2 ms·
The main irony I find is that '80s cyberpunk envisioned net tech to be the province of outlaws and daredevil dreamers, with the antagonist corporate giants ofte
by Apocryphon 3y ago
The main irony I find is that '80s cyberpunk envisioned net tech to be the province of outlaws and daredevil dreamers, with the antagonist corporate giants often being shadowy faceless monoliths resembling Japanese zaibatsu or IBM or Ma Bell, but the present moment is dominated by very consumer-friendly-presenting, bubbly-UX FAANGs. Instead of outright cold and imposing Tyrell Corporation pyramid dystopia you have cheeky customer service chatbot landing page dystopia. Definitely not the tone that Neuromancer was invoking, though I suppose by the time post-cyberpunk came about with Stephenson's works, the portrayal of the megacorps got more customer-facing.
- Gud 3y agoThe mega tech corporations are still developing. Gibsons vision can still come true.
- Apocryphon 3y agoNah, his stories take place on the desperate fringes beyond the reach of middle class consumerism. But in the real world, megacorps have to at least act like OCP from Robocop and appeal to the average Joe watching TV at home.
- beaugunderson 3y agoYour mention of zaibatsu reminded me of another Gibson adaptation, New Rose Hotel. Check it out if you want to hear Christopher Walken say "zaibatsu".