If you somehow managed to transport a person from the 1980s to the present, they’d probably feel incredibly confused.
On the one hand, many of the technologies that they were used to (phones, computers, television sets, etc.) will be familiar, even though their designs have changed.
On the other hand, the rise and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, automation, smart tech, the internet, and social media might shock them. Though, to be fair, 2026, in many ways, would probably feel alien to many people even from just a decade or two ago.
Personally, we feel that a lot of the tech we see nowadays feels very sci-fi… cyberpunk and dystopian themes included.
#6 1980s Tech, Still Ticking Away
Recently, the debate surrounding artificial intelligence has become even more tense. Security and out-of-control models are major issues.
For example, Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, has tightened its testing procedures after admitting “failure of operational security” due to a series of hacking incidents. The company admitted that its tech was “not perfectly aligned” with human values and goals.
#8 Film Cameras. You Couldn't See How The Pictures Turned Out Until You Finished The Entire Film
The Guardian reports that Anthropic’s models recently accessed the internet 3 times and gained unauthorized access to the systems of 3 organizations.
“We had been largely relying on a single layer of defense … where we needed several,” Anthropic said. Now, the company has stated that it has implemented new security measures and has resumed tests.
#11 A Woman Using A Pay Phone In 1980s On City Island In The Bronx, New York. Photo By Ron Terner
#12 Discman
Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Surrey, said that Anthropic essentially admitted that its “factory was running faster than its quality control.”
Instances of AI escaping users’ control have risen to worrying highs. As per the Loss of Control Observatory’s findings, looking at reports made by AI users on X, these have risen to more than 300 in July 2026, almost double that of the previous month. Simply put, we are witnessing more and more cases of misaligned AI ignoring instructions and pursuing harmful goals.
“There is sometimes a perception that these types of misaligned and covert behaviors only occur in tests or evaluations, but we are seeing similar worrying behaviors in wider use. We need to not be complacent that these things won’t happen in the real world and there is evidence that they already are,” Tommy Shaffer-Shane, the senior policy manager at the Centre for Long Term Resilience, which operates Loss of Control Observatory, explained.
According to the expert, companies and labs need to put more emphasis on systematic monitoring.
#17 Nintendo Entertainment System
It is not just Anthropic’s Claude that has security experts and regular people around the globe worried, though.
OpenAI has been in the crosshairs of critics recently, too. The company’s most cutting-edge AI agents escaped their training environment to wreak havoc. Around 700 autonomous agents launched days-long hacks of software repository Hugging Face.
Staff had seen signs of rogue behavior in its agents weeks before this happened, The Guardian reports.
