My love for Cyberpunk pt I
So everyone seemed to love Matrix, more people remember other Cyberpunk classics like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and even some have some classic cyberpunk novels like neuromancer. However my love for cyberpunk goes a bit beyond some cheeze series like "Automan" and movies like Videodrome.
For the people that is not completely related to what cyberpunk is, first is to know the difference between cyberpunk vs future science fiction, or mechanical sci fi. Cyber has to do with data, so there doesnt need to be incredible AI or robot wars. Really cyberpunk has to do with data, which is most of the times something very hard to reproduce, since the data is for all, invisible. Cyberwars are fought everyday nowadays between countries with no news reporting on them, and data has to do with inteligence.
Large governmental institutions like the NSA opressing freedom fighters that tries to push information into the wild. Some might think of Wikileaks as a first great war on cyberspace that was actually gather the mainstream attention, with a wildcard like Julian Assange liberating papers regarding information on the military, the banks and of course government spying on other governments, which makes it something of a whistleblower.
Lately it has been all about Russia and China hacking US based databases and other organizations around the world.
But what are these weapons of mass destruction, these super hacker teams and what is the technology about it. Although cyberpunk novelists might be more excited about infrastructure viruses being smuggle into a nuclear facility like the late Stuxnet being engineered by the US to attack some nuclear program in the middle east, all to have it backfired.
Even the recent MrRobot about hacking companies after companies all to make it into ECorp and bringing a mega-monopoly to its knee, makes me think of Cyberpunk classics where real code is written and exchange in a malware battle.
Reality has more to do with a things like fighting troll, bots, script kiddies, and DoSS attacks. Sure there is other attacks like defacing, XSS, and other type of attacks. However real communities experience different nature of attacks beyond code itself. It goes into social engineering, identity theft, and in a centralized environments, reports, and just pushing it out of the network "twitter suicide".
However for me, cyberpunk or the cyberpunk I want has to do with more of the internal impact of technology in humanity. Basically the way that humans rely on technology to a mental, philosophical and even emotional level. Let's first look at all three:
- mental: as in memory, where all your memories not only are stored on your brain it's also stored on a digital recording. Reminding some of the google glasses, and other assitance on reminding passwords, sites, and conversations.
- philosophical: this is where people believe that the relationship with the code, with software or even technology are used as idealization of things. Thinking digital first, like a computer, like data, a good example is having a thought process like a machine. The ethics and the way humans have change and evolve the way they interact with technology.
- emotional: the emotional support from either a computer or community, which si something that most humans can now relate. With popular bloggers than in real life are not very social, or just gamers that con have a succesful relationship only through a game.
Cyberpunk for me is about culture and life. Why not automate things in real life like a coder will write a script to automate some things like creating money, and working. Can we apply all this to normal life, like taking care of kids, dealing with the spouse and outside family. From ideas such as Tim Ferris "4 hour work week" about outsourcing life to people that will buy flowers for our wives after a fight.
Once we start learning about the intimate relationship between humans and technology to the point that humans act like software and not only software acting like humans, is really the real reason cyberpunk want to discover and break new ground. Not just blinking lights all over us. Actually cyberpunk is no difference than dealing with brain drugs, and other type of addictions until it becomes a way of life. Not to say cyberpunk is bad, but rather saying about how can new rules of society are evolving, or could evolve.
What are your thoughts about cyberpunk? Is it about robots, androids, and super dense cities with technology beyond our imagination or just a futuristic way of predicting new tech?
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Steemer, crypto fan, like to listen to 90s hip hop, and loves to chat about Linux Python and Free software. Runs a local Tech club in sunny Cancun, and enjoys hoping on planes and landing somewhere else.
Matrix lost me at the battery.
That was SO stupid.
Nice one Alex. I do remember reading Neuromancer as a kid; that novel is pretty bad ass... It paints a picture of a kind of bleak, gritty future.
The point about emotional support from a machine makes me think of Her... Of course, that isn't in the cyberpunk style, but it does raise some interesting questions about how we relate to computers - questions which we might have to ask in our own lives in the next 10-20 years.
I pretty much love all movies with computers as a main part of the plot. The hacking. The dystopian cities. The data mules. Everything. I love tech. Same with books. Right now I only read scifi like snow crash, ready player one etc.
I loved of Count Zero.
The only way humans will survive along side machines is if we are as smart of them. This means we must integrate the same technologies in our mental selves or just become hybrids to keep up. I love Cyberpunk though, I incorporate it into a lot of my art and music.