Flat Eye presents a possible future which may be neither desirable nor avoidable.

To create this world and make it credible, MONKEY MOON took inspiration from the present. There is no lack of sources: online articles, social media videos, scientific journals and more. On the team's private chat, one observation came up again and again: ""when reality goes beyond fiction."" Things that may seem a long way off or even impossible in the game may in fact have already happened, and some of the game's narrative threads were directly inspired by these true stories.
As archivist for the project, my mission, toward the end of the development process, was to gather all of these articles to create this coherent bibliography. It provides a closer look at what inspired Flat Eye, of course, but also at our present--a time of such rapid, constant change that we don't even realize it's happening anymore.
The goal of this snapshot of the world is to place Flat Eye's major themes (artificial intelligence, the future of work, social change, etc.) in their context. The bibliography sorts articles into several different categories (with frequent overlaps) and provides a summary for each. If you're only after the links and references, you'll find it all at the bottom of the page.

September 2022. The archivist.

How ICE uses social media to surveil and arrest immigrants

Published on December 22 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on December 27 2019

{Content in English}

E-mails sent by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) made public during a trial reveal how the agency hunts migrants by using social networks and buying personal information from private data brokers. They consider all public information to be fair game.

https://theintercept.com/2019/12/22/ice-social-media-surveillance/

[SUR-2] See reference details

San Diego’s massive, 7-year experiment with facial recognition technology appears to be a flop

Published on January 09 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on January 11 2020

{Content in English}

Over seven years, San Diego fed a facial recognition tool 65,000 images. Unfortunately, the "crime-fighting" system the city imposed on residents has yet to lead to a single arrest.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90440198/san-diegos-massive-7-year-experiment-with-facial-recognition-technology-appears-to-be-a-flop

[SUR-3] See reference details

An AI Epidemiologist Sent the First Warnings of the Wuhan Virus

Published on January 25 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on January 28 2020

{Content in English}

An epidemiologist AI named BlueDot developed by a Canadian start-up predicted the emergence of Covid-19 10 days before the World Health Organization began talking about the disease.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-epidemiologist-wuhan-public-health-warnings/

[AI-0] See reference details

Horror Stories From Inside Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Published on January 28 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on January 28 2020

{Content in English}

Artificial Intelligence is underpinned by tedious "Human Intelligence" micro-tasks, like meticulously describing elements from a data set. Mechanical Turk is Amazon's platform where gig workers can perform these tasks for tiny sums. Several surveys of MTurk workers allege excessively low rates or no payment as well as traumatic tasks, like describing disgusting content: images of decapitation, videos of botched surgeries, etc.

https://gizmodo.com/horror-stories-from-inside-amazons-mechanical-turk-1840878041

[WOR-2] See reference details

Your doctor’s computer may have suggested opioids because drugmakers paid to tweak the software, DOJ says

Published on January 31 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on February 01 2020

{Content in English}

American start-up Practice Fusion, which sells professional software to doctors, was paid by unspecified drug companies to encourage physicians to overprescribe opioid painkillers at the height of the opioid crisis in North America. Practice Fusion paid a federal settlement but continues to sell its software.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/31/21115692/opioids-software-practice-fusion-justice-painkillers-charges-medical-records

[WT-4] See reference details

Salt the data mine.

Published on February 02 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on February 02 2020

{Content in English}

An example of data sabotage: a grocery cart containing hundreds of smartphones was pushed around the streets of Berlin, making Google Maps believe there was a traffic jam. The application redirected traffic based on this information.

https://twitter.com/jasmith_yorku/status/1223952750402252800

[AI-2] See reference details

Amazon Choice label is being 'gamed to promote poor products'

Published on February 06 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on February 06 2020

{Content in English}

The "Amazon's Choice" label is not attributed by employees. It is automatically awarded according to undiscolosed criteria including user reviews. Unscrupulous companies can generate fake reviews to "earn" this recommendation.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/feb/06/amazon-choice-label-is-being-gamed-to-promote-poor-products

[WT-5] See reference details

Watch a Mother Reunite With Her Deceased Child in VR

Published on February 07 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on February 09 2020

{Content in English}

For a South Korean documentary on the power of virtual reality, a mother who lost her daughter to an incurable disease was reunited with the girl in VR. The documentary shows clips of her interacting with the model and alone in a green room.

https://futurism.com/watch-mother-reunion-deceased-child-vr

[WT-6] See reference details

How India’s data labellers are powering the global AI race

Published on March 21 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on February 10 2020

{Content in English}

This article explores data labeling companies in India, where employees label image after image to train autonomous vehicle AIs. This manual task which underpins all Artificial Intelligence could itself be automated in time.

https://archive.factordaily.com/indian-data-labellers-powering-the-global-ai-race/

[AI-3] See reference details

Une intelligence artificielle a conçu un antibiotique surpuissant : c’est une première

Published on February 21 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on February 22 2020

{Content in French}

An AI used in an MIT lab developed powerful antibiotic halicin (an homage to HAL, the AI in 2001: A Space Odyssey). When tested on mice and ex vivo human cells it effectively killed many antibiotic resistant pathogens including the one responsible for tuberculosis.

https://www.numerama.com/sciences/607147-une-intelligence-artificielle-a-concu-un-antibiotique-surpuissant-cest-une-premiere.html

[AI-4] See reference details

References