In a world inhabited by unimaginable demons, the most frightening sight was a familiar face.
Protagonist Ringo and his band Devil Summoners were near the finish line – they finally exposed their nemesis’ identity and were ready to take them down. But on the way to the encounter, as they ran through secluded alleyways and infinite rows of shipping containers, one particular demon stood out from the rest. He looked exactly like Ringo: the same clothes, the same hair, the same sword in his hands. The only difference was that a shadow was cast over their heads that covered their eyes, and they smiled ear-to-ear when they were ready to attack.
This was the first time I laid eyes on a doppelganger in a JRPG soul hackers 2, This demon, which has been present in many games Shin Megami Tensei The series (of which Soul Hackers, such as Devil Summoner and Persona, is a spinoff), has the ability to mimic one’s appearance. As if finding a reflection of itself wasn’t terrifying enough, the description of the universe adds to its unstoppable presence. In soul hackers 2, considered the doppelganger to be a “phantom copy of a living being”. Demons are generally considered to be an omen of misfortune – while it is common for others to see them from afar, it is said that “one can see one’s own doppelganger in the moments before he dies.”
Image: Atlus/Sega via Polygon
When Ringo survived the encounter, I was feeling uneasy. Later, as is common in developer Atlas’s suite of games, I had a chance to recruit the demon, and he mocked the group: “I’m the doppelganger… or maybe you’re fake, and I’m real.” The mimic was not only supernatural, but the protagonist was proud to be so easily recreated. In terms of soul hackers 2, in which society is under constant surveillance and an AI named Aion acts as a supervillain who literally predicted the end of the world, the prospect is even more terrifying. If Ringo, the embodiment of the universe’s vast ocean of information, can be so easily imitated, is there any secrecy left?
In August, Motherboard reported how Facebook shared a private conversation between a 17-year-old and his mother with law enforcement, providing details for an investigation into an apparent abortion performed at their home in Nebraska. since Roe vs. Wade was reversed, denying the right to access safe and legal abortion in some US states, sparking renewed concern about the data being collected, particularly in relation to period tracking apps. What’s more, in an NPR report, Evan Greer, director of digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, pointed out that using data-collecting apps at clinics offering abortion services could also keep a record of the location. “Any app that is collecting sensitive information about your health or your body should be given an extra level of scrutiny,” Greer told NPR.
Soul Hackers 2 sounds dystopian – but with the current state of the world, it’s not entirely unbelievable
As companies continue to collect and sell personal information through apps (and now Amazon-owned Roombas), identity theft is becoming increasingly common. AI imaging tools like DALL-E can effectively recreate the work of multiple artists and win competitions. Deepfakes are still a thing. Cyber attacks, impersonators, data breaches – the list goes on.
soul hackers 2 Set in a fictional depiction of the 21st century where privacy is of no importance. One conversation in particular, in which someone asks Ringo if it would be possible for Aeon to read minds, paints a grim reality. While literal “mind reading” cannot technically be achieved, the amount of data collected from each individual could easily yield a similar result, allowing the AI to guess the answers in certain conversations, Before the words get out of the person’s mouth. It sounds dystopian – but with the current state of the world, it’s not entirely unbelievable.
This future is shaping up in our daily routine on different scales. While writing this article, I saw a Tik Tok feature breaking badHeisenberg dancing to “Despecha” by Rosalia is being shared on Twitter and Instagram. To the trained eye, one can easily understand that this is a random person using deepfakes of Bryan Cranston’s character. But out of the thousands of comments on the entire profile, which has millions of views and followers, not everyone notices that it is fake.
Ringo’s doppelganger was also not a perfect match, but it was enough to trick some. During a side mission called “Girls Night Out”, a detective confronts Ringo to say that she was seen shopping at two different stores. The managers demand payment they think is owed, before the detective learns that Ringo had been spotted at one of the subway lines moments earlier. Turns out, the thief was always a doppelganger.
In soul hackers 2The sight of a doppelganger is often an omen of misfortune. In our case, it’s a terrifying reminder of the constantly surveyed dystopias we draw closer to each day. We don’t need AI to predict our grim future – there’s living proof already all around us.
