Back when it came out, 1996 seemed about the same as 2027 feels now. Near future, who knows what could be different.
It’s an interesting choice, because there was really no present-day sci fi tech in the movie save for a video game that articulated as the player flew a plane (which may have existed but I hadn’t seen before in 1992).
So they chose to make the movie take place in the present day technology-wise, but still in the future. Just slightly in the future.
And Terminator 3 follows that trend: A quintessential 00's movie - as forgettable as many other sequels from the same period, despite previous titles in the series being great