I’ve always enjoyed writing Science Fiction, but as we move through time, a problem that’s haunted writers for decades is becoming even more problematic: the future is already here. As soon as we come up with something amazing and outlandish, poof, it’s real. This isn’t necessarily an issue, but you can end up looking rather foolish if you’re writing about “tomorrow’s” technology when it actually already exists.
I’m hardcore into the Cyberpunk genre, and I think it’s clear to most modern Cyberpunk fans that this is not really a futuristic genre anymore: we already live in a Cyberpunk world, in so many ways. That being said, real life can still provide a rich world of inspiration for how burgeoning technology could create complex dilemmas for humanity. Plus, it’s just plain cool that so much of this amazing technology actually exists.
Because I work in academia, I’m always swimming in research articles. I also read a lot of technology news, and there are so many unbelievable inventions coming out that it’s surprisingly easy to forget about some of them. With that in mind, I started jotting down blurbs of existing or upcoming technologies that might be fun to include in future stories.
The following list just consists of the things that I’ve been scribbling out for my own notes, but they’re all “ripped from the headlines,” as it were. As a heads up, some of these points haven’t totally come to fruition or are also about social change as related to a Cyberpunk or dystopian future. Since my notes are ongoing, I expect to update this list from time to time. Without further adieu:
Neural Mesh, flexible
USB dongles that can make a computer totally crash
Password hacking using multiple processors all wired together
Complex cybernetic limbs
Computers controlled by your brain
Ultra-lightweight metal that’s 99% air
Supersonic air travel
Anti-aging gene therapy
Experimenting on yourself as patient zero
Hackers hacking into all the things, like cars and printers
Robotic/android pets
Virtual Reality affecting your real-life eating experiences
Smelling cancer
Hackable body parts (like pacemakers)
Widespread unemployment
Guided missiles fired from rifles
Intelligence amplification
Solar power used to decontaminate water
Cryogenically frozen children
Robots taking over white collar jobs
People living in tunnels stealing power, TV, and internet
Self-repairing cities: drones are made to fix things
Artificial skin that can communicate with brain cells
Dreams that can be turned off and on with a switch
Computer chips inspired by human brains
Cops getting access to commercial/private DNA databases
Lacing restaurant soup/food with opiates
Electrodes that can stimulate lucid dreaming, memory, or increased focus.
Using genetically modified blood proteins to cleanse and extract sepsis and other toxins that are resistant to antibiotics
Long-lasting (up to a year) antimicrobial surface coatings
Underground parks filled with plants nurtured by reflected or stored solar energy
3D printed food
Food printed to match vitamin/calorie needs as recommended by biosensors
AI designed food recipes
AI driven vertical food farming
Lab-grown meat
~Drop me a line on Twitter and let me know what other real inventions you’d like to see used in a Cyberpunk or Science Fiction story.~