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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Adam Fleet

The robots are coming – for the gig economy: the smart satire of Lapsis

Dean Imperial as quantum cabler Ray in Lapsis
‘The age-old story of wealth created off the back of a labouring class’ … Dean Imperial as quantum cabler Ray in Lapsis Photograph: pr

Armed with a unique premise and some thoughtful ideas, Noah Hutton’s 2020 film Lapsis is a sharp piece of job-hell science fiction that takes a shot at exploitative casual labour and the gig economy. The world of Lapsis is almost identical to ours but with one significant difference: the advancement of quantum computing, which has revolutionised society.

Quantum trading is a huge business and, to support it, an equally huge infrastructure must be set up. Enter the cablers: a casually employed workforce who trek through the forests of upstate New York, armed with only a GPS device and a spool of cable, to connect quantum trading nodes situated throughout the countryside.

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