Kill Yr TV, Get a Holodeck
Alice Scarlet Death
In Star Trek, they don’t have Television anymore. They think of it as an outdated technology. We should too, but why is that?
As many people are apt to admit when asking about any tv show, “I don’t have cable.” Statements like these baffle me. I don’t have cable TV either. I watch everything on the internet. It feels like such an empty statement.
We are inching ever so slowly towards interactive media. Things like video games, mobile apps, and augmented reality games are becoming part of the zeitgeist in regards to how we engage with media. Everything is an “app” now.
I’ve been thinking about what kind of future we’d need to have where we no longer consume scripted video content, but fully immerse ourselves solely in a technology like Star Trek’s holodeck.
Many episodes in Star Trek feature people experiences classic novels in a virtual reality simulated form. They’re basically given a prompt, and can re-enact famous scenes. With a holodeck, you can customize your experience in any way you wish.
With neural networks and artificial intelligence taking off, I foresee a future where eventually we can engage with content entirely programmed by algorithms placed there by a neural network.
Right now, virtual reality tech is still 16:9. Eventually we want things to be 360:1. An entire world completely surrounding you, everything a hologram or perhaps even intelligent machines like the androids they are developing.
With the way things are going, it feels like we are heading towards a TV-less future. Where all content is generated from prompts meant to engage with a consumer on an individual level. Although, that comes with a price. Neural networks would obviously be used for very efficient marketing purposes. But at least it would be specifically catered to your needs.
Personally, I enjoy watching TV shows. However, I’ve also taken initiations in fraternal orders where I get to “play out” a dramatic ritual intended to imbue some impactful meaning onto me. On a holodeck, it would be very similar. You can read a book or watch a show. But can you really connect with it unless you’re being put in the main character’s shows and experience it yourself. This is why video games are so popular. Society is all about escapism and video games do their small part to put you in the shoes of the main character of the narrative.
I believe that the more nonsensical society becomes, the greater the need for escapism. And our technology reflects that. During the cold war, we built weapons and communications equipment. And now, we’re all afraid the government is going to take away our basic rights, the least we can do to find some comfort is to engage with affirming content.
Societal norms becoming nonsensical leads to some form of post-post-modernism where we are all post-ironic, because we don’t have the luxury of waiting for you to get the joke. Because there is no joke. Everything is madness.
I’d rather we go in the direction Star Trek chose for escapism. As opposed to say, like, Westworld. That seems a little dangerous!
