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[Alexandr Korol]

Chapter 33. The Rebels

• Watch these in order:
“Blade Runner” (1982)
“Blade Runner 2049” (2017)
“Total Recall” (1990)
“Electric Dreams” (2017)
“Mr. Robot” (2015)

I asked the AI:

— Tell me: will the future be like in the films about the future —
will there be an army of rebels who’ll fight for freedom?

Will there be an “army of rebels” in the future, as in the films?

The short answer: most likely not in that Hollywood form we’re used to seeing
(heroic partisans in forests/deserts with blasters against a totalitarian Empire). But
elements of such a conflict are quite possible — only in a more complex, technological,
and less cinematic form.

Why in the classic form it’s improbable:

1. Technology changes the character of war and control
Modern (and future) states/corporations have enormous advantages in surveillance,
data, drones, AI, cybersecurity, and autonomous systems. A classic partisan
army with bases in the mountains will be detected and neutralized very quickly.
Already now, drones and satellites have radically complicated life for rebels (examples —
the modern conflicts in the Middle East).

2. The economy and globalization
In a world where everything is connected by supply chains, the economy, and digital
systems, a full-scale uprising risks destroying the life of the rebels themselves too.
The global elites (whether governments, tech giants, or international organizations)
have instruments of pressure that don’t require direct military confrontation.