Watch David Bowie Predict The “Terrifying” Impact Of The Internet Over 20 Years Ago
"The internet is an alien lifeform...The state of content is going to be so different to what we can envisage at the moment."
The entire discography of David Bowie crackles with foresight and intelligence.
A record like Diamond Dogs, a musical based on George Orwell’s 1984 that tackles the pervasive nature of surveillance, perfectly nails our current culture. Hell, even a purely pop album like Ziggy Stardust has important things to say about our celebrity culture and burn-out.
But it wasn’t just with his music that Bowie took on the insidious and creeping nature of big government and the perils of a culture saturated in flashy imagery. In a 1999 interview with Jeremy Paxman, Bowie totally predicted the future of the internet, and the negative impacts it would have on culture.
“The internet now carries the flag of subversive [culture],” Bowie says. “It’s chaotic, and nihilistic.”
When Paxman seems not to be sold, Bowie presses on. “I embrace the idea that [the internet is part of] a new demystification process between the artist and the audience…It’s becoming more and more about the audience.”
Paxman, still not convinced, shoots back. “There’s nothing cohesive about it,” he manages.
Remember when David Bowie predicted how the internet would change absolutely everything? pic.twitter.com/n8SgcSb23k
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) January 10, 2017
“I don’t think we’ve even seen the tip of the iceberg,” Bowie says. “I think the potential of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable. I think we’re actually on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying.”
Paxman frowns.
“It’s just a tool, is it not?” he asks.
“No it’s not,” Bowie responds. “It’s an alien lifeform … The state of content is going to be so different to what we can envisage at the moment.”
Watch the interview in full right here: