In today’s class, we watched the Black Mirror episode The Entire History of You which explored the cultural and ethical implications that would be linked to the integration of futuristic technologies in an alternate-present. In this episode specifically, the idea of an intra-body artificial memory storage system, called a “Grain” was introduced. The characters displayed the wide cultural integration of this technology as every aspect of life accommodated for the Grain– in the car, displays were provided for the passengers to project their memories onto, multiple Grain-projection screens were located spiritually throughout the house. Every conversation inevitably resulted in some sort of Grain reference to retell a story, confirm a statement, or catch a person in their lie. Although the benefits were clear as the characters had perfect recollection of every event they had every experienced since receiving the Grain, the topic of privacy invasion was dove into. With the ability to project memories, refusal to do so would be a sort of social ostracization or a sure reason for suspicion. Anyone could be pressured into doing it against their will socially, and even legally or violently. This idea of limitless and accessible memory raises the topic of security versus privacy. With the Grain, people are able to rely on their memory as a fact as opposed to just an objective recollection, so it is used a sort of surveillance on yet for the public. In the episode, the airport requested to see the passengers’ memories from the full previous week, and the police requested Grain feeds of an assault to use as evidence. More secure– yes; less privacy– also yes. The technology to actually create a real-life Grain is questionable, but even more questionable is whether it should be done or not in regards to ethics.