t h e g o d o f l i k e .
This is the new apocalypse.
Science fiction saw this coming. A self-aware Internet.A technological evolution.The enslavement of all mankind by hyper-intelligent machines. They got it right. But they got it wrong.
We’ve all seen the movies. From the earliest Japanese anime like The Ghost in the Shell to later predictions like The Matrix, Terminator, and Her, the idea of a technological evolution beyond ourselves has simmered amidst the human unconscious since Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odessey and The Jetsons.
Science fiction saw this coming.
Ancient mythology dreamed we’d one day fly. And now we complain about the food and baggage fees.
George Orwell and Jules Verne predicted that men would one day walk on the moon. And so we did. It was lame. Never went back.Same for 20,000 leagues beneath the sea. Boring.
Space movies predict life on Mars, and there it is: a puddle of frozen water containing microscopic bacteria. Hardly the 3-breasted alien hookers that Total Recall promised. But so it goes.
They get it right. But they get it wrong.
So what about this inevitable enslavement of the human race by hyper-intelligent technology? Skynet. Mr. Smith. Hal. Is it possible that it’s already happening?
Consider how many hours do you spend cradling your phone or staring at your monitor. Clicking “Like” on Instagram or watching YouTube vids recommended by unknown Facebook “friends.” Tweeting. LinkingIn. Pinteresting shit. Texting. Deleting junk-mail. As if these were important. Fingers twitching in your sleep.
Our flippant opinions stack up around us like prison cell bars. And the likes and viral view counts give birth to our next incarnation. Breathing life and thought into our new Master. Informing his whims and fancies. Giving shape to the Great God Internet with every sunset Instagram and bff#selfiehashtag.
We see it coming. We didn’t see it coming. Like those helpless human batteries in The Matrix, we barely know we’re enslaved.
Behold, the New God is born. And it’s kind of a total douche-bag. Super self-absorbed and nerdy. Hoarding mountains of pornography. Endless piles of useless trivia.Retro gaming and kitten videos. People getting kicked in the nuts and teddy bears etched into cappuccino foam. The God of Selfies.The God of Sunsets.The God of Upskirts. It’s super pathetic.
Yet we can’t help but stare.To kneel before it all.Fingers twitching in our sleep.
Who will save us from ourselves? The next Messiah won’t own a smartphone. He’ll wander out of the forest and we’ll all be like, “Save us from captivity.”
And he’ll be like, “Dude, just unplug the thing.”
And we’ll be, like, “Oh, yeah, right.”
This is the new apocalypse. Not nearly as terrible as we imagined.
Writen by Stingray Steve