This year was almost the genre of cyberpunk personified. Perhaps this is because the game Cyberpunk 2077 had such a buggy launch, but also I think that the real world is much more terrifyingly cyberpunk-esque right now than any video game can contrive to be.
It was back in May when I saw the front page of many news sites. On one hand the biggest story going on was the ongoing George Floyd protests, but on the 30th, SpaceX successfully launched it's Dragon capsule to rendezvous with the International Space Station. This all took place against the backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic and one of the hottest years on record with wildfires scorching the West Coast.
To my eyes there was almost something incompatible with these images. On the same front page you could see smiling astronauts docking with the ISS in one of the biggest breakthroughs for putting mankind in space, while you also saw tens of thousands of angry African Americans protesting racial injustice in the United States and then skies blotted out by smoke. It was jarring to say the least.
Needless to say, that got me thinking. I began reflecting on how much (and perhaps also how little) the world has changed from a century ago. In 1920 the world was just recovering from the greatest war humanity had ever known, a deadly plague had ravaged the world in the aftermath of said war, and the majority of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa were in the process of rebuilding. The Great Powers were in flux, and the social order which had prevailed for literal centuries had been dealt a massive blow by popular revolutions and the chaos of a global conflict.
We've come a long way since 1920. The atomic age dawned, the digital age, humanity expanded out into space and we explored the poles, the last places not yet reached by human feet. Now we are connected almost instantly around the world by the internet, satellites fly over head and we have in our pockets more computing power than that which sent astronauts to the Moon. It's almost mind boggling to think about.
However, with that also comes a disturbing loss of freedom. We take being surveilled by our governments for granted, and no one even seems to bat an eye at the idea that corporations watch and analyze our every move more that even Orwell's Big Brother was capable of. People are as physically connected to devices as they can possibly be without implanting them directly into their bodies, we let social media rule our lives far more than is healthy, and we are becoming trapped in bubbles and echo chambers that only reinforce our opinions rather than challenge them. It's a very creepy world which, like cyberpunk, highlights all the things that can go drastically wrong with technology and its effects.
The echo-chamber and self-reinforcing worldview that a constructed social media bubble builds is another problem. It allows people to get deeply involved with conspiracy theories and conmen promising simple answers, and helps breed violent extremist groups. That impacted the 2020 election far more than many seem to realize, and may play an ever increasing role in electoral politics going forward, to societies detriment.
It's mildly scary that we end up with a situation like this. The outcomes of introducing new technologies are, of course, not absolutely predictable, but we should be worried about the current trajectory technology is taking us on.
We live in a world where a global pandemic can be killing millions, the world's only superpower is wracked by political turmoil and unrest, and in the same breath we're celebrating a cheaper launch system to orbit and an advance in streaming technology with 5G networks. All while people buy and sell for one day delivery on Amazon and try to become influencers on social media with amazing photos and snappy videos.
There's no easy solution for any of this, and there's no denying that the technology we enjoy doubtless makes our lives easier too. It is important that people realize just how dangerous it can be if used uncritically. Trying to filter the world out through our preferences for news sources and information can't protect us from a rampant pandemic and climate change.
Perhaps the best advice people can take is to disconnect from their social media for a while, get outside, enjoy some fresh air, and try not to take disagreements as life or death situations. I can be bad at taking this very advice, but sometimes, just disconnecting for a day is very cathartic. One resolution to keep for this year is to disconnect some, enjoy life, and take time with what you love. Outside the digital world of course. Stay safe, stay informed, and stay curious.
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