Charlie Brooker - On Technology, Truth and Black Mirror | KITE 2024

[@Harrier_DuBois]

I miss Yearly Wipe so much, and Screenwipe and Newswipe

[@torres608]

Yes - Black mirror is 7/10 (more as too many episodes are terrifying) but Newswipe, Yearly wipe and Screenwipe all 10/10

[@gmonkman]

Me to. The nearest thing now is "Ordinary Things" yearly rooundup right here on youtube.

[@2penry2]

@@gmonkman Ordinary Things is great, he really reminds me of Brooker.

[@Billthebozo]

There was a yearly wipe was it 2020-22? Old school news wipe was great tv

[@gmonkman]

@@Billthebozo Mmm don't think so. You'd think netflix would pay charlie to do new Wipes, surely they could buy the rights for peanuts.

[@Benjamin.Jamin.]

Been a fan of brooker since cutting out his bits in PC Zone in the 90s. He still makes me laugh like no other. Good lad.

[@hollywooda111]

Screenswipe was genius! go back and watch it now it will blow you away so incredibly well done.

[@pseudonayme7717]

Totally agree. However, it's called 'Screenwipe' 👍

[@TheStarBlack]

Good to hear from Charlie again, I genuinely miss reading/ listening to his miserable view of the world!

[@mrcassette]

Realistic, not miserable.

[@fortune-cookie-monster]

The Black Mirror episode, Fifteen Million Merits, seemed to capture exactly how I felt when I worked in a large corporate job in 2011. I left and started my own business and have never looked back! Thanks Charlie!

[@psychoterrorism]

It may be his best work. Certainly one of my favourites, though that's definitely influenced in large part by Daniel Kaluuya's unassailable, inspirational, performance.

[@hello_levesque]

29:22 ....I'm sorry, what now?? You did the logo for CEX!?!?! 🤣🤣🤣 ...that's awesome! My lockdown years were pretty much sponsored by CEX 😋🙃🤘 (and yay for more Black Mirror en route too 🔥😎)

[@Kauffy901]

TV Go Home was my first exposure to Charlie Brooker, and I was practically resentful at how funny it was, especially with so few words.

[@gmann6269]

The old website is still up.

[@rain_down_]

Got the book somewhere - it's a work of genius.

[@CoolPizzaTown]

Lol I printed off that entire website on the office printer back in the day, and bound the pages together in the printroom...still got it somewhere

[@lawebley]

Make. More. Screenwipe. Please. Thank you.

[@richard84738]

Touch of Cloth is so good. I'm glad he mentioned it, I totally forgot that was his project. John Hannah is so amazing in that. It's like a British humor style remake of Naked Gun. It's so stupidly clever. He's right, totally overlooked show that deserves way more fans.

[@StinkyJim]

I regularly chuckle at the name Anne Oldman

[@xeroniris]

I love touch of cloth so much

[@Yourpalmartin]

It’s class, 1 of my fave tv shows

[@nickwyatt9498]

The wonderful thing about Touch of Cloth is that if you miss one gag there’s another on the way five seconds later. LOVE that show, must watch it again.

[@theholk]

@@nickwyatt9498 5? Most of the time there is already one going on in the background at the same time.

[@vitamind.d.fishinsea8570]

We need people like this and Chris Morris as a counter to mass media bludgeoning that is becoming more and more a stigma to critically question out loud for fear of ostracism

[@mikethebloodthirsty]

Totally, don't forget that grumpy old git John Cheese, doing his bit despite being branded all sorts of things by patronising thick interviewers. Unfortunately Stuart Lee loves it all, can't get enough of it. You'd think a Oxbridge educated person wouldn't be advocating and supporting censorship of people he disagreed with.

[@basicinfo1640]

I love Brooker and Chris Morris is one of my hero’s

[@andrewgibbs2443]

Everyone has that friend who glances nervously to check you’re laughing at the video they’re making you watch. This interviewer does that to the entire audience.

[@LegPuppy]

They babble on their hand held Twit Machine. Most prophetic statement of the last 30 years

[@ClayMann]

It is always fascinating listening to this guy. Especially in real-time. He writes very well and its all extremely well laid out for you but when you hear him talk. There's a scatter brained anxiety that I think reveals his genius. He seems to come at things from multiple points of view and perspectives all at the same time. Constantly juxtaposing things, events and ideas with what he's dealing with. And I think that's the genius that so many writers can only dream about having. For Charlie its a tap that won't turn off. He is anxiety riddled about everything he experiences. But there's that British comedic stiff upper lip. Oh it'll be alright, sure we're all going to die but at least the weathers nice today. And that helps him cope perhaps with all that anxiety. I'm assuming a lot there, I'm not his therapist. I'm rambling but not anything like as funny or insightful as Charlie so I'll shut up. But I do love that man, can't wait for more Black Mirrors.

[@frankmurphyburr3598]

I thank Mr Brooker for introducing Doug Stanhope to a British audience

[@BasketCase]

I'll second that. Saw Doug live at Brixton ❤

[@ImNealHunt]

Possibly the funniest american

[@mikeymike42]

Wider more mainstream British audience yes, but Doug made his bones here many moons ago in a similar way to Hicks. His comedy resonated with UK audiences for a long time before newswipe

[@fslinteriors7889]

Gaming was at the absolute peak in the 90s. Fourth gen consoles, advent of the PlayStation, weird advertising. Brooker really lucked out being involved in that era

[@marckremers]

Charlie Brooker is such a hero to me... a legend, an absolute inspiration. Love him to bits. When I think about it, he's been such a huge influence for me since I first watched Nathan Barley until now. Back then I didn't even know he was. What a human ❤

[@martinheath5947]

Everything bleak and dystopian is welcomed with open arms and embraced by the 'entertainment' industry as part of their predictive programming duties. We should have learnt that by now

[@noel350]

Remember when he was writing for PCZone.... Made that magazine well worth a read.

[@gmonkman]

Yup, read every page, waiting in anticipation for the last one.

[@yester30]

Touch of Cloth is solid fun

[@BasketCase]

Weekly Wipe was great ❤

[@Carl-G]

I love Charlie Brooker ;)

[@gazzam3172]

This guy is a genius.

[@vlady8me]

Thank Cunk!

[@Zobbster]

Quality interview. Been a fan since Superkaylo!

[@NikTreekle]

Not enough love for Nathan Barley.

[@gmann6269]

But it's not that great, is it? It's not that memorable or funny. I only watched it (just a couple of years ago) because Brooker made it. I didn't live in that specific part of London in the 2000s or work in the media so I don't really recognise the sort of person Nathan Barley is, whereas with Spaced I immediately loved it and their lifestyles felt relatable.

[@evemhughes]

Really annoying ringtone

[@johnmunro4952]

"day the world changed yeah?"

[@sanskrit5029]

It was well Mexico.

[@barking_mad6649]

Well brown.

[@vivavaldez87]

I just bought UFO50 a few days ago... hearing that Charlie is playing it made me clap with excitement. The game was received very well, but as all but the biggest indie games do, has gone under the mainstream radar somewhat. I am a little concerned that it might have a negative impact on the landscape in the same way Vampire Survivors did... but for now, we get to enjoy this little gem.

[@EDcaseNO]

huh? negative impact, do you mean (mechanic) clones? i'm probably being dense here but i can't see the neg impact connection. ^^

[@ijw2009]

I love Black Mirror, so good to hear him talk about his thoughts on some of the episodes!

[@Lighting_Desk]

A brilliant mind

[@DesolateWastrel]

Screenwipe was the best, it’s a shame we don’t have more of it now

[@ShapeyFiend]

I'm also addicted to UFO 50. It's outrageously good.

[@libbybaker86]

Cunk & Barry shitpeas make me laugh so much. I love everything charlie does

[@theholk]

Ha, it's nice that he jumps to "touch of cloth" later, when my initial reaction to the introduction was "and touch of cloth!" :D

[@franzherflek4116]

Loved touch of cloth !!!

[@purplemonkeydishwasher5269]

Metalhead was the first episode I watched and it took my breath away. It really took the robotics and automation to its ultimate dark place.

[@Shaft0]

You got a long way to go to the actual bottom

[@Glennw]

VR Name Suggestion: LOG-OFF

[@psychoterrorism]

Thanks to Kite for giving Charlie a platform, thanks to the audience for some great questions, and thanks to Charlie for being Charlie! Great to see him just having a rant again. He has, in my opinion, created some of the finest TV of all time, some of which is Black Mirror, but I would gladly trade a lot of that to have some of the simple Wipe format stuff back again (with the possibly obvious exception of "American Wipe")!

[@misterlondoner]

Brooker!

[@C_A_W]

We are all now living the reality of black mirror...

[@Soldred]

26:50 me listening to this while eating with one hand and taking screenshots of a film with the other: ...

[@kkryder9176]

Definitely need to bring back the Wipes

[@frogambassador]

he designed the CEX logo??

[@datashat]

32:03 yes! motion smoothing must be destroyed

[@domlo66]

Yes! Or UHD, which is basically the same. You can turn it off on iPlayer, but not on NOW TV

[@nijbot875]

I want more gameswipe too

[@ytubeanon]

every episode of Black Mirror says "written by Charlie Brooker", I've always found that crazy, if literally true

[@gopipgo]

Except 'The Entire History of You' from the first series; that was written by Jesse Armstrong (who was one of the creators/writers of Peep Show).

[@CoolPizzaTown]

​...and of course 'Succession'

[@rigsby1454]

Wish he would do something else like Screenwipe. Black Mirror seems to have run its course

[@mechanicaldavid4827]

"Death to 2020,2021" perhaps?

[@EasyTiger.01343]

Don’t ask me how, but I was talking to a beautifully manicured section of lawn a week or so ago, and it said exactly the same about you. Small world.

[@sluglife9785]

60 a day, smoking in the shower. As a former baccy fiend, colour me impressed.

[@16ozClawHammer]

Deffo get in a host that knows fuck all about him and his career. Inspired decision.

[@hanumaniam]

"reality melting into a Dali-esque hellscape..." 😊 Phrase I'll be using

[@manjininja76]

Doom would be my desert island pick too. I wonder which Tekken character is Charlie's favourite?

[@SuperRomanHoliday]

wow did he write nathan barley? That was so good.

[@rain_down_]

Indeed, him and Chris Morris.

[@Brian_Boru]

This is a Christmas treat if I've ever seen one.

[@Avlys101]

I have never been scared of horror movies. All seem rather bland. Watching black mirror was the first time I had to turn off the TV due to genuine fear and anxiety. I still cannot go back to it and every time I think about it, I feel genuine anxiety. No entertainment franchise has ever made me feel this way.

[@More_Row]

Ur strange, reality is horror

[@berbank]

That self-facilitating media node hasn't let himself go.

[@swyxTV]

the media whatnow?

[@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon]

@@swyxTVbum

[@rippedtorn2310]

Wrong comedian .You're thinking of Tucker from Vintage Grangehill and Tucker's Luck fame .

[@MidLoafCrisis]

I think of him as the offline Barley

[@cheddaz86]

Gollums really let himself go

[@15MinutesOfShame15]

Incredible how little (few?) research this guy has done.

[@007ptb007]

I want the VR digital detox to be an episode.

[@pavement422]

I’ve just looked up misanthrope and I am one.

[@Cotch-c5l]

Doom came out on the snes so all clear !

[@NaomiOjok]

Unscripted Charlie Brooker is a hoot!

[@ConfusedProud]

You can tell that guy was waiting the whole show to mention his digital detox hahaha

[@Cinorafilms]

If you loved Black Mirror then watch The Curse

[@brhodes0]

No.

[@AmiUnhinged]

So: 28 Years Later is on the horizon - are you excited? I just watched the trailer and I got a very World War 2, sort of South African-whiteside serotonin- draining lonely depression that's a bit Bloc and a bit Chinese MMORPG . I was wondering if the franchise was linked to the Treloars Bad Blood Scandal of the Late 80's?

[@AmiUnhinged]

I think the temptation to treat any sort of large scale crisis as if you were like...Maid Marion is a bad plan. Surrendering to histrionics could lead to a lot of trouble , it's much safer to check the facts on the particular situation. You know what I mean, any movie is designed to thrill and fascinate the viewer, there's a level of real life nitty-gritty and tedium (like police stake outs on CCTV) that might be like asking the viewer for more patience than they have. We had a couple of arson attacks a bit like a suicide squad video game I played years ago. Of course then I was Harley Quinn and I shot that guy until he had more holes than the plot lines of Eastenders so I felt less threatened. I think the temptation to panic is almost as bad as the temptation of cannibalism itself. You know? After you've been shot to death it's difficult to argue that you're not a zombie.

[@AmiUnhinged]

Anyway the clue was there with the death of Michael Mosely.

[@AmiUnhinged]

Actually I had a "darkly" comic idea earlier this year around my birthday when I was cleaning out my bedroom. "Of course!" I thought (like this 'cans...plastic...paper') 'I don't want to be accused of hoarding. I was saving pop cans for a sculpture project (probably a face or bust like in high school DT) anyway I had to ditch them all (Ten Bags!All in the recycling!) To that end I bought some new odourless epoxy resin but basically it won't set in my room. I've been poking it stickily in a fingerprint funk all week. :-( then there was a hurricane (not too bad-at least it wasn't snowing) and I was sat mending my pants thinking about how it would be awful if hoarding got to like, an obsessive compulsive mental illness . I had this dream I was working in a diamond mine as security. So I'm pushing a health and safety prerogative based on the theory of military (mate, even like teenagers) incursion in an organised hostile subversion of mine security. In my dream nobody listens to me and I'm trying to get hold of some chemical testing solution to check if the drinking water is industrially poisoned but basically the guy who owns the mine never fires anybody. Even people who are listed on company records as dead he considers to be valuable assets to the company, anyway basically it turns out even though they're invisible, they're not dead, they're just sort of folded into reality like ply on a box of tissues ,and the whole town surrounding the mine is a trap to see who is the most criminal, in a long game that started in the modernist 1960's when the job first came up. And what happens if you muck up is you get ambushed from dark corners by stunted drug addicts who look like children, who try to eat you basically because they think you've been stealing food from the boss. Anyway the story's called "Rackham's Rubix" which uses a camouflage trick of the eye based on oddly designed camera lenses.

[@BarryBollox.]

Just come back and an annual year wipe. I will pay for a BBC licence just for that.

[@gregoryfilms9405]

Brooker now looks like a white Lawrence Fishbourne. I remember reading his Guardian columns years ago, very funny. Miss Screenwipe too. Black Mirror is undoubtedly our Twilight Zone and a few episodes are genuine classics. Wasn't impressed by the last series but hopeful for Series Seven.`

[@fortune-cookie-monster]

I thought the episode, Joan is Awful, was the best 56 minutes of TV, I'd ever seen!

[@gregoryfilms9405]

@@fortune-cookie-monster That's the only ep of BMirror I haven't seen. Will check it out ty

[@gregoryfilms9405]

@@fortune-cookie-monster Watched, it was very good

[@gmonkman]

wtf, Charlie designed the CeX logo? Can you please get on to them to sort out their grading system for laptops, smartphones and tablets.

[@cgdimension]

i always turn off motion smoothing, watching TOS with it on makes me ill! ;p

[@sratus]

What an absolutely massive head.

[@kkryder9176]

Not as massive as the head your mum slops out

[@derekspitz9225]

AIs like Chat GPT are shit at creativity. No surprise really, considering creativity requires consciences and self awareness. But for coding, it's great. Saves me hours.

[@Gavin-w4r]

What kind of coding do you do?

[@MrWizzleTeets]

Pink Pancakes

[@dakiblabla]

Charlie you genius we need the Yearly wipe. Come on man, it's Trump again. We need something.

[@mikethebloodthirsty]

... And how is Trump worse than the previous president who gave Israel the OK to bomb Palestine continuously by selling them bombs?... Two major conflicts started under him due to his weakness, while his sons dodgy dealings the corrupt criminals who ran Ukraine before the invasion were hushed up?. Go on, tell me.

[@kkryder9176]

​@@mikethebloodthirsty triggered, snowflake?

[@nestessary]

I miss weekly wipe

[@ajoneill6290]

Is the camera operator drunk

[@DawnDupponmi]

Nice green lighting…. Really flattering 🙄

[@Johnconno]

That's not Charlie Brooker, that's something that's absorbed Charlie Brooker.

[@aenamabag]

I dont get it

[@joeduncan08]

@@aenamabagI think he’s trying to call him fat?

[@aenamabag]

@@joeduncan08 I would have assumed that too if he had put on a ton of weight. But he hasn't

[@joeduncan08]

@ yeah that’s why I’m confused too. It sounds like a fat joke but he looks the same as he always has. Weird

[@chrish1657]

People change as they get older? 😱

[@TheQuantumPortal]

This is the 111th comment. When is White Mirror coming out ? 2025 ?

[@TimC-Cambridge]

The base presumption that Human Consciousness ( with all it's personality, memories and character ) can be put into a computer, is totally flawed. A bit like when they assumed long ago " people " lived on the Moon. Otherwise... brilliant Sci-Fi.

[@Shaft0]

Its not about the mcguffin. Its always about its consequences/implications for human experience and or culture

[@TimC-Cambridge]

@@Shaft0 Yes, that's it, we " Human " love to portend.

[@BBolloBB]

'In a few years time there will be live ai generated video' haha yeah a few years 😬

[@danwroy]

It's so bad in 2024 even the cameras can't focus

[@sensiblename295]

Working for Netflix is part of the Establishment???? Who is he allowed to work for then?

[@Shaft0]

How is netflix not establishment?

[@keyboarddancers7751]

I was always amazed how Black Mirror (a show which depicted a Prime Minister pheurcking a sow amongst various mind-boggling themes) managed to miss the utterly bizarre dystopian phenomenon of men being celebrated by societies as versions of women. It seems even CB places strict limits on his imagination.

[@DJunclepaul2nd]

Throw him into the wilderness?

[@neilgodfrey2669]

How he managed to pull Blue Peter hotty Konnie Huq is worth a Black Mirror episode on its own.

[@anenglishmaninsandiego]

Snarky Douglas Adams.

[@DoubleOhSteffan]

Didn't realise he was such a bigot!

[@MA-ResearchEdu-e9l]

Considering he's the mastermind behind the most prescient TV show ever made (Black Mirror) Charlie is remarkably lacking in foreight in his predictions of AI at 20mins into this interview. I think he woefully underestimates what's coming, and is overly romantic about the uniqueness of human artists - soon AI will converge and outdo all human activity including creativity I'm afraid. Its not if its when.

[@stephclitheroe2565]

CGI has been used in movies for decades now and it's still not perfect, easy to spot, and can even ruin a good movie. There are qualities such as weight and volume that computers struggle to express visually. And the best art often comes from complicated human emotions, something a computer will never truly understand. So I can't see AI taking over creative roles for a long time.

[@MA-ResearchEdu-e9l]

@@stephclitheroe2565 The reason AI generated content will be indistinguishable from human content relatively soon, is that progress is not a gradual incline, but the graph of AI evolution is an exponential upward vertical arrow on graphs at the moment. 2 years ago it was a high school level, 1 year ago it was undergraduate, and now its at Masters level. Next year it will be at PhD level and very soon beyond human. Virtually no AI specialist or academic argues against this prediction. If anyone cracks quantum computing in the mean time, expect things to go fully sci fi even quicker....

[@MA-ResearchEdu-e9l]

@@stephclitheroe2565 PS while I like the romantic notion that computers will never understand emotion (and you could be well be right) with robotics having arrived and set to evolve as fast as AI, sensory information will soon feed into a greater intelligence, which will lead us to a discovery of if there really is any difference between carbon or silicon. I think whether your assumption/prediction here on computer understanding emotions probably depends on if the mind exists outside of brain cognition - ie we have a soul in another dimension that uses our body as a drone, OR whether emotions are just a combination of sensory information and brain cognition. If the latter, computers will then function as humans, but with greater not lesser understanding. Fascinating times - we will soon find out therefore whether humans really do have elements that are special, or whether we are far less special than we think. Will be interesting to see! It's not going to take long by all accounts.....

[@EDcaseNO]

​@@MA-ResearchEdu-e9l eh, this wave of machine learning is going to be transformative for sure, but it is not AI. A better term for it is *applied statistics,* it's growth has diminishing returns (power & data input vs performance scale) with current methods (~brute force). PHD, beyond human... sure; perhaps i am being too precious over the term, we humans are: meaning seeking, pattern predictor, mimicry machines. I have so many thoughts on the topic, but imo the hardest barrier currently is the lack of abstraction to 'new' problems (brute force). {then perhaps lack of fuzziness} regardless of semantics the world is not ready for the potential changes coming. soon these will be essential tools for many roles. how will they be wielded and deployed, both for good & ill but most often foolishly i'd wager. re: PS, _spoiler humans are always less special than we imagine_ ^^

[@Dolan-81]

Genuinely kills me how the show is unheard of amongst most people. It’s not on any of the big streaming services either which doesn’t help. Old grey cheese, Cloth!

[@simoontube]

Loved Brooker since the 90's. Sad to see him so blind to lefty 'misinformation', only seeing it on the right.

[@kkryder9176]

Cringe

[@markstephens1280]

Dull.

[@smalltown2223]

VOTE REFORM AND STOP THE BOATS.

[@shoxx48]

He's a bit of lib now

[@kkryder9176]

He always was lib lmao

[@alanbutterworth4219]

Definite gatekeeper.

[@tanzadog5403]

I just listened to 24's sound intro. And it is the same as black mirror. plagerism

[@CoClock]

lol

[@zimzam9166]

Wtf has happened to Brooker? I can barely follow his line of thought

[@kkryder9176]

He's literally always been like this

[@zimzam9166]

@@kkryder9176 disagree, his standup at least made sense back in the day

[@superthing]

Pretty disappointed that the host didn’t drill down on asking fundamental questions like what Charlie’s opinion was on the nature of consciousness in relation to AI. Also disappointed in most of Charlie’s answers anyway. I love Black Mirror but he really shouldn’t be interviewed in public, he comes across as a flippant comedian from the 1980s which is exactly what he is I suppose 🙃

[@quantumeseboy]

He's not upbeat, he's psychotic.

[@benjito.b]

Love Charlie, awful interviewer.

[@Ultratoast01]

This was awful: always remember your Nabakov: if you show a drum kit in the first act of a podcast, it must be played by the third.

[@peterlpool1387]

The last series of BM wasn’t good.

[@alanbutterworth4219]

I love Black Mirror but think Charlie Booker is lying when he says he's had no input about the future. The episodes are too prophetic about from where we were and where we are now. Too much of a coincidence to me. I also didn't like the "Right Said Fred" dig, presumably about their reticence about the Covid19 jabs being 'safe and effective'. Yeh right. He also contradicted himself saying he'd left social media because he felt it was full of bullies and here he is casting aspersions on someone who had no access to a right to reply.

[@kkryder9176]

You're a tinfoil nutter lad

[@jordanwillrog]

New seasons are terrible , brings a few episodes out every million years . ✋

[@christopherwhittaker2620]

The interviewer is awful.