The Infamous Saruman with His Palantir in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Landmark Media/Alamy
As we embark on the Gregorian New Year, it’s an ideal moment to ponder the future ahead. Will we harness CRISPR to engineer wings? Are we on the verge of uploading human consciousness to the Amazon cloud? Will we encase the sun in a Dyson Sphere? For those passionate about science and engineering, science fiction serves as the canvas for exploring these questions. However, many are misinterpreting these futuristic visions.
As a science journalist and a sci-fi author, I offer a year-end guide to help you avoid misconceptions in reading science fiction. It’s crucial, as our civilization’s trajectory may depend on it.
There are two main ways in which science fiction is often misunderstood. We start with the first issue known as the “Torment Nexus problem,” a term that emerged from a humorous social media post by satirist Alex Breckman. In 2021, he tweeted:
“Science fiction writer: In my narrative, I created the Torment Nexus as a cautionary concept.
Tech Company: We’ve successfully built a Torment Nexus based on the classic sci-fi narrative, ‘Don’t Create a Torment Nexus.’
This encapsulates the Torment Nexus problem, which arises when individuals focus solely on futuristic tech depicted in science fiction, neglecting the core message of the narrative.
As a consequence, billionaires like Peter Thiel have contributed to ventures like Palantir, a surveillance and data analytics company, named after the “Seeing Stone” in The Lord of the Rings. Rather than being a tool of utility, it typically leads its users towards perilous and unethical paths. Its technology has been employed by various military operations, including IDF actions in Gaza. The implications of this are troubling.
Less severe yet still noteworthy examples include Mark Zuckerberg’s rebranding of Facebook to Meta, influenced by Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, which showcased a metaverse that is far from desirable. This virtual realm is portrayed as a corporate battleground that propagates mind-altering viruses.
“
Zuckerberg and Thiel are blind to the fact that both Palantir and the Metaverse pose significant threats to human cognition.
“
It’s apparent that Thiel and Zuckerberg aimed to bring their fictional technologies to life but tragically misinterpreted their underlying messages.
The second pervasive misunderstanding in science fiction is often termed the “Blueprint problem.” This assumption presumes that science fiction serves as an accurate forecast for the future, and by mimicking these fictional outcomes, we can assure a prosperous tomorrow.
The Blueprint problem significantly influenced early space exploration initiatives, which prioritized human travel over robotic missions. Pop culture icons like Flash Gordon and the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs propagated images of humans colonizing distant planets. Today, robotic missions are yielding unprecedented discoveries on Mars while media outlets are fixated on celebrity space travels.
The immense expectations for AI technologies can also be traced back to the Blueprint problem. Countless narratives have portrayed AI as servants and experts, creating an inevitable perception of their arrival, which is far from reality.
Ultimately, science fiction is not a literal roadmap, recipe, or prescription. It embodies a worldview that encourages us to challenge the status quo. This perspective has inspired my latest anthology, We Will Rise Again, co-edited with Karen Lord and Malka Older, offering stories that aim to reshape our perceptions of societal progression. In our collection, the future is fluid, molded by human agency.
As we delve deeper into this understanding, the complexities of our contemporary world reveal themselves. Why do we engineer machines for menial tasks? Why adhere to arbitrary national borders? Why limit gender to two fixed categories? These questions capture the essence of science fiction, serving as gateways into new realms of possibility.
To forge a better future, it’s essential to transcend mere imitation of fictional narratives. Instead, we must cultivate our own visions of what could be.
Annalee Newitz, a science journalist and author, presents their latest work, *Automatic Noodle*. They co-host the Hugo Award-winning podcast *Our Opinions Are Correct* and can be followed on Twitter @annaleen. Their website is: techsploitation.com
What I Am Reading
404 Media offers compelling investigative technology journalism.
What I See
A delightful Canadian LGBTQ+ ice hockey romance series.
What I Am Working On
Organizing a European tour for the science fiction anthology *We Will Rise Again*.
Topics:
- Technology/
- Science Fiction
Source: www.newscientist.com
