The late, great David Bowie was incredible in many ways. He was a rock god, a gender-bending pioneer, and a pretty darn good actor (really, you should see him play a vampire in The Hunger. So, so good.) Not to mention, he also made director Duncan Jones possible. Turns out, he was also a far more accurate modern day Nostradamus.
In this interview conducted with Bowie back in 1999, which we first saw at and Digg, he’s asked by a BBC interviewer what the internet will ultimately mean for the world. And Bowie correctly predicts that it will change absolutely everything about society. You can watch the full clip, via Humberto Ramos, down below:
The interviewer doesn’t really seem to grasp what the internet even is at this point. To be fair to him, at this point in time, the internet was mainly AOL chatrooms, and ways to download sexy photos of celebrities and achingly slow speed. But The Thin White Duke knew better, saying, “I think the potential of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable.”
BBC
As we know now, he was totally correct. On the plus side, the internet has allowed for people to connect in ways they never have before—and even find long lost relatives. And hey, you’re reading this right now because there’s an internet! On the downside, the spread of lies and misinformation has become deadlier than ever because of it. It’s a true double edged sword if ever there was one. But it indisputably changed our world for all time.
Bowie sadly died in 2016, leaving this world way too soon. But it means he lived long enough to see his prediction come true. We can’t help but wonder if he ever got to gloat about being oh so right about it all. He certainly deserved to.
Featured Image: BBC