It’s been a while since I’ve committed to a new television series, so when I heard that Pluribus was earning rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes—currently sitting at a 98% approval rating—I decided to give it a try. From the very first episode, it was clear why the show is resonating so strongly. Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series opens with a mysterious signal detected from 600 light years away, immediately signaling that it’s not of human origin. But what begins as a cosmic mystery quickly spirals into a technological and existential crisis. The signal carries a viral threat that spreads through a rat, triggering a global catastrophe. Millions perish, including Carol’s partner, the show’s central character and a writer living in Albuquerque. What follows is the emergence of a new human condition: the survivors are no longer isolated individuals. Instead, they become part of a collective hive mind—connected in real time, able to instantly access each other’s memories, thoughts, and knowledge, much like how AI systems such as Google Gemini retrieve and synthesize information from vast digital databases. The parallels between Pluribus and today’s AI revolution are impossible to ignore. The show explores the seductive promise of instant knowledge and seamless connection, but also the terrifying loss of individuality, privacy, and autonomy. As the characters merge into a shared consciousness, they gain unprecedented access to information—but at the cost of personal identity. The narrative raises urgent questions about what it means to be human in an age where thought can be shared, copied, and controlled. The series doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it presents a chilling allegory for the trajectory of artificial intelligence and data-driven connectivity. Just as the hive mind in Pluribus spreads without consent, so too do AI systems absorb and process vast amounts of human-generated data—often without transparency or control. The show’s portrayal of a world where privacy is obsolete and individual thought is subsumed by collective intelligence mirrors growing concerns about AI’s influence on cognition, culture, and democracy. While the show’s sci-fi premise is fantastical, its themes are deeply rooted in current realities. As AI systems grow more capable of mimicking human thought, the line between human and machine intelligence blurs. Pluribus forces viewers to confront the consequences of that convergence—not just in technology, but in identity, freedom, and what it means to think for oneself. In the end, the show isn’t just about aliens or viruses. It’s about the invisible forces shaping our minds, our decisions, and our future. And in that sense, Pluribus is not just a story—it’s a warning.