Imagine waking up one day to find your words are no longer your own. Mid-sentence, your mouth hijacked by corporate algorithms, spouting ads for insurance, meal kits, or worse political propaganda. This isn’t a dystopian fantasy.
It’s the premise of Netflix’s Black Mirror’s latest episode, “Common People”, where a woman named Amanda becomes a literal advertising billboard for the medtech company keeping her alive.
But let’s stop pretending this is just fiction.
When Subscriptions Become Extortion
In the episode, Rivermind offers a brutal bargain: pay escalating fees to sustain Amanda’s digitised consciousness or be downgraded to a walking ad space.
Sound familiar?
South Africa’s own tech landscape is hurtling toward a similar precipice.
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Our phones already interrupt us with targeted ads – but what if skipping them meant losing access to lifesaving services?
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“Freemium” health apps already gatekeep diagnostics behind paywalls – how long before critical care is subscription-only?
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Load shedding exemptions for premium subscribers? It’s not a stretch in a world where convenience is tiered by wealth.
The Data-Mining Parallel
Rivermind monetises Amanda’s existence.
But haven’t we already sold our digital selves?
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Social media platforms profit from our attention while feeding us ads.
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Credit bureaus and insurers price us based on behavioral data.
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AI startups scrape our voices, faces, and creative work without consent.
The difference? We still pretend we have a choice.
A South African Warning
Our fintech revolution risks replicating these abuses.
Consider:
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Pay-as-you-go essential services (water, electricity) already punish the poor.
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Microtransactions in mobile banking could evolve into predatory “convenience fees” for basic rights.
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Health tech might follow Rivermind’s path, preserving life at a price that erodes dignity.
Resisting the Algorithmic Noose
We must legislate against:
- Predatory subscription traps (e.g., irreversible auto-renewals).
- Data commodification (your face, voice, and DNA shouldn’t be corporate IP).
- Weaponised paywalls on essentials like healthcare and education.
Black Mirror warns.
But in South Africa, where inequality meets digital innovation, we’re scripting this horror in real time. The question isn’t “Could this happen?” – t’s “How do we stop it?”
