That cyberpunk thread

[marurun]

What kind of base implants do they set you up with?

It would probably all be headware considering my work.

Actually the really funny thing is that when we talk about automating our entire workload in my department, we fully expect it will require an AI that understands things like parody.

Once AIs learn sarcasm (and can correctly identify it in context) we're doomed.

[Exhuminator]

I suspect that a rogue AI wouldn't be given the capability to directly fire off nukes to end the human race. But I think it could have enough leeway to fool the nuclear attack alert systems and trick humans into doing the job themselves.

[TSTR]

LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE

c[:|]

[Pulsar_t]

Watch Dogs didn't have an interesting story, but its world had lots of promise, that might actually show in the sequel. Today's world is pretty much heading in the direction promised by cyberpunk more than four decades prior. We could have also been playing the new Deus Ex now, but it being delayed was probably the right decision.



If you're looking for cyberpunk fiction, you can't go wrong with Metrophage.. If you read it, give me similar recommendations naw dammit

[chuckster]

I love Cyberpunk, and even though we have already surpassed or bypassed many of the hallmarks of traditional cyberpunk, I don't believe that lessens its appeal for the target audience. Consider Steampunk or Dieselpunk, which were created long after the notion of their being unrealistic was a forgone conclusion.

Cyberpunk is about applying real-world paradigms to a future with specifically advanced technology, usually revolving around 'cyberspace', internet connectivity, or the impact of technology on human identity. Usually these paradigms are of the more seedy variety, thus the 'punk'. At least this is what seems to separate it from other forms of science fiction, though I think most speculative fiction includes a dash of cyberpunk when looked at in this light.

I love how Ghost in the Shell really takes this to the limit with philosophical refections on such issues, it's the deepest cyberpunk world I've ever seen or read into. I did like Neuromancer, but I really thought it was a poor book on literary terms, it had good imagery but fell short in most other areas. I thought Snow Crash was better, or at least more fleshed out, and Alistair Reynolds injected a good bit of thoughtful cyberpunk into the Revelation Space universe with this book.


It's a really interesting look into how a city dependent on nano-machines as a cure-all and universal building block is affected when a virus turns those same machines into a destructive force, and how people adjust their everyday lives years later.

Does anyone have any leads on good essays or discussion forums for cyberpunk concepts like the impacts of AI, digitization of the mind, and omni-present connections to the internet even on an internal, mental level (a development you can really see progressing) on humanity?

[BoringSupreez]

I love how Ghost in the Shell really takes this to the limit with philosophical refections on such issues, it's the deepest cyberpunk world I've ever seen or read into. I did like Neuromancer, but I really thought it was a poor book on literary terms, it had good imagery but fell short in most other areas. I thought Snow Crash was better, or at least more fleshed out, and Alistair Reynolds injected a good bit of thoughtful cyberpunk into the Revelation Space universe with this book.

On the topic of both anime and cyberpunk, you have to watch Serial Experiments Lain if you haven't already. If you like Ghost in the Shell for the philosophical elements, there's a 95% chance you're going to like Lain too. I just watched through it myself a few months ago and I thought it was fantastic. It's got a great theme song and doesn't have the usual generic anime art style to boot.

[Exhuminator]

Neuromancer is a terribly written book full of amazing ideas.

I thought Gibson's earlier work "Burning Chrome" was much better.

If you guys love classic cyberpunk, this is a must:

[Xeogred]

Has Phillip K Dick ever written an actual novel? Or is it just all short stories? Is there some anthology/set of all his work out there?

I'm not liking what I'm hearing about Neuromancer here haha. I don't really read at all and that was one my planned books to get to at some point, and maybe giving Dune another shot.

[Exhuminator]

Dune is an infinitely better book than Neuromancer. But I wouldn't consider Dune cyberpunk.

[Xeogred]

I was just randomly mentioning it. Those two and maybe Jurassic Park are essentially the only three novels I've slightly considered reading in the last decade or so. Someday!