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The relationship between technology and science fiction is closer and more fraught than observers realize.
To get you started, here are three new stories. Atlantic:
“Futures Spectrum”
We have good news for readers of The Daily who are also active in the Metaverse (if you actually exist): the legs are getting closer. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, announced this week That user will soon be able to add legs to their avatar in the VR version of Meta Quest. Horizon Home and horizon world. Prior to this update, these virtual world figures had floating torsos, floating on the chair Then he whizzed around the conference room. It seems that the legs are a feature that has been requested a lot. From now on, Metaverse avatars will be more human in some ways, and more spooky at the same time.
Reading this news, I would like to tell the editors, almost jokingly, that Metaverse users interested in accessing alternate realities and stepping into alternate lives should simply consider reading the novel. said. While I stand by that picky opinion, it also got me thinking about the fact that the Metaverse actually owes a lot to the novels.term metaverse The term was coined in a 1992 science fiction novel titled . snow crash. (This book also helped popularize the term Avatar, refers to the digital self. ) and once you start looking for them, you’ll find connections between science fiction and real-world technology everywhere.
People often talk about new, incredible technologies (e.g. Orbs that scan eyeballs) seems to have been culled from SF. In many cases, the relationship between technology and science fiction works both ways. Technician he might get ideas from science fiction movies and books.scientists consult science fiction project to make it more realistic. And creators of both technology and fiction often share the same cultural anxieties and references. In some cases, the effects of SF may become apparent.The man who is credited with inventing the first mobile phone reportedly Inspired by Dick Tracy.Government ‘Gorgon Steer’ Surveillance Drone Technology Revealed going back will smith movies enemy of the nation. taser gun name young adult science fiction novel.of the list goes on!
But science fiction’s influence on technology is often not literal. Scientists don’t usually read novels and extract new concepts for new inventions from them in a big way. But Philip Jordan, a lecturer in informatics at Indiana University, says they sometimes refer to pop culture to explain their ideas, or even to science fiction in their research. . found.His research has increased in recent years, with his nods to science fiction in computer science papers increasing in popularity among computer scientists. Already used Fictional depictions of human-robot relationships (both positive like Wall-E and dystopian like Skynet) are used as reference points when talking about the subject.
Jordan told me there is a feedback loop between cultural achievements and technology. Science fiction films may reflect widespread fear of new technologies at the time, and public engagement with those films may subsequently feed back into scientific debate. “I think [science fiction] This is an invaluable asset for students and the next generation of researchers, as it shows us different futures, both good and bad,” he said.
Ross Andersen Atlantic Ocean Writers covering science and technology also said they suspected a “nasty feedback loop” at work between science fiction and real-world technology. The engineers and writers who came up with the novel ideas “may have been responding to a preexisting human desire to explore the depths of the ocean or space, or to connect instantly with anyone on Earth,” he said. To tell. Citing examples such as the novels of Jules Verne and the stories of Isaac Asimov, Ross added: affected technology, it certainly is expected It’s a lot. “
Sci-fi patterns that anticipate, or at least match, cutting-edge real-world ideas are not new. AtlanticEdward Simon explored science fiction published during and before the peak of the scientific revolution, such as Thomas More’s novels. UtopiaFrancis Bacon’s new atlantisJohannes Kepler’s Somnium. Literature, he explained, helped spark curiosity as new scientific understanding advanced. “Science” He said that while fiction was not the only thing that sparked the scientific revolution, the literature of the time allowed people to imagine different realities, in some cases long before those realities actually became reality. to,” Simon wrote.
Beyond pure science fiction, literature helps us imagine a way of life that coexists with new technologies.The works of Don DeLillo, especially white noisewill be transported by Cold War Anxiety. In his recent novel Zero K, mixed with awe and admiration about science’s ability to avoid death. Works of climate change fiction seek to reconcile the enjoyment of life with living morally in times of chaos and destruction, and many Silicon Valley novels highlight the ethical shortcomings of dangerous inventions. If art and technology have inventive feedback loops, perhaps we can develop ethical feedback loops as well. Novels about technology tend to focus on the dystopian presence and drama of technology itself. But novels become even more powerful when writers use stories to consider the people who created those tools and the human dynamics that drive their existence. Writers have a unique ability to explore moral questions about new inventions. More than new gadget ideas, the real tech world should learn from them.
Related:
news of the day
- According to annual filings released today, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is currently officially disclosed He went on three trips funded by billionaire Harlan Crowe.
- Joe Biggs, former leader of the Proud Boys who supported the January 6th riot, declared 17 years in prison for sedition and conspiracy.
- Chief physician attends parliament Said After an incident that seemed to freeze in front of reporters yesterday, Mitch McConnell said it was “medically clear” to continue with the schedule.
night reading
High school English needed change before ChatGPT
By Daniel Harman
You’ve probably experienced the unique mix of emotions that come with using ChatGPT for the first time: a deflating sense of wonder and a bewildering awe. It is certainly so. Since the advent of generative AI last year, envisioning the world we are rapidly heading toward has become a dizzying task. programmer They may be replaced by algorithmically perfected, unpaid robots. In 2027, what you might want to hear while walking your dog is your AI Taylor Swift giving you personalized affirmations about getting over her ex and moving on with her life.
At the moment, much of it is still far away. Meanwhile, teachers like me are at the forefront of figuring out what their work means. now.
Read the full article.
see more Atlantic
culture break
read. Two new books—The emotional life of populismby Eva Ilowes, Zionism: The Emotional Nationby Derek Pensler — explores how emotions such as love and fear shape Israeli politics.
listen. Tomorrow, Texas will join about 20 other states that have banned any medical procedure that allows minors to change sex.latest episode of radio atlantic Explore how the law changed a teenager’s life.
Play daily crosswords.
PS
book forum i’m back! I’m a regular subscriber to this magazine, but it was discontinued for a few months earlier this year, so I was happy to find a new issue in my mailbox a few days ago. This issue contains many excellent reviews, but my favorite is his review of the Tarpley Hitt. essay Cryptocurrency’s ‘first celebrity anti-promoter’ and Ed Park write On the rediscovered canon of the gossip columnist and critic’s novel.
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Nicole Blackwood contributed to this newsletter.
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