One topic mentioned in Chapter 10 was the idea of artificial intelligence (AI) replacing the workforce. Although this topic was not directly addressed in Free Guy, it still featured elements of the topic in the movie. The NPCs of the movie are driven by some sort of advanced AI, which was not designed to take jobs but instead was designed to make a realistic human-like experience. However, this would inevitably also reduce the amount of people needed to work on NPCs in the future. As there already exists a system for these NPCs, any workers adding more would not have to code specific behavior and would instead apply this AI to them. So, this would be an example of AI doing the work of human workers.
Another topic mentioned was that people hate technology taking away work yet are still fascinated with automation. This fascination with automation could be extended to Millie’s relationship with Guy. Guy is an AI, yet he mimics the behavior and emotional responses of a real human. Most people would not wish to have a relationship with a computer, and yet Guy’s realistic behavior facilitates a relationship between him and Millie. However, she does not initially know that Guy is an AI. So, she ultimately does not choose to continue this relationship because of her opinion that AI should not replace humanity entirely.
Chapter 10 also discussed that despite automation taking away jobs, work hours have increased and continue increasing when people get fired. This can be seen in the movie as Antwan, being an unkind boss, does not care about the well-being of his employees. He fires Keys during the movie, and continuously pushes his employees to reach unrealistic deadlines. This results in Dude being an unfinished NPC despite all the people trying hard to finish his character on time.
Section 10.3 discusses a general history of breakthroughs in AI. The AI of the NPCs shown in the movie is incredibly advanced, far past modern capabilities, being able to react as a human might to its environment and learn from past experiences. As ChatGPT is changing our world, these advanced NPCs likely also changed the world of Free Guy. The game clearly has a large influence on people, as shown by many streamers and people all over the world watching the news for more information about the Blue Shirt Guy. In addition, the people at the end are all interested in simply watching the AIs interact with their own world. So, it is likely that they too are just as captivated by this breakthrough AI program. In fact, it seems that this artificial intelligence has reached Artificial General Intelligence, as it can act just as a human would. However, in this world, the singularity has not been reached. Even though an artificial general intelligence has been made, there has not been any advancement past human-level intelligence, implying that the Free Guy world has a limit to AI where it will not develop past the abilities of a human.
Section 10.4.4 mentions how technology has given companies the ability to monitor their employees. This is shown in-game and in real life, as Antwan and other employees are shown to have the ability to see the locations of all players in the game. In addition, he knows whether or not his employees have left the building, and uses that information to send security guards to search for Keys. However, this surveillance technology does not show an employee’s location within the building or an NPC’s location in-game.
Section 10.5.6 mentions electronic waste, which is likely what would happen to all of the servers that Antwan took an axe to.
Section 10.7 describes the “Winner-Take-All” society, where the top earners take a disproportionate share of the rewards. This can be compared to Antwan, who is the CEO of the company and likely makes far more money than his employees. He earned this money mostly from Free City, and even though it was built on code that Millie and Keys made, Keys receives only the same salary as any other employee at the company whereas Millie doesn’t get anything from the game as she no longer works at the company.