Hayley Atwell appeared in aBlack Mirrorepisode in 2013 and the futuristic uncertainty her character finds herself in may actually be more possible than some viewers would ever guess. The British TV seriesBlack Mirrorhas been credited with several commendations since it first premiered in December 2011 with one of the most shocking and bold TV show pilots ever, a pilot that involveda prime minister and a pig. Forsix seasons and counting,Black Mirrorhas been using technology and science fiction to explore the dark possibilities of humanity’s future.
Black Mirroris a wildly prescient show, andsometimes it feels likeBlack Mirroris predicting the future. The show rarely, if ever, does hard science fiction, instead taking things present in today’s modern world and future-fitting them by a decade or so. Then, Charlie Brooker, the show’s creator, and his staff drop regular, modern-day people into these worlds, and the conflicts that arise from these technologies point a finger, often a damning one, at contemporary issues. Some episodes ofBlack Mirrorare even coming true in real-time.
In “Be Right Back”, A Grieving Woman Brings Back Her Deceased Boyfriend
Martha Uses AI To Replicate A Version Of Her Boyfriend
Season 2, episode 1, “Be Right Back”, is one of the less frightening, but no less disorientingBlack Mirrorepisodes of the series. In the episode, Martha (Hayley Atwell) and her long-term boyfriend Ash (Domhnall Gleeson) move into Martha’s family home in the countryside. While moving in, Ash is struck by another car and killed. At the funeral, a friend of Martha’s, Sarah (Sinead Matthews), suggests a new service for people in Martha’s position. Reluctant at first, Martha decides to go through with it after realizing she is pregnant.
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The online service takes all the information from Ash’s social media and Martha and Ash’s texts over the years to create a virtual “Ash”. This. virtual Ash first begins to communicate only through texts, but Martha eventually graduates to talking with “him” on the phone, thanks to voice samples she had available. Martha grows closer to this artificial Ash, and she begins to heal from her grief. After enough time passes,the artificial Ash suggests another stage in the service, placing the A.I. in a synthetic body identical to Ash’s.
This android sounds, looks, and talks just like Ash, and for a time, it seems to be a serviceable replacement. There are some problems though. The android does not sleep and has none of the negative traits that make Ash a real human. Increasingly frustrated, Martha begins ordering Ash to commit violent acts against himself and Martha eventually comes to realize she’s been putting off her grief.
While she does, Martha waits at the bottom of the stairs, clearly unsure of the implications of keeping “Ash” in her life.
The episode cuts to years later when Ash and Martha’s daughter (Indira Ainger) is a young girl. On her birthday, Martha allows her daughter to visit her “father”. “Ash” is kept up in the attic, only turned on when his “daughter” comes to visit. While she does, Martha waits at the bottom of the stairs, clearly unsure of the implications of keeping “Ash” in her life.
How “Be Right Back” Could Become A Reality
Many Companies Have Investigated Voice Replication Technology
This idea of using technology to remember the dead is not a new one. Voice mails and text messages have brought plenty of people comfort long after the passing of a loved one. Pictures were once a “new” technology, and countless deceased have been memorialized on them atop mantles. “Be Right Back” just cranks that idea to somewhere unsettling. However,even that future described in “Be Right Back” may not be that far off.
Several companies have experimented with using technology, specifically AI, to replicate the voices of deceased relatives and loved ones.
Several companies have experimented with using technology, specifically AI, to replicate the voices of deceased relatives and loved ones. One company, Luka, co-founded by Eugenia Kuyda, launched an online chatbot in 2016, using chat logs from Kuyda’s deceased friend (viaTheVerge). Eterni.me, co-founded by Marius Ursache, created a similar AI, but Ursache directly referencesBlack Mirrorwhen discussing her product (viaWired),
“In series two of British future-focused drama Black Mirror Hayley Atwell reconnects with her diseased lover using a system comparable to what Eterni.me is trying to achieve – though Ursache calls it a ‘creepier’ version, and tells us ‘we’re trying to stay away from that idea’, the concept that it’s a way for grieving loved ones to stall moving on.”
There have been other attempts at creating the technology seen in “Be Right Back”. Bina48 was a robotic replica of Terasem Movement founder Martine Rothblatt’s wife that used the living wife’s audio data to create a “Bina mind-file” (viaVice). In another instance, James Vlahos recorded hours of conversation with his dying father and created an AI chatbot (“Dadbot”) on his phone that retains his father’s experiences and personality (viaShortlist).
At a 2022 conference,Amazon debuted a prototype functionality of its Alexa device(viaCNBC). With less than a minute of inserted audio, Alexa was able to create a high-quality voice that Rohit Prasad, senior vice president and head scientist for the Alexa team, said could be used to mimic the voices of deceased relatives. While all these technologies are only in their infancy or only applicable to a single situation, they show just how close the world is getting to makingBlack Mirror’s “Be Right Back” more fact than fiction.
Hayley Atwell’s And The Crew’s Thoughts About “Be Right Back”
“Be Right Back” has often been held up as one of thebestBlack Mirrorepisodes everand star Hayley Atwell was aware of the messy ethical and moral implications at play in the episode before she started (viaChannel4),
“It gets eerie and very weird, and I think it raises questions about morals and ethics in technology and social media, and also about how disconnected we are from talking to each other one-on-one. This just takes that whole discussion to a very dark place. But it’s essentially a love story as well.”
It’s an important point about “Be Right Back” being a love story, because, despite some of the unsettling moments and imagery inBlack Mirror,it’s still not as horrifying and existential an ending as many otherBlack Mirrorepisodes. Martha and her daughter are not in any mental or physical danger. Martha just has to decide when and how she will confront the very real grief that’s affecting her.
Brooker said about the technology in the episode (viaGQ),
“The episode makes it clear that’s probably not very healthy for the person left behind.”
Brooker understands the implications of the technology and, in theGQarticle, is aware of Eugenia Kuyda’s technological advancements in the AI arena. However, Brooker still considers “Be Right Back” more of a softly sad episode than a lingering, disturbing one,
“It was the first soft episode in a way. It was the forebearer of later episodes like ‘San Junipero’.”
That is the core text of “Be Right Back”, and manyBlack Mirrorepisodes, for that matter, that technology is not the answer to the problem. There is something deeper that must be resolved. In many cases, inBlack Mirror, however, adding technology is a perilous venture. In “Be Right Back”, Hayley Atwell gets a reminder that there is a part of the human experience that can never be touched, no matter how many start-ups and entrepreneurs think there is a solution in their grasp.
Black Mirror
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Black Mirror is a dystopian anthology series that explores the unsettling and profound impact of modern technology on society. Premiering in 2011, it examines various scenarios where technological advancements intersect with human nature, creating thought-provoking narratives about contemporary and future issues.
