Ep. 5 –  “Entering the new era: the era of Infinity.” — Disconnected in 2050

Scene 1

EZRA (studio voice)
Hello again,
By the end of this sequence,
You may choose either to reactivate your Infinity account or to continue going
down the rabbit hole with us.
But back to our story.
Adrien and Sacha brought me at the back of their house
And that’s when Adrien started their story, taking me 20 years back in time.
Scene 2

We hear them walk into the garden and sit on chairs

SACHA
Make yourself comfortable, we’re gonna sit outside.
We hear some a sound of a garden with some objects that are making sound, kind of sound
sculpture from Sacha…

ADRIEN
What, never seen a real garden before ?
EZRA
Not one like this…
ADRIEN
Well, one has to eat.
SACHA
…Although I wouldn’t try to eat everything there !
ADRIEN
Sacha…

2

SACHA
Come on, I’m just//

We hear some drones looking for disconnected

Hold on…

EZRA
What is it ?
ADRIEN
Shushes her
Don’t move

Drones leave

They’re gone.
Can never be too careful.
EZRA
What was that about ?
SACHA
Surveillance drones.
EZRA
Anyway, you were saying…
ADRIEN
I guess it all changed in the 30s with the Infinity Revolution.
Which I assume you don’t know much about since Infinity cuts out all content
slipping out of their official version.
EZRA
I mean… from what I’ve been told, the Revolution occured in quite a chaotic
time.
The old states were unable to manage the multiple crisis.
Social inequalities systemic sexism and racism, the environmental
crisis…pandemics //

3

ADRIEN
(chuckles sarcastically)
And you think any of that has changed ?
If anything, it all got worse since Infinity took hold on power : the raging
inequalities, the constant natural hazards…
The only difference is that now people are surrounded by this artificial bubble –
They have no idea what’s really happening cause they all live in a little Infinity
-fantasy.
And they don’t allow you to get any information about what’s really happening
out there.
EZRA
That’s not true, we do get free information.
SACHA – Laughs hysterically in the background
ADRIEN
Free information ? What are you…(pause – Adrien calms down- sound – sits
down on a chair ?)
I guess we need to begin from the start.
You see kid, I used to be a journalist back in the 2020s.
SACHA
Okay… don’t get me wrong Adrien, I would love to hear that same story for
the hundredth time but…I have some work to do..so you will have to excuse
me…

We hear Sacha moving into the garden, taking some stuff and making sound…

EZRA
Journalist?
ADRIEN
Sighs yeah…I’m afraid we have gone extinct.
Once considered a pillar of democracy. “The 4th power” – no biggie.
Hold on – I think I have something about that on another tape (Adrien walks to
get another tape)
Right, this is a discussion I had with Gilles Marchand.
He was a big name in Swiss media at the time.

4

Scene 3

——-recorder—

YOUNG ADRIEN (acoustic)
So for you, what makes “quality journalism” or “quality information” ?
Gilles Marchand (00:02)
Il y a un mot qui résume ça de manière complète, c'est l'intention. Quelle est
l'intention ? Si l'intention est à l'extrême inverse de la manipulation. Tout va
bien. Si l'intention est de tenter d'offrir une information de qualité au sens où
elle est équilibrée ou sens ou les différents avis sont correctement refletés au
sens ou il n'y a pas une pré décision, une sorte de pré orientation dans le récit
Si par contre on essaye de faire entrer le pied dans une chaussure trop petite,
comme on dit dans le jargon, ou si on a pour but d'aller flatter telle ou telle
partie de la population ou tel ou tel intérêt économique. Alors on est plus dans
une intention que je qualifie de qualité.
Scene 4

OLD ADRIEN
Journalists were meant to produce information that would make citizens
debate the decisions of the rulers. They were to encourage the public use of
reason //
EZRA
Wait, you’re painting this ideal picture, but if this model disappeared, and if
people now inform themselves by other means, it must be for good reasons.
ADRIEN
You have a point.
Journalists were far from perfect.
The media was already vastly controlled by companies, serving private
interests. But still, they represented a counter power. That’s what democracy
was: power, counter powers.
EZRA

5
Okay… but I then don’t see how the digital world is going against any of this.
On the contrary…//
ADRIEN
It’s not about the digital world. It’s about who has control over it.
At its beginning, the Internet was the promise of a more inclusive place – a
renewal of democracy even.
It was a rebellion against the paternalism of the traditional public space.
It was suppressing the mediation of the spokesperson and gatekeepers.
But soon enough the Internet was captured by Big Tech companies.
Goodbye cooperative democratic land and hello hyper-centralised capitalism.
These big tech companies started to make the rules of Information,( which
was at the core of the democratic systems.)
They notably dented the profits of media and journalists.
They imposed new formats, new types of information.
So for example you could make horrific statements of hate, you could spread
disinformation – no problem.
But on the other hand if a woman posts a picture of a bare breast feeding her
infant.
This would be deleted in seconds.
The difference is that you don’t know who makes the decision to censure you
and you can’t argue with any of it.
Hold on, let me catch a breath here.
Want a drink ?
EZRA
(who starts to feel more comfortable)
Mmh, Sure, thanks.

Adrien goes to take a drink (we hear the ambiance)

We hear Sacha making sound
EZRA
What do they do..? Sacha, I mean.
ADRIEN

6

They alternately solve and create problems…
That’s in a nutshell !
So where were we ?
Right :
I guess, if you really want to understand what happened we have to go back
even further in time :
Between 2016 and 2022 the European institutions passed some big regulation
packages.
Those were notably targeting big tech companies in order to revoke the
almost absolute power they had on data and on the information that was
circulating on the Internet.
A few notables texts were voted,
GDPR,

Illustrations sonores (débat au Parlement)

the copyright directive

Illustrations sonores

The Digital Service Act and Digital Market Act

Illustrations sonores

…

EZRA
Yes wait I think I remember, this is the things you talk about on the recorder
right ?
ADRIEN
Exactly.

We hear a drone coming back

(with a low voice)
..again ?
Something’s not right.

The drone leaves

7

EZRA
Maybe we should go back inside.
ADRIEN
It’s fine.

We hear them go back inside.

EZRA
Can’t they see us ?
ADRIEN
Not when we are in the garden.
The zone is partially protected.
They can’t see us.

Where was I?
Right the European regulations: rules for companies that didn’t have to
respect anything since the beginning of the Internet…
After a few years, these regulations started being implemented.
And in the end, it seemed to be working in some way.
But for social media and big tech companies, that meant they were losing their
omnipotence – and with that : a big chunk of their profit.

Illustrations sonores (il faut protéger la technologie)
It was only a matter of time before more laws would be implemented, And
there is only so much power an empire can lose.
But a young ambitious entrepreneur didn’t see eye to eye with this prediction :
Infinity Fords. (pause)

On devrait entendre un discours d’Infinity Ford ici

INFINITY FORD
With Infinity : we put the whole world, all you ever need is in your hand…
JYN, is the latest most advanced AI on the market – your Jyn is made for you and
helps you in every step of your life.
Goodbye to the plagues of our modern lives :

8
You can get rid of loneliness, of hardships, of sorrows in one simple step :
Entering the new era : the era of Infinity.

Applaudissements

EZRA
The founder of //
ADRIEN
You guessed it.
Fords, seeing the quick rise of Infinity , decided to fight back democratic
institutions and their regulations which were a danger for her business.
And soon enough she convinced the CEOs of all of the other platforms to
gather together with her.
For this fight, they used enormous amounts of cash flow but most importantly
their common strength: their knowledge of data and their extremely advanced
technology to evaluate the slightest changes in someone’s attitude, emotional
response and so on.
That strategy wasn’t new, it was the current practice to use it for commercial
and political purposes.
Like here pass me the recorder,

(we can hear Adrien changing the battery of the recorder)

Now that I’ve changed the battery… yep.

zapping sounds

Okay listen to this-

zapping sounds

Scene 5
YOUNG ADRIEN (voice in situs in recorder)
May 3rd 2022 – Martin Cronel – representing the CHATONS collective –
Bruxelles

9

MARTIN CHATONS
Je ne sais pas si vous avez entendu parler du scandale de Cambridge,
Cambridge Analytica.
[00:16:54.570] – Martin
C'est des choses en fait qui au départ passent sur de l'exploitation de la. En
fait, c'est clairement de l'exploitation de mécanismes scientifiques,
sociologiques qui permettent de cibler un groupe particulier pour avoir une
réaction sociale. Ça a été exploité dans la campagne du Brexit, ça a été
exploité dans l'élection de Trump et notamment ce qui a été, ce qui a été
vraiment mis en œuvre. Ça a été de cibler des gens pour qu'ils n'aillent pas
voter contre. C'est pas du tout pour convaincre d'aller voter pour le bon
candidat. C'est pour l'élection de Trump. Ça a été convaincre des électeurs
d'Hillary Clinton de ne pas aller voter. Et ça, ça suffit à des gens qui sont un
peu indécis, les deux ou trois qui pourraient faire basculer une élection d'un
côté ou l'autre de forcer l'abstention. Pareil dans la campagne du Brexit, c'est
exactement de la même manière.
Scene 6
OLD ADRIEN
Infinity started using its enormous database to manipulate the public opinion,
creating and promoting content discrediting the institutions, and along with it :
the democratic model.
And at the same time they were pushing the idea that big companies could
offer new solutions to every little problem in their life and that regulations
were just preventing progress.
Some big names of the industry – too happy to weaken the states – used the
newspapers and televisions they owned to spread the word.
Academic studies were bought.
Constant lobbying was carried out at all levels.
Months after months, more and more people were sympathising with the
infinity movement.
Scene 7

10
[ Tik Tok like video voices ]

YOUNG MAN
I mean like… Infinity Ford is a billionaire entrepreneur, aren’t successful
people like her meant to lead ?
YOUNG WOMAN
At some point it all comes down to this : either you’re in favour of progress
and development like Infinity Ford or you want to freak out with those old
things in parliament who don’t understand a thing about tech or business.
YOUNG MAN
Why even bother voting ? Is that really gonna change anything ?
YOUNG WOMAN
Give me Infinity Ford as a candidate and yeah I’ll vote.

[End of Tik Tok like video voices ]

Scene 8
OLD ADRIEN
When it happened, democracies were already weakened
People were disappointed in the system.
Who could blame them ?
OLD ADRIEN
People just started boycotting elections altogether.
Instead of reforming itself, the public institutions kneeled in front of the private
sector.
Simultaneously, Infinity was concentrating on all sectors of our lives and
controlling every information consulted by the users.
There was no more reason to go out – and with the year long extreme weather
and air pollution there wasn’t any desire for it either.
Our lives: divided into two: Work, distraction – work, fucking distraction.
And for one or the other, you would find everything on Infinity.

We hear some drones looking for disconnected

11

Damn it!
We hear a small blip and then a louder sound (like laser or a net or a soft
gun), then the drone is crashing in the garden, we hear some plastic crashing
SACHA
(proud)
Got you little mosquito robot !

OLD ADRIEN (pissed)
Christ Sasha !!! What is the matter with you ?!
They’re gonna send back up now !
SACHA
Relax !! I blocked its data flows before it crashed.
For them, it’ll just look like an accident, nothing suspicious, shit happens…
Plus, extra gear for my collection, so much tech into these little beasts.
OLD ADRIEN
You better be sure about this…