The anthology series revisits AI, VR, and the perils of digitization, featuring a striking nod to the Apple Vision Pro and a sequel to the fan-favorite USS Callister.
Here’s some context on the thought-provoking technological themes in the seventh installment of Black Mirror. Expect artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and more, all with the show’s signature dark outlook.
The Vision Pro Doppelgänger
For a split second, I thought I spotted an Apple Vision Pro in the Season 7 trailer, but my trusted Apple PR rep told me that was not the case. Still, the Vision Pro dupe quickly became one of the season’s most viral moments.
In the trailer, a headset eerily similar to Apple’s mixed reality device is featured — down to its reverse passthrough design that displays the user’s eyes to the outside world. This function mimics Vision Pro’s EyeSight feature and becomes a visual metaphor for how tech companies sell human connection while often eroding it in practice.
Brooker admitted in previous interviews that when the Vision Pro was first unveiled, his reaction was simply: “That’s so Black Mirror.” Season 7 takes that uncanny similarity and runs with it, blurring the line between satire and reality yet again.
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Key Technological Themes
Episodes tackle themes like the commodification of memory (Eulogy), digital escapism and celebrity worship (Hotel Reverie), and the slow corrosion of online platforms by profit models (Common People). As always, Black Mirror doesn’t name-check specific companies, but you’ll absolutely feel echoes of Apple, Netflix, Meta, Uber, and Spotify in the details.
As expected, some episodes explore the evolving nature of AI. The episode titled Plaything revisits the interactive format of Bandersnatch, this time centered around a retro video game where the seemingly innocent characters may have become sentient, leading to deadly real-world consequences. This echoes current anxieties surrounding the rapid advancements in AI and the potential for unforeseen levels of autonomy.
Several episodes lean into emotional resonance through technology. Eulogy reflects on memory and loss via a digital resurrection device. Inspired in part by The Beatles: Get Back documentary — which used AI to clean up archival footage — the show explores how digitization changes how we grieve, remember, and distort the past. Rhoades calls the episode “bittersweet,” one of the season’s more reflective entries.
Like last season’s Joan Is Awful, this year’s Common People takes an amusing jab at modern content platforms, from podcast sponsorships to algorithmic burnout. Inspired by Cory Doctorow’s concept of “enshittification,” the gradual decline of user experience in digital platforms, this episode focuses on what happens when every moment of life turns into a sales pitch.
I don’t want to give too much away, but Season 7 of the show is sure to leave you questioning your tech habits, streaming subscriptions, and maybe even your sense of reality. Technologies blurring the lines of reality and consciousness will be central in Black Mirror‘s newest season.
Whether it’s the AI memory vaults, Vision Pro look-alikes, or an eerily familiar sense of digital fatigue, Black Mirror continues to hold up a darkly polished screen to our reflection — and dares us not to look away.
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