She is kind of like the operating system with the sultry voice of Scarlett Johansson in Spike Jonze’s sci-fi RomCom ‘ Her’.

But it also puts us to the test with some painful questions: ‘ Are you a cyber bully? A Facebook friend hoarder? Or perhaps an online stalker?’Ĭreated by Blast Theory and funded by Kickstarter, Karen is a new app that is capable of taking over your life. Likeable celebrities such as British comedian Bill Bailey tell us stories about the numbing effects of the flood of superficial Facebook campaigns tackling social causes (Release the snails!), YouTube binge watching, and Twitter addiction. This interactive documentary by the NFB reflects on the digital society and what sins it makes us commit. Don’t worry about singularity, for now there are real humans behind every one of these projects. Let go of your ego and allow these projects to take over for a while to manipulate your body and mind.

The following five interactive stories investigate the fading boundaries between us and machines. The blessings of social media may be manifold, but it also seems to hold us hostage in a very un-social state of numb. We all have friends who knowingly and willingly allow their consciousness to be permanently plugged into their phones. We know that technology is already taking over parts of our lives. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”) is making some of us –yours truly included– feel rather existential. The prospect of a Hal 9000 refusing to open the proverbial pod bay doors (“I’m sorry, Dave. And if we do allow technology to take control over our body or mind, it’s always out of our own free will and in a completely human controlled environment. At least until that time, we’ll still be in control. Predictions vary though sci-fi writer Vernor Vinge thinks it will occur in 2030, whereas futurist Ray Kurzweil estimates we have until 2045 until AI will exceed human intelligence. If you’re a sci-fi adept, you probably believe that singularity is drawing near.

Interactive body swap