How accurate is George Orwell's interpretation of the future in 1984?

One accurate point that Orwell illustrates about the future centers on the government's desire for power.

It is easy to criticize Orwell as having been "off" about the future. It is hard to prove that our modern world has a "Big Brother" force that enslaves everyone. However, Orwell was accurate about how government, as an institution, craves power and control.

One example to show this was the National Security Agency's ability to harvest phone data and Internet browsing habits. The NSA spying scandal is very similar to Big Brother's control over the people of Oceania. Both cases feature a government agency being able to collect and aggregate information, and reflect a love of control and power over citizens. Big Brother claims that it is acting in the name of the people and that it needs to protect them from outside threats. Similar justifications were used to explain why the NSA needed to collect information: To protect the nation from terrorist threats. Technology was manipulated for governmental benefit. The use of surveillance as a means for control is one way that Orwell's vision of the future is accurate.

In 1984, Orwell recognized that government surveillance was an essential component to establishing power. His interpretation of the future was one in which government sought to increase its control over its citizens. In Orwell's world and in the actions of the NSA, technological advancement was appropriated by the government in order to advance its own agenda.