New Worlds: We are living in the future of J.G. Ballard or William Gibson
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Everyday news items show we now live in a Ballard or Gibson-style future.
The author argues we are living in a cyberpunk present, collecting real news clippings as evidence: IV drip clinics in shopping malls, robotic dogs patrolling migrant hotels, AI-generated music by anonymous artists with millions of listeners, a narco-sub seized in the Atlantic, a robot that chased wild boars in Warsaw, delivery robots in Bristol, a robot theme park in Seoul, the Enhanced Games encouraging doping, Meta's smart glasses with facial recognition, AI attending meetings, and a ban on foreign-made humanoid robot imports. The author notes the mundane acceptance of these advances.
What commenters are saying
Commenters largely agree that the future is unevenly distributed and that we adapt quickly to technological changes. A top comment highlights Gibson's prescience, especially his prediction that AIs would make art, and notes that social coherence may break down at scales exceeding Dunbar's number. Others recommend starting points for reading Ballard, such as Crash, High-Rise, and The Atrocity Exhibition. Several commenters mention the merger of governments, corporations, and organized crime as another correct prediction.