Four decades after the cyberpunk genre imagined a future of chrome-plated mercenaries and cyberspace cowboys, many of its technologies—brain-computer interfaces like Neuralink, AI-powered smart glasses, and advanced prosthetics—have arrived. Yet co-founder of Mondo 2000, R.U. Sirius, notes the future turned out far more mundane: instead of overthrowing corporations, the internet pioneers handed power to tech giants that now shape billions of lives. Media scholar Shira Chess argues cyberpunk's core warning was never about cybernetic limbs but about corporate domination of digital spaces. She points to the rise of subscriptions, proprietary AI models, and closed ecosystems controlled by a few companies as the real dystopia. However, a new cyberpunk movement may be emerging through cyberdecks (custom-built open-source computers), open-source AI agents, and blockchain projects resisting corporate control. Chess warns that without understanding the underlying systems, developers risk becoming tools of corporations. The fight over who controls technology remains cyberpunk's most enduring prediction.

Key facts

• Brain implants and AI glasses realize cyberpunk tech but not its rebellious spirit.
• R.U. Sirius: Internet pioneers naively believed tech would empower individuals over corporations.
• Shira Chess: Cyberpunk's real prediction was corporate takeover of digital spaces.
• New movements like cyberdecks and open-source AI resist corporate control.
• Fight over who controls technology remains cyberpunk's enduring legacy.