‘Johnny Mnemonic’ predicted our addictive digital future

In the mid-1990s, Hollywood began trying to envision the internet (sometimes called the “information superhighway”) and its implications for life and culture. Some of its attempts have aged better than others. Perhaps the most thoughtful is the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic, the screenplay for which was written by cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson, based on his 1981 short story.

The film tells the story of Johnny (played by Keanu Reeves), whose vocation is couriering large amounts of data...