Tech. Predictions in "Johnny Mnemonic"

(Disclaimer: This post does not mean I like Elon Musk as a person. Please don't cancel me!) 

I don't have a lot to say about what we've been talking about recently, but as a tech fanatic I think it is interesting how William Gibson predicted some (currently charged) topics in the current tech. realm via his short story "Johnny Mnemonic". 

In the story, Johnny — the narrator, who goes by the alias Eddie Bax at the start of the story — can store vast amounts of sensitive data in his head via some technical interface... making him a target of the Yakuza. This instantly reminded me of Elon Musk's Neuralink brain implant. The goal(s) of Musk's Neuralink is to restore brain function to those who are neurologically impaired, but they also note the potential to sync their BCI (brain-computing interfaces) with AI and computers in the long term.

Gibson's story was both surreal and dystopian to me, and underscores the (very real) discussion that educators and researchers are having in terms of the ethical, economic, social, and human implications of AI and data use. I can't imagine what readers thought about this in 1981... they were probably both freaked out and amazed at the same time. It was just interesting for me to see how much we've progressed as a society in roughly 40 years. 

Also, Musk has noted previously how Sci-Fi has impacted him in his creations. Here are some links some articles if you're interested:  

https://www.tbsnews.net/feature/panorama/culture-sci-fi-series-shaped-elon-musks-ideas-133537

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/06/elon-musk-says-this-science-fiction-classic-changed-his-life.html

- Max