Curious Corner

I generally consider myself a very mature person, especially when it comes to handling my emotions. However I was definitely not prepared to read the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four(1984) by George Orwell. It is one of the quintessential  dystopian novels that deals with the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and state’s repressive control over the peoples social behaviors.

“Big Brother is Watching You.”

― George Orwell, 1984

Although it has been more than six years since I read that book, I can still feel that strange emotion I experienced for the first time while reading it. At first I was not able to even understand what I was feeling. It was only by the middle of the book I realized what I was feeling, it actually made me angry in a very frustrating way. I could almost feel the rage with every breath and the rising tension in my body as I was nearing the end. I felt outraged that how could a society become so dystopian in nature. How could human society stoop so low? How could a society be so repressive? Back then I comforted myself with the thought that such a society could never exist – where even the sapling of freedom is snuffed out at first sight.

However a lot has changed since then, now I could no longer comfort myself with those naïve thoughts anymore. Firstly, I have grown a lot and learned a lot about the world and society and secondly, the world has also changed a lot specially on the technology front. And while studying engineering with specialization in IT, I had a front row seat of these technological changes. The ever expanding and pervasive digital world has made many things possible including mass surveillance.

Moreover recent advancements in AI could lead this towards even more worse possibilities. Which would make it very easy for the state to control and manipulate their own citizens. There are countless examples of governments throughout the world curtailing fundamental human rights, from the ‘Cambridge Analytica Scandal’ to ‘Pegasus Spyware Scandal’ to Chinese ‘Social Credit System’ for its citizens. All this is happening right in front of our eyes. And surprisingly these activities are not restricted to any type of political system but are all pervasive and can be seen all around the globe from east to west. So, what does the future hold? Will the year 2084 resemble the more closer to the dystopian world of 1984 than the utopian dream?

After all these years I realized a fundamental flaw in my reasoning which led me to the false comfort of thinking that such a dystopian world could never exist. That flaw lies in the assumption that things are going to remain the same as they have been in the past. The dystopian world of 1984 under the watchful eyes of the ‘big boss’ appeared so alien and distant from my society and surrounding that I thought that it could never become like that. But what I failed to grasp is that if I look at my current society from the perspective of someone from the past century then they would think the same. Yet here we are in the present so distant and radically different from the world of the past. So even though it seems far off it is very well a possibility. And our future could very well resemble one of the many dystopian worlds portrayed by science fiction authors.

The truth of the matter is that in any society the struggle for freedom is ever present. And there is a constant struggle between the forces who want to control others and the forces who want freedom for others. The above line from the novel 1984 will always be relevant. For this day and age happiness comes in the form of convenience. And the technology that makes our lives convenient also invades our privacy. As has been the trend of the past, for a great bulk, convenience matters more. The digital world is eating more and more of our world and it is becoming more and more invasive in our private lives. This in turn is giving the state more control over our lives and capability to manipulate us. And many times this control is so subtle and sublime that it remains beyond our perception.

The irony of freedom is that we only realize its value once it is gone. But by then it might be too late. And then the arduous crawl of society whose wings have been clipped, once again begins towards freedom and liberty in hope of a revolution. But does it have to be like that? Do we always need to repeat the mistakes of the past? Could we not learn from our past for once?