Week 9 - Cyberpunk

In this weeks lecture the complex theory of Cyberpunk was discussed at length. Cyberpunk is the amalgamation of cybernetics and punk. It is part of the broad science fiction genre, and focuses on the ideas of computers and technology, body enhancements and powerful corporations the rule the world in an often anarchistic, dystopian society. These ideas make up the themes that are part of cyberpunk. It’s a theme that is being used more and more in Hollywood movies. Humanity seems to rely so heavily on technology that it seems it is held to ransom by it. That's what I got from the lecture

The reading this week, from William Gibson’s Burning Chrome, was a prime example of cyberpunk, manifested in this book of short stories. Burning Chrome encompassed the idea of a world where technological advancements have allowed people to have biological implants and body parts. Databases and networks in this fictional world are virtual – and often exploited by hackers such as the two that lead the story. It touches on several issues like this. While it might seem far fetched it’s easy to see how the future of technology could transform the world into one like Burning Chrome. We already have implants of sorts, and our world is becoming more reliant on databases.