One of my favorite worlds to engage in, whether it be through books or movies, is the cyberpunk reality world. The term “cyberpunk” is closely associated with sci-fi movies and video games, and they can construct these worlds to appear real to us. “Cyberpunk” is commonly described as a focus for high tech, but low life, as shown in movies such as Blade Runner and video games such as Mirror’s Edge, where there is an obvious boom in technology, but the poor and are even poorer and in many cases, the rich are richer. This causes an inevitable revolution or rebellion and ultimately a dystopia.
As exciting as it is to engage in these exciting worlds, is it safe to say that we as a race on Earth have reached that reality? Or are we even close to such a world? I would argue both yes, and no.
I have a fascination with high-tech cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, or even New York City to an extent. These cities, as well as the many others around the world, are constantly evolving their tech and aesthetic sensibilities. These individual cities can appear to flourish more in one year than every other town in the world combined. As cities become taller and brighter, they begin to resemble and operate like fictional worlds from sci-fi movies and video games. It’s exciting to see the resemblences between current cities and their fictional, sci-fi counterparts.
But are we there yet? If we compare our current world to some of the more far-out abstract worlds of Blade Runner or Star Trek, absolutely not. But if we look at Back to the Future or Total Recall, we can proudly say that we have developed some of the technologies featured in these movies, such as body scanners and wearable devices. Those are just two small steps towards a utopian, or possibly dystopian, future full of technological wonders.
However, the ideas expressed in books such as Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell’s 1984 have cautioned us that technologically advanced societies can become dystopias.
If we look closely at the video game Mirror’s Edge, for instance, we can see some obvious differences. Mirror’s Edge as a world resembles something out of a dream. The society in Mirror’s Edge reached a point in their technological status where every building is mile high and made of glass. In our world, imagine if every corner of the world was Times Square with all the lights and huge screens, but as high as the eye can see. I have always been intrigued with the possibility of reaching these literal heights in terms of technological advancements, but at what cost? In Mirror’s Edge, society has reached utopian status with virtually no crime, but every corner of their cities are monitored closely for unreasonable violations. With the recent scandals in cybersecurity and government spying, it’s interesting to see a reality where that could become the norm. Even in a world of constant technological breakthroughs, the creators of Mirror’s Edge show that societal oppression is still possible. It challenges the notion that as we become more advanced as a race, and that we have become invincible and safe from greed and oppression.
Another aspect of a cyber-integrated world is physical augmentation in humans, as well as in artificial intelligence. This is explored in video games such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution where humans are augmented (repaired with prosthetic limbs that are more advanced than the natural body), and movies such as Ex Machina where life-like AI are created. Prosthetics are being innovated every day to make the lives of disabled citizens easier. I often wonder, how far will we go with this research? The result as shown in Human Revolution is a world where augmented humans and normal humans are segregated to the point of violence. Will we one day reach a point where all humans are enhanced with augmentations more powerful than the body we were born with? Will this backfire harshly as shown in today’s video games and movies? I believe it is very possible, but we are skilled enough to control it, especially with our prospective engineers here at Stevens.
At the current rate at which our world is innovating, will we slowly solve the problems of the modern world such as starvation and war? Only time will tell. That task alone will determine if we reach a peaceful utopian society or a cruel dystopian society so technologically advanced that only a few can enjoy it while others are forced to endure it. As I see it, it really depends on the length we as humans will go to to achieve our technological goals. However, I fear that the result of our thirst for innovation will result in a war plagued world or a Big Brother that constantly watches over us. Overall, a cyberpunk afflicted society is commonly a result of an unfortunate event such as violent revolution against a corrupt power. Though we obviously have not reached such a desperate state, if we look at our world’s problems, we would notice that many of these problems are the result of technological advancement. The large protests everyday and the constant violence from both sides of the world are an indication of our potential to be dystopian and that ultimately raises the question of whether or not we have, or will reach, that cyberpunk dystopia that we see in movies and video games. I, for one, hope that a prosperous utopia awaits us in the future but only time will tell.
