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.

Hope Frozen: A Quest To Live Twice (trailer)

Published on August 19 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on August 31 2020

{Content in English}

A documentary about a Thai couple who decided to crypreserve their daughter who died of an incurable brain cancer in hopes that future technology will be able to revive and cure her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vecjCWsrhww

[SOL-7] See reference details

Trying a horrible experiment... Which will the Twitter algorithm pick: Mitch McConnell or Barack Obama? (thread)

Published on September 20 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on September 20 2020

{Content in English}

Tweet by computer scientist Tony Arcieri who did a little experiment to explore the racial bias of Twitter's photo preview algorithm (browser and app). He uses portrait-format pictures of Mitch McConnell (white, republication US Senator) and Brack Obama (Black former US President) with a big white space between them. He tries swapping their positions to see the impact (which image is on top, which on bottom). Regardless of positioning, Mitch McConnell always appears alone in the preview.

https://twitter.com/bascule/status/1307440596668182528

Note from the archivist: The Tweet created a lot of buzz and launched a debate about racial bias in algorithms. Twitter has since modified its algorithm. Now the white space in the middle is featured in the preview.

[AI-7] See reference details

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

Published on February 20 2018

Seen by Flat Eye team on September 20 2020

{Content in English}

Book by Safiya Umoja Noble on the racial and gender biases of search engines and how that negatively impacts Black women in particular. The dominant position of these tools spread and reinforce these biases.

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/1479837245/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_55XzFb68S4YNC

[AI-8] See reference details

I spent a week in a VR headset, here's what happened

Published on March 07 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on October 15 2020

{Content in English}

Short documentary about a journalist who wore a VR headset for 168 hours, his take-away and relationship to reality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGRY14znFxY

[WT-8] See reference details

You can now practice firing someone in virtual reality

Published on August 09 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on October 17 2020

{Content in English}

Start-up Talespin, which sells VR learning software, invites human resources managers to practice firing employees with Barry. Barry isn't a human--he's a virtual senior you can fire again and again despite his virtual tears.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/08/09/133799/you-can-now-practice-firing-someone-in-virtual-reality/

Note from the archivist: Talespin no longer showcases Barry on its website. The company hasn't changed the focus of its business but now markets it as "learning in the metaverse".

[WOR-4] See reference details

Microsoft Files Patent to Create Chatbots That Imitate Dead People

Published on January 21 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on January 22 2021

{Content in English}

Microsoft filed a patent to create chatbots able to imitate dead people. All you have to do is feed the AI voice recordings, images and social media interactions.

https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-chatbot-patent-imitate-dead-people-ai?sf136584956=1

Note from the archivist: Toward the end of Flat Eye's development, Amazon announced a similar feature for devices with Alexa.

[AI-9] See reference details

Une « Kabin » pour télétravailler au Monop’

Published on March 03 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on March 05 2021

{Content in French}

Start-up Kabin set up a teleworking booth in a Parisian supermarket. Using a dedicated app you can rent the "Kabin" for five euros an hour. It can accommodate up to four people and comes with WiFi and sound insulation.

https://lehub.laposte.fr/repere/kabin-pour-teletravailler-au-monop

Note from the archivist: A few reactions from the Monkey Moon forum: "It seriously seems like by the time Flat Eye is out, all of the dystopian ideas from the game will have become reality." "We're geniuses, that's the only explanation. It looks like the cloning booth to me." "We can make it a serious game sponsored by the government and make a ton of money: adapt to the current job market with Flat Eye."

[WOR-5] See reference details

Spotify has a patent for personality tracking technology – and it’s pretty creepy stuff

Published on October 07 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on March 11 2021

{Content in English}

Analysis of a patent filed by Spotify designed to determine a listener's personality traits from what they listen to and the context in which they listen to specific tracks. Spotify then aims to develop a listener profile from the traits observed.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-has-a-patent-for-personality-tracking-technology-and-its-pretty-creepy/

Note from the archivist: From the Monkey Moon forum: "It would be 'fun' if the AI assigned a personality type to players at the end of the game."

[AI-10] See reference details

Please remember that AI stands for Actual Ignorance.

Published on March 21 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on March 21 2021

{Content in English}

Tweet by video game developer Hayden Scott-Baron concerning the fact that Finnish doesn't have gendered pronouns and that automatic translation tools systematically assign one according to sexist gender biases.

https://twitter.com/docky/status/1373633104192151553

[AI-11] See reference details

Daniel Kahneman: ‘Clearly AI is going to win. How people are going to adjust is a fascinating problem’ / 'I’ll say it again. AI IS people. Just people. All the way down. For the foreseeable future. So if you frame it as a war that AI wins, you’re saying that some people will win that war against other people. Don’t pretend the machines are fighting anyone.'

Published on May 16 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on May 17 2021

{Content in English}

Nobel-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, whose research focuses on the decision-making process, talks about people's lack of realiability and predictability. He expects that artificial intelligences will make decisions in many sectors in the future, behaving more fairly than than humans.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/16/daniel-kahneman-clearly-ai-is-going-to-win-how-people-are-going-to-adjust-is-a-fascinating-problem-thinking-fast-and-slow

[AI-12] See reference details

References