7 Ways Metal Gear Solid 2 Predicted Our EXACT Future
6. Digital Footprints
Have you ever experienced that peculiar moment when you search for a new refrigerator on your laptop, only to be bombarded with advertisements for fridges when you later browse on your phone?
This phenomenon arises from advertisers monitoring your digital footprint through cookies and other information shared when you browse websites. Now, consider the words spoken by the Patriot AI to Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2. They offer to relieve him of the burden of thinking by assuming that role themselves, proclaiming to be his guardians.
This concept strikingly mirrors the "convenience" provided by modern devices like Alexa or Google Home, which meticulously track everything from your music preferences to shopping habits.
Kojima's foresight is evident in his ability to anticipate the growing influence of digitized communication and the subsequent implications for privacy. In that sense, Metal Gear Solid 2 serves as a reflection on the potential consequences of relinquishing control and entrusting machines with our decision-making processes. Though Kojima couldn't have predicted the specific devices and advancements that would materialize, his insights into the encroachment of technology on personal autonomy remain strikingly relevant.