Let’s take a pause from our usual technical deep-dives and venture into the realm of art – specifically, the prophetic cyberpunk masterpiece “Akira” (1988). While modern tech discourse often focuses on Silicon Valley’s latest innovations, sometimes the most insightful technological commentary comes from unexpected places, like a 35-year-old Japanese animated film.
Neo-Tokyo’s Digital Dreams
Set in 2019 (now our recent past), Akira’s Neo-Tokyo presents a fascinating mirror to our 2025 reality. The film’s creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, painted a future where technology’s integration into society led to both magnificent achievements and profound societal shifts. Looking back at his vision from our vantage point reveals surprisingly accurate predictions about our technological trajectory.
Biotechnology and Human Enhancement
Perhaps the most striking parallel between Akira’s world and ours is the exploration of human enhancement and biotechnology. The film’s central narrative revolves around psychic powers derived from government experiments – while we haven’t achieved telepathy, our current advancements in neural interfaces and brain-computer interaction technologies echo similar themes. Companies like Neuralink are actively working on brain implants, and the ethical questions they raise mirror those posed in Akira: How far should we push human enhancement? Who controls these technologies?
Urban Technology and Infrastructure
Neo-Tokyo’s sprawling cityscape, with its massive digital billboards and interconnected transportation systems, feels remarkably familiar in 2025. Our smart cities, with their IoT sensors, autonomous vehicles, and augmented reality overlays, parallel many of Akira’s urban innovations. The film’s depiction of a society where digital and physical infrastructure are inseparable from daily life now seems less science fiction and more documentary.
Social Media and Information Control
While Akira didn’t explicitly predict social media, its portrayal of information control and mass manipulation through technology bears striking similarities to our current digital landscape. The film’s themes of government surveillance and information manipulation resonate strongly in our era of big data, algorithmic content curation, and digital privacy concerns.
Youth Culture and Technological Rebellion
The film’s depiction of youth counterculture, particularly the biker gangs’ appropriation of technology for their own purposes, parallels modern phenomena like hacktivist movements and the democratization of technology. Today’s young tech-savvy generations, armed with tools like AI and blockchain, echo the film’s themes of technological empowerment and resistance.
Artificial Intelligence and Control Systems
While Akira’s vision of AI differs from our current reality, its exploration of automated systems and their potential to both serve and control humanity remains relevant. Our current debates about AI safety and control mirror the film’s broader themes about humanity’s relationship with its technological creations.
Environmental Impact of Technology
The film’s post-apocalyptic setting, though more dramatic than our current situation, speaks to modern concerns about technology’s environmental impact. Our current climate crisis and the tech industry’s growing focus on sustainability reflect similar anxieties about technological progress’s environmental costs.
Lessons for Today
What makes Akira particularly relevant in 2025 isn’t just its technological predictions, but its deeper philosophical questions about progress and control. The film asks us to consider:
- The balance between technological advancement and human values
- The role of power structures in technological development
- The relationship between individual freedom and technological control
- The psychological and social impacts of rapid technological change
Looking Forward
As we navigate our own technological revolution, Akira’s themes feel more relevant than ever. The film reminds us that technological progress isn’t just about creating new capabilities – it’s about understanding their impact on human society and psychology.
While we haven’t developed psychic powers or experienced a nuclear catastrophe, many of Akira’s core observations about technology’s role in society have proven remarkably prescient. As we continue to develop AI, biotechnology, and digital infrastructure, the film’s warnings and insights remain valuable guides for considering the broader implications of our technological future.
In 2025, Akira stands not just as a masterpiece of animation, but as a profound meditation on technology’s role in human society – one that continues to offer relevant insights for our own technological challenges and choices.