Interactive. Violent. Gross. Inside Fishtank, the Unhinged Future of Reality TV
Key takeaways
- Inside the mansion there are no immediate signs of a massacre, but the decor alone arouses suspicion.
- The police return to the driveway and ask, “What is it that you guys are doing here?”
- “We’re just livestreaming,” says a man in a camo hat named Matt.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
PHOTOGRAPH: Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story On March 16, 2026, at 5:45 pm in a leafy suburb of Atlanta called Sandy Springs, police pound on the door of a neglected French Country–style mansion, rifles at the ready, bodycams rolling. Minutes earlier, a distress call came from someone claiming to be hiding from a gunman in the mansion's downstairs bathroom. The dispatcher heard a gunshot ring out in the distance, then the line disconnected. “Open the door!” an officer yells. A calm young man with a mullet and woolly eyebrows steps out, hands raised. The police ask him who else is in the house. “Just my friends,” he replies, as seven other young people, men and women, silently file out behind him, less evidently relaxed. They remain outside while two officers search the house.
Inside the mansion there are no immediate signs of a massacre, but the decor alone arouses suspicion. All of the windows are frosted over, so only a chilly light leaks in. The place is a mess, and the walls are adorned with lurid, seemingly AI-generated art: a frowning baby holding an assault rifle, a rubber ducky bobbing in a mug of what looks like black coffee, a lidless and levitating eyeball crying into a martini glass. The rooms are painted primary colors, grass green and cherry red, like a kindergarten class. A vape dangles from a doorframe by a chain, suspended at mouth level. The pantry is practically empty. The bedroom is a dormitory featuring seven identical twin beds.
No one is hiding in the bathroom. The call, it seems, was a prank. The police return to the driveway and ask, “What is it that you guys are doing here?”