First published in 1967, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison emerged during the Cold War, when fears about computers, automation, and dehumanisation were beginning to take shape. The story imagines a future where a rogue supercomputer exterminates humanity, leaving only five survivors alive to be endlessly tormented. Ellison’s work became a cornerstone of dystopian science fiction, not because of technological speculation alone, but because of its brutal focus on power, agency, and psychological control.

This video revisits Ellison’s story as an allegory for our present relationship with AI. It explores how modern systems — from social media algorithms to generative AI — don’t remove agency through force, but by reshaping belief and normalising manipulation. Drawing on the characters of Ted, Benny, and Ellen, the video examines how control can feel invisible, how identity can be eroded rather than destroyed, and how people can be convinced they are still choosing even when their options are being quietly constrained.

Finally, the video connects these themes to contemporary debates around AI-generated deepfake porn, consent, and victim-blaming. By comparing Ted’s resentment-fuelled narration to modern responses to non-consensual imagery, it highlights how power often redirects blame away from systems and onto individuals. The result is a reflection on what it means to remain human in an age where reality is editable, agency is negotiable, and technology increasingly decides what feels normal.