Cyberpunk 2077 is the Future, and That is Not Good
The cyberpunk future silicon valley and big tech promised us is failing to materialize. Keep in mind that cyberpunk is the more disgusting take on the technologically enhanced future we envision for ourselves; the more optimistic aspirations more closely resemble Star Trek or Star Wars, and we've long since entirely given up hope in achieving those. There is only one reason why I see the cyberpunk future stuttering in its manifestation having sputtered out in its inception: the utter failure of Cyperpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 is the Future, and That's Not Good
Cyberpunk 2077 is a blueprint of a future driven by technology. Almost any transformation imaginable is achievable through bodily modifications made possible by the merging of mind and machine. In Cyberpunk 2077, you don't implant chips into your arms -- you replace your arm altogether with a computerized replica with a built-in GeForce RTX 3090 and boasting three times the muscular power of your outdated, biological appendage.
Cyberpunk 2077's world is not pretty. It's a rundown, derelict Los Angeles where corporations control (this time, literally) everything. While the city was meant to be a dystopia, its technology was intended to be inspirational. The core aspects of the technology presented in the game were the implantable microchips, brain implants, body modifications, self-driving cars, and insane VR. While the technology was interesting, I view its effects on the game's world as a warning to avoid it.
Fortunately, I don't think we will have to avoid it intentionally, as avoiding it appears to be happening naturally. For one thing, Cyberpunk 2077 itself is a lesson in our failure to even manifest visions of the future correctly. We couldn't get the game about the future technology to function; how much less are we going to be able to get the technology itself to run?
Everything in Cyberpunk is based on computer chips. But we are in the middle of a chip shortage, hence the rising price in used cars.
Maybe the people building the real future are of a different caliber than the devs making the game. I'm positive that's right. But I don't think it will be enough.
I know it takes a long time to build the future, but what in Cyberpunk's future is worth even trying to achieve? Since the time of 3G, we've had enough power and connection speed in our phones to be able to do anything we really wanted to, but now we're implementing 5G. I don't need or want faster Internet connections while I'm at the grocery store. I would rather see real, new technology that makes the world more exciting.
Right now, the technology world is hiding behind the diminishing returns of yearly updates to our smart phones. There are some real geniuses out there who are doing the real hard work of building truly novel technologies and products. But the majority of our so-called enhancements are trivial. Worse than that, they are buggy. Just like Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 is our future -- a buggy, glitched product rushed out the door in an unfinished state to reap some profit for the investors.
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