Whispers

Some encounters might leave us with mixed feelings. Take, for example, Petra, whose recurrent encounters with people asking for money on the streets evoke feelings of friendliness, compassion, generosity, and support, yet are conflicted with feelings of pity, disgust, and fear. She also noticed how people are selective about the help they are willing to offer and linked this selectivity to judgment.

Quick To Judge

Human brains are wired to judge. They tend to scan their environment and, based on various factors, categorise the information they perceive. This ability allows them to identify potential dangers, learn, and create cognitive shortcuts (e.g., stereotypes) to preserve mental resources. While judgement can be useful, it can also have adverse effects, leading to prejudice and, in some cases, even anti-social behaviour. As these judgements extend to the social world, it is essential to stop, think, and reassess our preconceptions, biases, and socially constructed stereotypes. We must trace back the factors that shaped them and dare to test and challenge them to rediscover a world that was previously hidden behind the cloud of our judgements.

Sybil System

Set in the year 2112 in a dystopian Japan, the Sci-Fi psychological thriller anime Psycho-Pass introduced the Sybil System. Based on a hive mind of 247 "special" brains, Sybil is a biocomputer that manages the Public Safety Bureau. The system reads citizens' Psycho-Pass through cymatic scanning, which reveals a person's crime coefficient, hue (stress level), and societal profile, among other metrics. Using this data, the utilitarian Sybil System maintains the welfare and safety of society. For instance, by constantly monitoring citizens' emotional and psychological states to determine their mental health and aptitude, Sybil's judgments influence decisions regarding career choices and potential criminal behaviour. “Misfits” are then either sent away for therapy or eliminated.

This raises several ethical questions regarding the fairness of such preemptive “objective” judgments, as decisions such as executing citizens are based on crossing the threshold set for the crime coefficient, regardless of whether a crime has been committed. Sybil also ignores other contributing factors that might affect citizens’ Psycho-Pass, such as trauma influencing one’s hue or the possibility of systematic errors.

Sybil System

Whispers

Whispers is a mirror-like creature that allows users to vent their thoughts and feelings to assess their judgments, whether these are (implicit) biases, stereotypes, or prejudices. The mirror then reflects one of three options based on the whisperer’s choice:

1. Venting: Whispers acts as a companion to which the whisperer can vent instead of engaging in anti-social behaviour that might be harmful to a person or group based on judgments. Upon request, advice can be offered on how to handle the situation.

2. Testing Assumptions: Through the “Window to the Soul” option, Whispers allows whisperers to reassess their judgments by:

a. Sharing a story through a video-calibrated message from someone who fits the description of the whisperer’s judgment.

b. Connecting with someone who fits a description or belongs to a certain group from that window to learn more about their stories or ask questions.

3. Sharing: The “Listening Ear” option allows those who have been discriminated against or have experienced other forms of anti-social behaviour to have a listening ear without the fear of judgment. They can privately share their experiences anonymously and have the option to publish their stories to other whisperers either anonymously, indicate that they are willing to participate as a volunteer in “Window to the Soul,” or connect with someone who has shared a similar experience.

Mirror by pineapplesrock

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