarchy.
But it’s hard to say for sure.
You see, it’s difficult to tell what the laws actually are; they seem malleable to the ever-changing whims of the Uni-Party.
Eventually I make it to the fridges and I notice that there’s one steak left.
My heart leaps with excitement.
I can’t even remember the last time I saw a steak!
I rush over to the fridge, but as I reach in to grab the steak, a bright red light flashes above me.
I’m immediately surrounded by four drones, hovering at head height.
“INSUFFICIENT CARBON ALLOWANCE!” They shriek at me in a semi-human AI generated voice.
I watch in disappointment as my bone-thin arm returns the steak to the fridge and replaces it with a bug patty.
As I leave the grocery store, I’m notified that my universal basic income account has been automatically debited $487.20.
That’s almost $40 more than last month.
I begin to wonder why prices keep increasing, since the Economic Liberation was supposed to bring about prosperity.
But I quickly stop myself from thinking about it too much about it in case I commit a Thought Crime.
At home, I heat up the flavourless bug patty for dinner.
As I masticate on the unsatisfying goo, I find myself fantasising about the steak I wasn’t permitted to eat.
I can’t remember the last time I felt satiated.
As I step into the shower, I catch a glimpse of my emaciated body in the mirror.
I don’t even notice that Alexa’s red eye is staring at it as well.
I wake up to Alexa’s ominous red eye staring at me from the corner of my apartment.
It follows my every move as I get ready for the day.
Although it sits there silently, I know that the AI behind it is carefully measuring the social and environmental impact of all my actions.
It records everything: my energy consumption, the environmental rating of the clothes I’m wearing, and even the social justice rating of the media I’m consuming.
Somewhere deep within the bowels of the Capitol Building, a team of Social Scientists reviews my decisions in order to give me a Social Score.
And this Social Score determines my place within the Organised Economy.
Suddenly, my retina lights up
It’s a notification that my monthly universal basic income has been credited to my Central Digital Bank account.
Now I know that I have to get to the grocery store as quickly as possible.
Because these days inflation increases weekly. If I wait too long, I won’t be able to afford enough food to last me the month.
So I ask Alexa for a car, and after a few minutes a State-owned driverless vehicle arrives at my door.
Before I’m permitted to enter the vehicle, I’m forced to watch an ad for this new drink called Pfizade.
I wonder what’s in it?
I stare blankly out the car window as a fleet of drones films the entirety of my 12-minute trip to the grocery store.
Inside the store, I vaguely notice a mechanical whirr as those same drones follow me up and down the aisles, watching intently as I select my food items.
Most of the shelves are empty, but that’s normal these days.
I navigate my way through a mass of Citizens with sunken eyes and sallow skin, who are all scrambling to get nutrients before they’re driven further into poverty by inflation.
I keep my head down as I shuffle past them, careful not to engage in unnecessary conversation.
Because I know that saying the wrong thing is punishable by an immediate fine and reduction in Social Score.
I’ve even heard that simply looking at someone for too long can be considered a crime these days, depending on where that person sits in the Victimhood Hierarchy.
But it’s hard to say for sure.
You see, it’s difficult to tell what the laws actually are; they seem malleable to the ever-changing whims of the Uni-Party.
Eventually I make it to the fridges and I notice that there’s one steak left.
My heart leaps with excitement.
I can’t even remember the last time I saw a steak!
I rush over to the fridge, but as I reach in to grab the steak, a bright red light flashes above me.
I’m immediately surrounded by four drones, hovering at head height.
“INSUFFICIENT CARBON ALLOWANCE!” They shriek at me in a semi-human AI generated voice.
I watch in disappointment as my bone-thin arm returns the steak to the fridge and replaces it with a bug patty.
As I leave the grocery store, I’m notified that my universal basic income account has been automatically debited $487.20.
That’s almost $40 more than last month.
I begin to wonder why prices keep increasing, since the Economic Liberation was supposed to bring about prosperity.
But I quickly stop myself from thinking about it too much about it in case I commit a Thought Crime.
At home, I heat up the flavourless bug patty for dinner.
As I masticate on the unsatisfying goo, I find myself fantasising about the steak I wasn’t permitted to eat.
I can’t remember the last time I felt satiated.
As I step into the shower, I catch a glimpse of my emaciated body in the mirror.
I don’t even notice that Alexa’s red eye is staring at it as well.