Tom Hanks Said An AI Image Of Him Was Used Without His Consent, So Here Are Five Bits Of Technology That Are Making The World Feel Very "Black Mirror"

From self-aware robots to design-your-own-baby technology.

Recently, Tom Hanks took to Instagram to warn people about AI, and revealed that an AI-generated video of him was used for a dental plan, without his permission.

Instagram: @tomhanks

Not only is this an issue of likeness rights, it once again brings up the issue of AI, and how it can be used to trick and deceive people. Deep fakes can be used for harassment, intimidation, and can significantly undermine and demean people, particularly those in the public eye.

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With AI and deep fakes making the whole world seem kinda Black Mirror-esque, here are four other things that we're edging closer and closer to dystopia.

Self-aware robots:

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We're well aware of the possibility of self-aware robots, look at anything from I, Robot to Black Mirror,  but it's never been more on the cards than now. Oh yes, with AI and robots, the existence of self-aware robots is very real and pretty scary. 

Robots have successfully passed the mirror test, something that has been used in science to determine self-awareness for years. In fact, one robot in 2021 passed the test with inner speech, – it essentially determined that it was looking at itself in the mirror and talked to itself in front of a mirror, and r. 

Sounds like we're just a few steps away from microwaves and smartphones chasing us around our living rooms if you ask me. 

Self-driving cars:

NBC

I still remember that Doctor Who episode where the SatNav drove someone's car into a lake, and now that has become a real possibility (sort of). 

They've been around for a while now, but self-driving cars are another example of a pretty dystopian development – humans giving control to robots while in vulnerable, potentially dangerous situations. We've already seen the worrying ramifications of what can go wrong when robots are in charge of our safety: 

One instance was when one Tesla driver was in "full self-driving mode" when the technology malfunctioned, which ended up causing an eight-vehicle crash on the San Fransisco Bay Bridge... 

One other driver wanted to sue the company after he watched his car, self-driving, steer into flood water. 

Gene editing

Mark Garlick / Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF

It's an idea we've seen in popular culture in many forms (Gattaca and Brave New World come to mind), but gene editing is very real, although banned in many countries.

While this technology can be used to eradicate certain genetic diseases and even things such as food allergies, it's also (knowing what we're like) very scary. Not only is there a moral question around editing genes, but Gene editing, something that can be done by splitting and removing strands of DNA, is scary in terms of what it will be used for outside of the healthcare industry. 

There's a natural fear here, the 'designer baby' development where gene editing meets capitalism and we end up in Brave New World. Scary stuff. 

Brain-computer interfaces

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We've seen brain-reading tech in various TV shows, and one that comes to mind is the Black Mirror episode "Arkangel", but soon the whole brain activity being recorded externally may be reality. 

Yup, this one is pretty scary. While it was initially made with the intention of helping paralyzed people control and use devices with their thoughts, of course, there are more nefarious purposes that can be thought up. 

The technology, which hasn't been fully perfected yet, could essentially externally read brain signals, telling you someone (or something) about your brain activity which is... scary. Some suggestions for uses in the workplace for this tech include tracking attentiveness or engagement of the workforce – that's a strong NO from me. 

What other bits of technology terrify you? Let us know in the comments below!