The Future Is Now (or it will be soon) Exhibit A
When I wrote the script for The Surrogates in 2002, I conceptualized the story as being a logical extension of the way people were using the Internet as a means to create new identities for themselves—through chatting, gaming, and message boards—the idea being that rather than jail your new identity within the computer, a surrogate would let you send it out into the world and experience life for you. Here I was making this up in my noggin, wondering if everyone would think the premise of people living through mind-controlled machines too far-fetched. Well, Wired has posted a featurette that shows a group of engineers and futurists detailing how close current technology is to making the fictional world of The Surrogates a reality:
Eerie stuff. I’ve encountered numerous news items similar to this one over the years, which I’ll post here as one of four recurring features until I run out. Or until the first surrogate showroom opens downtown, at which time the future really will be now (then?), and the point will be outdated.
2:55 pm on August 17th, 2009
Unbelievable. I can see a lot of good things coming out of this, but also a lot of bad things. I don’t know, we survived so long without Surrogates, why start now?
Thanks for the vid,
Jake
P.S. I can’t see squat when I’m typing. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I can’t see any words when I’m typing. In order for me to see anything, I have to highlight the screen.
4:32 pm on August 17th, 2009
Hey Jake-
Thanks for alerting us. We’re working on getting the comment thing fixed–no idea why that’s happening, since when the comment posts, it reads fine. It’s something with the entry field, which we hope to have fixed in the next day or so.
Sorry for the hassle on that, but thanks for charging forward in spite of it!
rob