I wouldn't consider using people on bicycles to power society good science. It's probably one of the most inefficient methods of energy generation. That episode seemed a bit far fetched to me.
I agree that it would be terrible science, but since that seems so clear - the bicycles could barely power the screens in front of them at the speed the people were riding, let alone the greater world - I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed that they're literally make-work. The (presumably uneducated) riders may believe they're doing something necessary, but this could be a picture of a dystopian post-scar…
Agreed. I didn't take from this that they were powering society for the 1%. I took that they were powering their own world and earning currency to keep them otherwise entertained. If you look at the small picture of what was going on, it is easy to see that perhaps they were cycling to power something to just to earn said currency in order to enjoy futuristic creature comforts like not having to watch commercials, eating healthier food, dressing up their avatar, etc. However, I took the idea of cycling as a way to occupy people's time and found that it could easily be a way to reduce or eliminate crime. If people are always riding in order to earn money to buy trivial things then they really have no time to be doing anything nefarious. I noticed nobody was watching a news channel or reading a newspaper which leads me to believe the trivial things (skipping commercials, food that is healthier and thus more expensive thus requiring more riding, and dressing up your avatar) are just enough to keep them satiated but not enough to invoke any feelings of unrest that could foster rebellion within the system (for the most part).