Panaji, September 2025: What happens when technologies meant to make life safer and more efficient end up controlling it instead? This question anchored Last Call for Tomorrow, a compelling session held during MOG Sunday at the Museum of Goa. The event featured the screening of TAAK, a thought-provoking film by director Udit Khurana, followed by a panel discussion on the growing role of surveillance in everyday life.
Presented by the Museum of Imagined Futures (MOIF) in collaboration with the Storiculture Impact Fellowship, the event delved into how digitalisation subtly but profoundly impacts our personal freedoms — especially for workers in vulnerable positions.
TAAK, set in the world of night-shift security personnel, follows the story of workers compelled to wear tracking devices. While marketed as tools for “safety,” these devices steadily erode autonomy, creating an environment of suspicion and coercion.
Film producer Mathivanan Rajendran explained, “Technology is rarely neutral. It comes embedded with power structures. We need to ask — safety for whom, and at what cost?” His comments struck a chord with attendees, who resonated with the idea that technologies often serve interests far removed from those most affected by them.
Vedika Pareek, representing Storiculture’s business and legal vertical, emphasised the need to use storytelling as a way to raise difficult but necessary questions. “Cinema can create empathy, but the real conversation happens afterwards — in spaces like this,” she said, noting how inclusive dialogue is key to reimagining the future.
The discussion, moderated informally with audience participation, also included insights from Karan Saini, a public interest technologist, who warned that what begins as workplace efficiency can morph into lifestyle control. “These technologies don’t just monitor how we work — they begin to decide how we live,” he cautioned.
The session highlighted the unequal effects of digitalisation — where tech may mean convenience for some, but surveillance and loss of agency for others. Particularly in India’s expanding gig and service economies, workers often face mandatory compliance with little room for consent.
The panellists collectively urged the audience not to treat digitalisation as destiny. Instead, they advocated for proactive, ethical interventions that prioritise human dignity, consent, and justice in the design and deployment of technology.
Last Call for Tomorrow is part of a larger initiative by MOIF to democratise conversations about the future. By combining art, film, and dialogue, the series encourages citizens, creatives, and technologists to pause and reflect before passively accepting the next wave of tech-driven change.
