Prototyping a Better Tomorrow

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Prototyping a Better Tomorrow
1k25417
How science fiction can help us create a better future.
By=C2=A0Kevin BankstonPhoto illustration by=C2=A0Slate. Stills from Hulu an=
d Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.Consuming dystopian science fictio=
n has quickly become=C2=A0a popular coping mechanism=C2=A0for Americans try=
ing to adapt to (or resist) the sometimes-dark reality of 2017. Immediately=
 after the Trump inauguration and the White House=E2=80=99s embrace of =E2=
=80=9Calternative facts,=E2=80=9D=C2=A0George Orwell=E2=80=99s=C2=A01984=C2=
=A0shot to the very top of Amazon=E2=80=99s best-seller list. Other dystopi=
an classics=E2=80=94like Aldous Huxley=E2=80=99s 1932 portrait of a more co=
mfortable but no less frightening future authoritarian regime,=C2=A0Brave N=
ew World, and Sinclair Lewis=E2=80=99 alternate history of a fascist Americ=
a, 1935=E2=80=99s=C2=A0It Can=E2=80=99t Happen Here=E2=80=94also quickly hi=
t the top 20.This same impulse has helped make a hit out of Hulu=E2=80=99s=
=C2=A0The Handmaid=E2=80=99s Tale, the=C2=A0first season of which is ending=
=C2=A0Wednesday. That show, based on the modern science-fiction=C2=A0novel =
of the same name=C2=A0by Margaret Atwood, depicts a near-future in which a =
totalitarian theocracy has overthrown the U.S. government, and the few wome=
n who are still fertile in the wake of an environmental crisis have been fo=
rced to serve as =E2=80=9Chandmaids=E2=80=9D to bear children for the regim=
e=E2=80=99s elites. The apocalyptic vision of the novel and the show have s=
truck a chord among Americans wary of the new administration=E2=80=99s appr=
oach to gender politics, even making appearances at January=E2=80=99s Women=
=E2=80=99s March: =E2=80=9CThe Handmaid=E2=80=99s Tale is NOT an Instructio=
n Manual!=E2=80=9D read one sign; =E2=80=9CMake Margaret Atwood Fiction Aga=
in!=E2=80=9D read another.The fact that so many people are turning toward t=
hese dire visions of the future may seem like cause for worry, but it is al=
so a sign of hope. Great dystopian works like=C2=A0The Handmaid=E2=80=99s T=
ale=C2=A0and=C2=A01984, in the words of one=C2=A0defender of dystopian fict=
ion, can serve as self-defeating=C2=A0prophecies helping us to recognize an=
d prevent the dark worlds they depict. Put another way,=C2=A0The Handmaid=
=E2=80=99s Tale=C2=A0actually=C2=A0is=C2=A0an instruction manual, meant to =
teach us what we must fight to avoid. But=C2=A0hope can=E2=80=99t live on d=
ystopia alone. It requires positive visions, too.ADVERTISINGThankfully, an =
ambitious new project launched this month aims to use the vision and expert=
ise of the science fiction community=E2=80=94including Atwood herself=E2=80=
=94to move past dystopian visions. The newly announced=C2=A0Science Fiction=
 Advisory Council, composed of=C2=A0a stellar selection=C2=A0of 64 bestsell=
ing sci-fi writers and visionary filmmakers, has tasked itself with imagini=
ng realistic, possible,=C2=A0positive=C2=A0futures that we might actually w=
ant to live in=E2=80=94and figuring out we can get from here to there. The =
council is sponsored by XPRIZE, the nonprofit foundation that uses competit=
ion to spur private development of things like a=C2=A0reusable suborbital s=
pacecraft. The advisers on the council will =E2=80=9Cassist XPRIZE in the c=
reation of digital =E2=80=98futures=E2=80=99 roadmaps across a variety of d=
omains [and] identify the ideal catalysts, drivers and mechanisms=E2=80=94i=
ncluding potential XPRIZE competitions=E2=80=94to overcome grand challenges=
 and achieve a preferred future state.=E2=80=9D


This new project is reminiscent of=C2=A0Hieroglyph, a project from Arizona =
State University that is similarly aimed at leveraging science fiction to m=
ake positive change in the real world. (ASU is a partner with=C2=A0Slate=C2=
=A0and New America in Future Tense; I work for New America.)=C2=A0Like the =
Hieroglyph project, the Science Fiction Advisory Council will be launching =
with a short story collection. In July, XPRIZE plans to=C2=A0publish an onl=
ine anthology=C2=A0of original science-fiction stories by members of the ad=
visory council recounting the experiences of passengers on a fictional flig=
ht from Tokyo to San Francisco who are mysteriously transported 20 years in=
to the future. (The air-travel theme makes a bit more sense when you realiz=
e that the project is cosponsored by Japanese airline ANA.) The stories, pu=
blished at=C2=A0Seat14C.com, will presumably include visions of some of the=
 =E2=80=9Cpreferred future states=E2=80=9D that XPRIZE seeks to identify, a=
nd will be followed by quarterly meetings of the advisers as they build out=
 their roadmaps for avoiding dystopia and reaching those better futures.If =
you=E2=80=99re surprised to hear that that science fiction might actually h=
ave a meaningful real world impact, you haven=E2=80=99t been paying attenti=
on. Science fiction and science reality have often found themselves in a fe=
edback loop. Legendary sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke came up with the idea=
 of=C2=A0communications satellites=C2=A0in the =E2=80=9940s. The less-famou=
s sci-fi author John Brunner predicted=C2=A0computer worms=C2=A0in the =E2=
=80=9970s. In the early =E2=80=9980s cyberpunk classic=C2=A0Neuromancer, Wi=
lliam Gibson coined the term=C2=A0cyberspace.=C2=A0Star Trek=C2=A0didn=E2=
=80=99t just motivate an immeasurable number of people to pursue engineerin=
g careers; it also sparked the invention of first=C2=A0cellphone. The film=
=C2=A0WarGames=C2=A0spurred Congress to pass our first=C2=A0computer crime =
law. Through years, sci-fi=E2=80=94like Steven Spielberg=E2=80=99s visually=
 inventive adaptation of Philip K. Dick=E2=80=99s=C2=A0Minority Report=E2=
=80=94has also helped inform the latest innovations in=C2=A0user interface =
design.Naturally, the tech titans who dominate Silicon Valley are also all =
sci-fi nerds who=E2=80=99ve been inspired by inventive authors=E2=80=99 vis=
ions of the future. Google=E2=80=99s=C2=A0Sergey Brin=C2=A0was inspired by =
the virtual reality envisioned in Neal Stephenson=E2=80=99s=C2=A0Snow Crash=
;=C2=A0Peter Thiel=C2=A0and his PayPal co-founders were influenced by the c=
ryptocurrency schemes of Stephenson=E2=80=99s=C2=A0Cryptonomicon; and=C2=A0=
Elon Musk=E2=80=94who recently hired a science-fiction movie costume design=
er to help create=C2=A0=E2=80=9Cbadass=E2=80=9D spacesuits=C2=A0for SpaceX=
=E2=80=94was motivated in his quest to make humanity into a multiplanetary =
species by a wide range of sci-fi, especially=C2=A0The Hitchhiker=E2=80=99s=
 Guide to the Galaxy. Meanwhile, both Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been re=
ading sci-fi to help them think about=C2=A0the future of A.I. (Like those t=
ech billionaires and countless other people, I was=C2=A0inspired to pursue =
my own career=C2=A0in tech by the science fiction I read when I was younger=
.)It=E2=80=99s clear that science fiction, as it entertains, often also ins=
pires. But the Science Fiction Advisory Council and its work is different. =
Rather than inspiration being a happy side effect of entertaining stories, =
the=C2=A0primary=C2=A0purpose of the SFAC is to use science fiction to dire=
ctly inspire change in the real world=E2=80=94by prototyping our possible f=
utures.Beyond the natural feedback loop between reality and fiction, this n=
ew council of sci-fi advisers is emblematic of a different thread in the ti=
e between science fiction and the real world: the deliberate use of science=
 fiction as a tool for impacting, or predicting the impact, of real world t=
ech and policy trends. Brian David Johnson, who was=C2=A0Intel=E2=80=99s in=
-house futurist=C2=A0for more than a decade and now spins future scenarios =
with the Army Cyber Institute at Arizona State University=E2=80=99s=C2=A0Th=
reatcasting Lab, calls it =E2=80=9Cscience fiction prototyping,=E2=80=9D a =
term and tool that=E2=80=99s been adopted by some professional futurist con=
sultants like those at=C2=A0Scifutures=C2=A0and by=C2=A0professors at MIT u=
sing sci-fi scenarios=C2=A0to teach tech ethics.Science-fiction author Bruc=
e Sterling calls it =E2=80=9Cdesign fiction=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94the applicatio=
n of sci-fi to think about new design ideas through storytelling. At a broa=
der level, sci-fi can be used as a tool for gaining =E2=80=9Cstrategic fore=
sight=E2=80=9D through scenario building. Noted sci-fi authors like=C2=A0Ma=
deline Ashby=C2=A0and=C2=A0Karl Schroeder=C2=A0even have masters degrees in=
 =E2=80=9Cstrategic foresight=E2=80=9D and have built bustling futurist con=
sulting careers in addition to their publishing careers, advising clients l=
ike the World Bank and Intel. Meanwhile, not just Intel but tech companies =
such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Apple also have=C2=A0in-house futurists=
. Nor is the trend limited to tech: For example, Scifutures counts companie=
s as diverse as=C2=A0Hershey, Lowe=E2=80=99s, and Del Monte=C2=A0as clients=
.This trend is not new, and not limited to the corporate context. The U.S. =
government has been consulting with science-fiction writers, and vice versa=
, for a long time. It=E2=80=99s unsurprising, for example, that there has b=
een a tight feedback loop between real and imagined space exploration=E2=80=
=94illustrated especially well by this charming decades-old=C2=A0documentar=
y=C2=A0about the making of=C2=A02001: A Space Odyssey=C2=A0that highlights =
Arthur C. Clarke=E2=80=99s close collaboration with NASA=E2=80=99s space pr=
ogram.Science fiction and science reality have often found themselves in a =
feedback loop.Perhaps more surprising, though, is that such collaboration b=
etween sci-fi writers and government has also extended to military and nati=
onal security concerns. For example, right-wing sci-fi writers like Robert =
Heinlein and Jerry Pournelle were=C2=A0deeply involved=C2=A0in the conceptu=
alization and popularization of =E2=80=9980s-era =E2=80=9CStar Wars=E2=80=
=9D missile defense plans. Similarly, conservative sci-fi novelist Larry Ni=
ven and may other authors=E2=80=94organized via a futurist consulting organ=
ization called the SIGMA Forum, with the motto =E2=80=9CScience Fiction in =
the National Interest=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94were fixtures at homeland security c=
onferences in Washington during the post=E2=80=93Sept. 11 Bush administrati=
on, according to=C2=A0news=C2=A0stories=C2=A0like=C2=A0these. As SIGMA=E2=
=80=99s founder, Arlan Andrews Sr., states on the forum=E2=80=99s=C2=A0webs=
ite, =E2=80=9CI formed SIGMA because I had heard more original and appropri=
ate futurism on panels at any given science fiction convention than in all =
the forecasting meetings I ever attended while in D.C.=E2=80=9DThe use of s=
cience-fiction prototyping in government hasn=E2=80=99t only been the domai=
n of=C2=A0sci-fi=E2=80=99s sometimes-troubling right wing, however. The Oba=
ma administration was also into science fiction=E2=80=94especially Tom Kali=
l of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who=C2=A0host=
ed a workshop=C2=A0with writers, artists, and scientists to envision the co=
lonization of the solar system,=C2=A0sang the praises of design fiction=C2=
=A0as a tool for innovation, and even=C2=A0hosted a screening of=C2=A0Minor=
ity Report=C2=A0with Future Tense.=C2=A0The Obama OSTP even hosted=C2=A0a p=
rivate meeting with=C2=A0a delegation of sci-fi writers=C2=A0who were visit=
ing Washington for=C2=A0Future Tense=E2=80=99s Hieroglyph event.The trend o=
f science fiction being used as a prototyping tool is not new. What=C2=A0is=
=C2=A0new, however, is that so much sci-fi prototyping that used to be done=
 in the privacy of the Pentagon or the corporate boardroom is now being don=
e in public. Indeed, there=E2=80=99s been an absolute explosion of sci-fi p=
rototype publishing in just the past few years.=C2=A0MIT Technology Review=
=E2=80=99s reporting has formed a foundation for its=C2=A0=E2=80=9CTwelve T=
omorrows=E2=80=9D series of anthologies. Microsoft=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9CFutur=
e Visions=E2=80=9D anthology spins out the implications of the company=E2=
=80=99s latest research. When Brian David Johnson was at Intel, he launched=
 the=C2=A0Tomorrow Project=C2=A0sci-fi prototyping story contest and relate=
d anthologies. Design software company=C2=A0Autodesk=C2=A0has published a s=
et of stories generated by its strategic foresight division. The Institute =
for the Future has a collection of stories about =E2=80=9CThe Coming Age of=
 Networked Matter,=E2=80=9D while Scifutures has published a collection of =
science fiction that prototypes =E2=80=9CThe City of The Future.=E2=80=9D T=
ruly, there=E2=80=99s never been more corporate-driven tech scenario=E2=80=
=93building available to public.There=E2=80=99s also been a similarly publi=
c explosion of sci-fi prototyping content around the future of the military=
, with both=C2=A0the Atlantic Council=C2=A0think tank and=C2=A0the U.S. Mar=
ine Corps=C2=A0launching contests to solicit stories as well as commissioni=
ng professionals to write short fiction. In 2015 we even saw the publicatio=
n of arguably the first sci-fi prototype novel: Peter Singer, strategist at=
 New America, and August Cole, who runs the Atlantic Council project, publi=
shed the best-selling=C2=A0Ghost Fleet=C2=A0to game out what World War III =
might look like. Their one rule was that they could only write about techno=
logy that was already being designed today, with footnotes for every piece =
of tech in the novel. Their explicit goal, in addition to writing an entert=
aining book, was to educate and influence military thinkers=E2=80=94a goal =
at which=C2=A0they=E2=80=99ve succeeded.Sci-fi prototyping has also moved b=
eyond tech companies and the military. Journalists at=C2=A0Vice=E2=80=99s=
=C2=A0Motherboard=C2=A0have used science fiction to do=C2=A0a fact-based se=
ries of short stories=C2=A0about how a long-predicted major earthquake woul=
d impact Portland, Oregon. Fusion has used it to imagine=C2=A0the future of=
 tech law, while lawyer Charles Duan at the copyright reform=E2=80=93focuse=
d NGO Public Knowledge has=C2=A0used science fiction=C2=A0to illuminate con=
troversies in intellectual property law. Sci-fi prototyping to inform confe=
rence discussions has also become a trend. Human rights organization Access=
 Now held a=C2=A0flash fiction contest=C2=A0at its conference on the future=
 of encryption policy. (Another nerd disclosure: I wrote one of those stori=
es.)Mozilla commissioned stories=C2=A0from big-name writers like Cory Docto=
row, Hannu Rajaniemi, and Daniel Suarez for its conference on the future of=
 the open internet, while the Data and Society Research Institute similarly=
 used science fiction as a scenarios tool for driving a conference discussi=
on, which ultimately led to a published=C2=A0set of four stories=C2=A0about=
 the future of A.I. and automation. A new online community and content port=
al called=C2=A0Scout=C2=A0is explicitly focused on using science fiction to=
 understand the present and plan for tomorrow. And even Future Tense, where=
 you=E2=80=99re reading this piece right now, has gotten into the game, pub=
lishing original science fiction by=C2=A0Emily St. John Mandel=C2=A0and=C2=
=A0Paulo Bacigalupi=C2=A0accompanied by=C2=A0expert commentary=C2=A0to help=
 readers grapple with new technologies.Will all of this science-fictional a=
ctivity actually help us better cope with the future? Although it=E2=80=99s=
 hard to tell, it seems that this flood of realistic near-term science fict=
ion should at least help spur more, and more helpful, thinking about our ow=
n future than the fantastic tales of spaceships and aliens that have long d=
ominated the sci-fi field. In the meantime, one new project at Glasgow Univ=
ersity points toward a new and expanded approach to science fiction prototy=
ping that looks to the past rather than the future. That project,=C2=A0Scie=
nce Fiction and the Medical Humanities, is attempting to=C2=A0crowdsource a=
 database=C2=A0that details past science-fiction=E2=80=99s treatment of med=
ical technology to see what might be usefully applied to current medical th=
inking. In other words, rather than crafting new sci-fi prototypes, the pro=
ject is looking to leverage the entire corpus of past science fiction as a =
prototype.The wisdom of this approach is evident when you think of how it m=
ight apply in other areas, like A.I. ethics. As a society we are practicall=
y forced to use science-fiction concepts to conceptualize our artificially =
intelligent future, but those conversations seem mostly limited to our hope=
s for ethical artificial intelligence a la=C2=A0Asimov=E2=80=99s Three Laws=
 of Robotics, or our fears of evil A.I. like Skynet from=C2=A0The Terminato=
r=C2=A0or HAL 9000 from=C2=A02001. Imagine if we instead systematically min=
ed the decades of work on the issues of AI ethics done by thousands of tale=
nted science fiction writers, to widen our conceptual vocabulary?Science fi=
ction as a field has already done an enormous amount of hard thinking about=
 the future of intelligent machines, and a range of other challenging topic=
s. It=E2=80=99s simply up to us to use it. In the end, every science fictio=
n is a prototype.
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<html><head></head><body><div style=3D"color:#000; background-color:#fff; f=
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78"><a href=3D"http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/0=
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gin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; width: 440px; line-height: 1.1em;" id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84290">How science fiction can help us creat=
e a better future.</h2><div style=3D"font-style: italic;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_=
1_1497400051335_84291">By&nbsp;<a rel=3D"author" href=3D"http://www.slate.c=
om/authors.kevin_bankston.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decor=
ation-line: none;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84292">Kevin Bankston</=
a></div></header><section style=3D"padding-right: 88px; position: relative;=
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-size: 16px;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84293"><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0=
_1_1497400051335_84294"><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84295"><div i=
d=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84296"></div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_=
1497400051335_84297"><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84298"></div></d=
iv></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84299"><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0=
_1_1497400051335_84300"><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84301"><figur=
e style=3D"margin: 0px auto; width: 590px; float: none;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1=
_1497400051335_84302"><img src_tag_name=3D"src" title=3D"170508_FUTURE_Bett=
erFuture" alt=3D"Photo illustration by Slate. Stills from Hulu and Twentiet=
h Century Fox Film Corporation." src=3D"http://www.slate.com/content/dam/sl=
ate/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/06/170508_FUTURE_BetterFuture.jpg=
.CROP.promo-xlarge2.jpg" style=3D"border-width: 0px; border-style: initial;=
 vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335=
_84303" data-id=3D"b37e0d2b-3f4f-cc0e-2369-bd4061187f5b" title-off=3D"" cla=
ss=3D""><div style=3D"line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 10px=
; padding: 3px 5px; text-align: right;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84=
304">Photo illustration by&nbsp;<strong id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84=
305">Slate</strong>. Stills from Hulu and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corpor=
ation.</div></figure></div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_8430=
6"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84307"><span style=3D"font-family: sl-Titlin=
gGothicFBCondensed, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 72px; float: left; pa=
dding: 10px 0px; min-height: 39px; margin-right: 10px; line-height: 50px; d=
isplay: block; -webkit-text-fill-color: white; -webkit-text-stroke: 1px rgb=
(40, 27, 33);" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84308">C</span>onsuming dys=
topian science fiction has quickly become&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.nytim=
es.com/2017/01/27/business/media/dystopian-classics-1984-animal-farm-the-ha=
ndmaids-tale.html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-=
decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335=
_84309">a popular coping mechanism</a>&nbsp;for Americans trying to adapt t=
o (or resist) the sometimes-dark reality of 2017. Immediately after the Tru=
mp inauguration and the White House=E2=80=99s embrace of =E2=80=9Calternati=
ve facts,=E2=80=9D&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/0452262933/?tag=
=3Dslatmaga-20" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-dec=
oration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84=
310">George Orwell=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_8431=
1">1984</em></a>&nbsp;shot to the very top of Amazon=E2=80=99s best-seller =
list. Other dystopian classics=E2=80=94like Aldous Huxley=E2=80=99s 1932 po=
rtrait of a more comfortable but no less frightening future authoritarian r=
egime,&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060850523/?tag=3Dslatmaga-=
20" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line=
: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84312"><em id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84313">Brave New World</em></a>, and Sinclai=
r Lewis=E2=80=99 alternate history of a fascist America, 1935=E2=80=99s&nbs=
p;<a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/0451465644/?tag=3Dslatmaga-20" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; fo=
nt-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84314"><em id=3D"yui_3_1=
6_0_1_1497400051335_84315">It Can=E2=80=99t Happen Here</em></a>=E2=80=94al=
so quickly hit the top 20.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335=
_84316"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em=
;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84317">This same impulse has helped mak=
e a hit out of Hulu=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.slate.com/articles=
/arts/television/2017/04/the_handmaid_s_tale_on_hulu_reviewed.html" style=
=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"=
 id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84318"><em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14974000513=
35_84319">The Handmaid=E2=80=99s Tale</em></a>, the&nbsp;first season of wh=
ich is ending&nbsp;Wednesday. That show, based on the modern science-fictio=
n&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/038549081X/?tag=3Dslatmaga-20" t=
arget=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: non=
e; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84320">novel of the=
 same name</a>&nbsp;by Margaret Atwood, depicts a near-future in which a to=
talitarian theocracy has overthrown the U.S. government, and the few women =
who are still fertile in the wake of an environmental crisis have been forc=
ed to serve as =E2=80=9Chandmaids=E2=80=9D to bear children for the regime=
=E2=80=99s elites. The apocalyptic vision of the novel and the show have st=
ruck a chord among Americans wary of the new administration=E2=80=99s appro=
ach to gender politics, even making appearances at January=E2=80=99s Women=
=E2=80=99s March: =E2=80=9CThe Handmaid=E2=80=99s Tale is NOT an Instructio=
n Manual!=E2=80=9D read one sign; =E2=80=9CMake Margaret Atwood Fiction Aga=
in!=E2=80=9D read another.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335=
_84321"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em=
;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84322">The fact that so many people are=
 turning toward these dire visions of the future may seem like cause for wo=
rry, but it is also a sign of hope. Great dystopian works like&nbsp;<em id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84323">The Handmaid=E2=80=99s Tale</em>&nbsp=
;and&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84324">1984</em>, in the wor=
ds of one&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_t=
ense/2014/09/neal_stephenson_hieroglyph_in_defense_of_dystopian_science_fic=
tion.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; fon=
t-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84325">defender of dystop=
ian fiction</a>, can serve as self-<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_843=
26">defeating</em>&nbsp;prophecies helping us to recognize and prevent the =
dark worlds they depict. Put another way,&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14974=
00051335_84327">The Handmaid=E2=80=99s Tale</em>&nbsp;actually<em id=3D"yui=
_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84328">&nbsp;is</em>&nbsp;an instruction manual, me=
ant to teach us what we must fight to avoid. But&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www=
.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/03/22/neal_stephenson_s_hieroglyph_and_t=
he_dystopian_sci_fi_rut_.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decora=
tion-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84329=
">hope can=E2=80=99t live on dystopia alone</a>. It requires positive visio=
ns, too.</div><iframe style=3D"width: 572px; min-height: 0px !important; mi=
n-height: 0px !important; border-width: initial !important; border-style: n=
one !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; display: b=
lock !important;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84330"></iframe></div><d=
iv style=3D"overflow: hidden; min-height: 331px; transition: height 0s; box=
-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px auto 30px; max-width: 550px;" id=3D"yui_3=
_16_0_1_1497400051335_84331"><div style=3D"margin-bottom: 0px !important; p=
osition: relative; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1=
_1497400051335_84332"><div style=3D"color: rgb(170, 170, 170); margin-botto=
m: 0px !important; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; fo=
nt-size: 10px !important; text-align: center !important; text-transform: up=
percase !important; min-height: 21px !important; line-height: 21px !importa=
nt; letter-spacing: 0.3px !important;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_843=
33">ADVERTISING</div><div style=3D"margin-bottom: 0px !important;" id=3D"yu=
i_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84334"><iframe scrolling=3D"no" frameborder=3D"0" =
style=3D"display: block; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; w=
idth: 550px !important; min-height: 310px !important; border-width: 0px !im=
portant; border-style: initial !important; overflow: hidden !important; max=
-height: 310px !important;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84335"></ifram=
e></div></div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84336"><div style=
=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_=
0_1_1497400051335_84337">Thankfully, an ambitious new project launched this=
 month aims to use the vision and expertise of the science fiction communit=
y=E2=80=94including Atwood herself=E2=80=94to move past dystopian visions. =
The newly announced&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.xprize.org/press-release/xpr=
ize-taps-leading-writers-filmmakers-creatives-science-fiction-advisory-coun=
cil" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-lin=
e: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84338">Scienc=
e Fiction Advisory Council</a>, composed of&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.xpri=
ze.org/about/scifi" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text=
-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149740005133=
5_84339">a stellar selection</a>&nbsp;of 64 bestselling sci-fi writers and =
visionary filmmakers, has tasked itself with imagining realistic, possible,=
&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84340">positive</em>&nbsp;future=
s that we might actually want to live in=E2=80=94and figuring out we can ge=
t from here to there. The council is sponsored by XPRIZE, the nonprofit fou=
ndation that uses competition to spur private development of things like a&=
nbsp;<a href=3D"http://ansari.xprize.org/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color=
: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yu=
i_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84341">reusable suborbital spacecraft</a>. The adv=
isers on the council will =E2=80=9Cassist XPRIZE in the creation of digital=
 =E2=80=98futures=E2=80=99 roadmaps across a variety of domains [and] ident=
ify the ideal catalysts, drivers and mechanisms=E2=80=94including potential=
 XPRIZE competitions=E2=80=94to overcome grand challenges and achieve a pre=
ferred future state.=E2=80=9D</div></div><aside style=3D"background: url(&q=
uot;/etc/designs/slate/images/slateplus/light-tile-alpha-slateplus.af3b1dec=
.af3b1dec.png&quot;); box-shadow: rgb(227, 227, 227) 0px 0px 1px 1px inset;=
 padding: 13px 20px 10px;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84342"><h2 styl=
e=3D"font-size: 24px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: sl-=
TitlingGothicFBCondensed, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.1em;" id=3D=
"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84343"><br></h2></aside><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1=
_1497400051335_84345"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; marg=
in-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84346">This new project i=
s reminiscent of&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://hieroglyph.asu.edu/" target=3D"_bla=
nk" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weigh=
t: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84347">Hieroglyph</a>, a project=
 from Arizona State University that is similarly aimed at leveraging scienc=
e fiction to make positive change in the real world. (ASU is a partner with=
&nbsp;<strong id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84348"><em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_=
1_1497400051335_84349">Slate&nbsp;</em></strong>and New America in Future T=
ense; I work for New America.)&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0=
0H7LUR3K/?tag=3Dslatmaga-20" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, =
51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149=
7400051335_84350">Like the Hieroglyph project</a>, the Science Fiction Advi=
sory Council will be launching with a short story collection. In July, XPRI=
ZE plans to&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.seat14c.com/" target=3D"_blank" styl=
e=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;=
" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84351">publish an online anthology</a>&n=
bsp;of original science-fiction stories by members of the advisory council =
recounting the experiences of passengers on a fictional flight from Tokyo t=
o San Francisco who are mysteriously transported 20 years into the future. =
(The air-travel theme makes a bit more sense when you realize that the proj=
ect is cosponsored by Japanese airline ANA.) The stories, published at&nbsp=
;<a href=3D"http://www.seat14c.com/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(=
102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16=
_0_1_1497400051335_84352">Seat14C.com</a>, will presumably include visions =
of some of the =E2=80=9Cpreferred future states=E2=80=9D that XPRIZE seeks =
to identify, and will be followed by quarterly meetings of the advisers as =
they build out their roadmaps for avoiding dystopia and reaching those bett=
er futures.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84353"><div st=
yle=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_=
16_0_1_1497400051335_84354">If you=E2=80=99re surprised to hear that that s=
cience fiction might actually have a meaningful real world impact, you have=
n=E2=80=99t been paying attention. Science fiction and science reality have=
 often found themselves in a feedback loop. Legendary sci-fi author Arthur =
C. Clarke came up with the idea of&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://history.nasa.gov=
/printFriendly/satcomhistory.html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(10=
2, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0=
_1_1497400051335_84355">communications satellites</a>&nbsp;in the =E2=80=99=
40s. The less-famous sci-fi author John Brunner predicted&nbsp;<a href=3D"h=
ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shockwave_Rider#The_Worm" target=3D"_blank=
" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight:=
 bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84356">computer worms</a>&nbsp;in =
the =E2=80=9970s. In the early =E2=80=9980s cyberpunk classic&nbsp;<em id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84357">Neuromancer</em>, William Gibson coin=
ed the term&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.wired.com/2009/03/march-17-1948-wil=
liam-gibson-father-of-cyberspace-2/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(=
102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16=
_0_1_1497400051335_84358"><em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84359">cyber=
space</em></a>.&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84360">Star Trek&=
nbsp;</em>didn=E2=80=99t just motivate an immeasurable number of people to =
pursue engineering careers; it also sparked the invention of first&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_=
1677708_1677825,00.html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51);=
 text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400=
051335_84361">cellphone</a>. The film&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149740005=
1335_84362">WarGames</em>&nbsp;spurred Congress to pass our first&nbsp;<a h=
ref=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/movies/wargames-and-cybersecurity=
s-debt-to-a-hollywood-hack.html?_r=3D0" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: r=
gb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3=
_16_0_1_1497400051335_84363">computer crime law</a>. Through years, sci-fi=
=E2=80=94like Steven Spielberg=E2=80=99s visually inventive adaptation of P=
hilip K. Dick=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84364">Mi=
nority Report</em>=E2=80=94has also helped inform the latest innovations in=
&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.wired.com/2012/09/make-it-so/" target=3D"_blan=
k" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight=
: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84365">user interface design</a>.=
</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84366"><div style=3D"line=
-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497=
400051335_84367">Naturally, the tech titans who dominate Silicon Valley are=
 also all sci-fi nerds who=E2=80=99ve been inspired by inventive authors=E2=
=80=99 visions of the future. Google=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.i=
ndependent.co.uk/news/google-cofounder-sergey-brin-2-books-changed-life-adv=
ise-helpful-reading-a7686246.html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(10=
2, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0=
_1_1497400051335_84368">Sergey Brin</a>&nbsp;was inspired by the virtual re=
ality envisioned in Neal Stephenson=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1=
497400051335_84369"><a href=3D"http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world=
/national/article154863049.html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102,=
 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1=
_1497400051335_84370">Snow Crash</a></em>;&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://en.wikip=
edia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon#Allusions.2Freferences_from_other_works" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; fo=
nt-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84371">Peter Thiel</a>&n=
bsp;and his PayPal co-founders were influenced by the cryptocurrency scheme=
s of Stephenson=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84372">=
<a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/0380788624/?tag=3Dslatmaga-20" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; fo=
nt-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84373">Cryptonomicon</a>=
</em>; and&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.wired.com/2015/06/geeks-guide-elon-m=
usk/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-li=
ne: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84374">Elon =
Musk</a>=E2=80=94who recently hired a science-fiction movie costume designe=
r to help create&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://gizmodo.com/spacex-has-hired-a-lege=
ndary-costume-designer-to-create-1775324843" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"col=
or: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"=
yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84375">=E2=80=9Cbadass=E2=80=9D spacesuits</a>&n=
bsp;for SpaceX=E2=80=94was motivated in his quest to make humanity into a m=
ultiplanetary species by a wide range of sci-fi, especially&nbsp;<em id=3D"=
yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84376">The Hitchhiker=E2=80=99s Guide to the Gal=
axy</em>. Meanwhile, both Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been reading sci-fi=
 to help them think about&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://motherboard.vice.com/en_u=
s/article/why-are-elon-musk-and-mark-zuckerberg-reading-utopian-sci-fi" tar=
get=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none;=
 font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84377">the future of =
A.I</a>. (Like those tech billionaires and countless other people, I was&nb=
sp;<a href=3D"https://medium.com/@KevinBankston/a-tale-of-two-dystopias-ord=
er-and-chaos-on-the-electronic-frontier-3072de828e9b" target=3D"_blank" sty=
le=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold=
;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84378">inspired to pursue my own career=
</a>&nbsp;in tech by the science fiction I read when I was younger.)</div><=
/div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84379"><div style=3D"line-height=
: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14974000513=
35_84380">It=E2=80=99s clear that science fiction, as it entertains, often =
also inspires. But the Science Fiction Advisory Council and its work is dif=
ferent. Rather than inspiration being a happy side effect of entertaining s=
tories, the&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84381">primary</em>&n=
bsp;purpose of the SFAC is to use science fiction to directly inspire chang=
e in the real world=E2=80=94by prototyping our possible futures.</div></div=
><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84382"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.=
8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_8=
4383">Beyond the natural feedback loop between reality and fiction, this ne=
w council of sci-fi advisers is emblematic of a different thread in the tie=
 between science fiction and the real world: the deliberate use of science =
fiction as a tool for impacting, or predicting the impact, of real world te=
ch and policy trends. Brian David Johnson, who was&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://=
www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/10/13/brian-david-johnson-intels-guide-=
to-the-future/#1e1a111a4b32" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, =
51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149=
7400051335_84384">Intel=E2=80=99s in-house futurist</a>&nbsp;for more than =
a decade and now spins future scenarios with the Army Cyber Institute at Ar=
izona State University=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://threatcasting.com/"=
 target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: n=
one; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84385">Threatcast=
ing Lab</a>, calls it =E2=80=9C<a href=3D"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sci=
ence_fiction_prototyping" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51)=
; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149740=
0051335_84386">science fiction prototyping</a>,=E2=80=9D a term and tool th=
at=E2=80=99s been adopted by some professional futurist consultants like th=
ose at&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.fastcompany.com/3063187/scifutures-probe=
s-your-companys-dystopian-nightmares-and-dreams-up-solutions" target=3D"_bl=
ank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weig=
ht: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84387">Scifutures</a>&nbsp;and =
by&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/w=
hy-todays-inventors-need-to-read-more-science-fiction/279793/" target=3D"_b=
lank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-wei=
ght: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84388">professors at MIT using=
 sci-fi scenarios</a>&nbsp;to teach tech ethics.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_=
3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84389"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1=
em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84390">Science-fi=
ction author Bruce Sterling calls it =E2=80=9C<a href=3D"http://www.slate.c=
om/blogs/future_tense/2012/03/02/bruce_sterling_on_design_fictions_.html" s=
tyle=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bo=
ld;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84391">design fiction</a>=E2=80=9D=E2=
=80=94the application of sci-fi to think about new design ideas through sto=
rytelling. At a broader level, sci-fi can be used as a tool for gaining =E2=
=80=9C<a href=3D"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_foresight" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; fo=
nt-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84392">strategic foresig=
ht</a>=E2=80=9D through scenario building. Noted sci-fi authors like&nbsp;<=
a href=3D"http://madelineashby.com/?page_id=3D828" target=3D"_blank" style=
=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"=
 id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84393">Madeline Ashby</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<=
a href=3D"http://www.kschroeder.com/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb=
(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_1=
6_0_1_1497400051335_84394">Karl Schroeder</a>&nbsp;even have masters degree=
s in =E2=80=9Cstrategic foresight=E2=80=9D and have built bustling futurist=
 consulting careers in addition to their publishing careers, advising clien=
ts like the World Bank and Intel. Meanwhile, not just Intel but tech compan=
ies such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Apple also have&nbsp;<a href=3D"htt=
ps://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerkay/2012/09/10/prototyping-the-distant-futur=
e/#2164350e1328" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-de=
coration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_8=
4395">in-house futurists</a>. Nor is the trend limited to tech: For example=
, Scifutures counts companies as diverse as&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://adage.co=
m/article/cmo-strategy/lowe-s-working-a-team-science-fiction-writers/293649=
/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line:=
 none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84396">Hershey,=
 Lowe=E2=80=99s, and Del Monte</a>&nbsp;as clients.</div></div><div id=3D"y=
ui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84397"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top=
: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84398">This tr=
end is not new, and not limited to the corporate context. The U.S. governme=
nt has been consulting with science-fiction writers, and vice versa, for a =
long time. It=E2=80=99s unsurprising, for example, that there has been a ti=
ght feedback loop between real and imagined space exploration=E2=80=94illus=
trated especially well by this charming decades-old&nbsp;<a href=3D"https:/=
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DeeGI1FoySaE&amp;feature=3Dyoutu.be" target=3D"_b=
lank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-wei=
ght: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84399">documentary</a>&nbsp;ab=
out the making of&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84400">2001: A =
Space Odyssey</em>&nbsp;that highlights Arthur C. Clarke=E2=80=99s close co=
llaboration with NASA=E2=80=99s space program.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_=
16_0_1_1497400051335_84401"><aside style=3D"display: inline; font-family: s=
l-TitlingGothicFBCondensed, helvetica, sans-serif; width: 246px; float: lef=
t; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-right: 23px; font-size: 34px=
;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84402"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.1 !=
important;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84403">Science fiction and sci=
ence reality have often found themselves in a feedback loop.</div></aside><=
/div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84404"><div style=3D"line-height=
: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14974000513=
35_84405">Perhaps more surprising, though, is that such collaboration betwe=
en sci-fi writers and government has also extended to military and national=
 security concerns. For example, right-wing sci-fi writers like Robert Hein=
lein and Jerry Pournelle were&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://articles.chicagotribun=
e.com/1985-05-02/features/8501270085_1_missile-defense-star-wars-authors" t=
arget=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: non=
e; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84406">deeply invol=
ved</a>&nbsp;in the conceptualization and popularization of =E2=80=9980s-er=
a =E2=80=9CStar Wars=E2=80=9D missile defense plans. Similarly, conservativ=
e sci-fi novelist Larry Niven and may other authors=E2=80=94organized via a=
 futurist consulting organization called the SIGMA Forum, with the motto =
=E2=80=9CScience Fiction in the National Interest=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94were fix=
tures at homeland security conferences in Washington during the post=E2=80=
=93Sept. 11 Bush administration, according to&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://freere=
public.com/focus/f-news/1992798/posts" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rg=
b(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_=
16_0_1_1497400051335_84407">news</a>&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.wnyc.org/st=
ory/129496-science-fiction-in-the-national-interest/" target=3D"_blank" sty=
le=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold=
;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84408">stories</a>&nbsp;<a href=3D"http=
://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-05-29-deviant-thinkers-securit=
y_n.htm" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration=
-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84409">li=
ke</a>&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article=
/2009/05/21/AR2009052104379.html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102=
, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_=
1_1497400051335_84410">these</a>. As SIGMA=E2=80=99s founder, Arlan Andrews=
 Sr., states on the forum=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.sigmaforum.o=
rg/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-lin=
e: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84411">websit=
e</a>, =E2=80=9CI formed SIGMA because I had heard more original and approp=
riate futurism on panels at any given science fiction convention than in al=
l the forecasting meetings I ever attended while in D.C.=E2=80=9D</div></di=
v><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84412"><div style=3D"line-height: 1=
.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_=
84413">The use of science-fiction prototyping in government hasn=E2=80=99t =
only been the domain of&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/=
article/the-secret-authoritarian-history-of-science-fiction" target=3D"_bla=
nk" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weigh=
t: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84414">sci-fi=E2=80=99s sometime=
s-troubling right wing</a>, however. The Obama administration was also into=
 science fiction=E2=80=94especially Tom Kalil of the White House Office of =
Science and Technology Policy, who&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://gizmodo.com/the-w=
hite-house-wants-to-use-science-fiction-to-settle-1761748987" target=3D"_bl=
ank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weig=
ht: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84415">hosted a workshop</a>&nb=
sp;with writers, artists, and scientists to envision the colonization of th=
e solar system,&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2=
015/10/21/science-fiction-science-fact" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: r=
gb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3=
_16_0_1_1497400051335_84416">sang the praises of design fiction</a>&nbsp;as=
 a tool for innovation, and even&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.slate.com/blogs=
/future_tense/2012/07/23/tom_kalil_of_the_white_house_ostp_hosts_screening_=
of_minority_report_in_washington_.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); te=
xt-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051=
335_84417">hosted a screening of&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_=
84418">Minority Report</em></a>&nbsp;with Future Tense.&nbsp;The Obama OSTP=
 even hosted&nbsp;a private meeting with&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.kschroe=
der.com/weblog/archive/2014/11/07/white-house-visit" target=3D"_blank" styl=
e=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;=
" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84419">a delegation of sci-fi writers</a=
>&nbsp;who were visiting Washington for&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.slate.co=
m/blogs/future_tense/2014/10/03/project_hieroglyph_neal_stephenson_using_sc=
ience_fiction_to_create_a_better.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); tex=
t-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14974000513=
35_84420">Future Tense=E2=80=99s Hieroglyph event</a>.</div></div><div id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84421"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margi=
n-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84422">Th=
e trend of science fiction being used as a prototyping tool is not new. Wha=
t&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84423">is&nbsp;</em>new, howeve=
r, is that so much sci-fi prototyping that used to be done in the privacy o=
f the Pentagon or the corporate boardroom is now being done in public. Inde=
ed, there=E2=80=99s been an absolute explosion of sci-fi prototype publishi=
ng in just the past few years.&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84=
424">MIT Technology Review</em>=E2=80=99s reporting has formed a foundation=
 for its<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84425">&nbsp;</em>=E2=80=9C<a =
href=3D"https://www.technologyreview.com/twelvetomorrows/16/" target=3D"_bl=
ank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weig=
ht: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84426">Twelve Tomorrows</a>=E2=
=80=9D series of anthologies. Microsoft=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9C<a href=3D"https=
://news.microsoft.com/futurevisions/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb=
(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_1=
6_0_1_1497400051335_84427">Future Visions</a>=E2=80=9D anthology spins out =
the implications of the company=E2=80=99s latest research. When Brian David=
 Johnson was at Intel, he launched the&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://tomorrow-proj=
ects.com/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decorati=
on-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84428">=
Tomorrow Project</a>&nbsp;sci-fi prototyping story contest and related anth=
ologies. Design software company&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://autodesk.blogs.com/=
between_the_lines/2016/08/four-using-science-fiction-to-explore-technology.=
html" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-li=
ne: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84429">Autod=
esk</a>&nbsp;has published a set of stories generated by its strategic fore=
sight division. The Institute for the Future has a collection of stories ab=
out =E2=80=9C<a href=3D"http://www.iftf.org/fanfutures/" target=3D"_blank" =
style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: b=
old;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84430">The Coming Age of Networked M=
atter</a>,=E2=80=9D while Scifutures has published a collection of science =
fiction that prototypes =E2=80=9C<a href=3D"https://www.amazon.com/SciFutur=
es-Presents-City-Future/dp/0692695982" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rg=
b(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_=
16_0_1_1497400051335_84431">The City of The Future</a>.=E2=80=9D Truly, the=
re=E2=80=99s never been more corporate-driven tech scenario=E2=80=93buildin=
g available to public.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_844=
32"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" i=
d=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84433">There=E2=80=99s also been a similarl=
y public explosion of sci-fi prototyping content around the future of the m=
ilitary, with both&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://artoffuturewarfare.org/" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; fo=
nt-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84434">the Atlantic Coun=
cil</a>&nbsp;think tank and&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://futurism.com/from-sci-f=
i-to-reality-the-future-of-warfare/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(=
102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16=
_0_1_1497400051335_84435">the U.S. Marine Corps</a>&nbsp;launching contests=
 to solicit stories as well as commissioning professionals to write short f=
iction. In 2015 we even saw the publication of arguably the first sci-fi pr=
ototype novel: Peter Singer, strategist at New America, and August Cole, wh=
o runs the Atlantic Council project, published the best-selling&nbsp;<a hre=
f=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/054470505X/?tag=3Dslatmaga-20" target=3D"_bla=
nk" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weigh=
t: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84436"><em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14=
97400051335_84437">Ghost Fleet</em></a>&nbsp;to game out what World War III=
 might look like. Their one rule was that they could only write about techn=
ology that was already being designed today, with footnotes for every piece=
 of tech in the novel. Their explicit goal, in addition to writing an enter=
taining book, was to educate and influence military thinkers=E2=80=94a goal=
 at which&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/15/a-novel-about=
-war-with-china-strikes-a-chord-at-the-pentagon/" target=3D"_blank" style=
=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"=
 id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84438">they=E2=80=99ve succeeded</a>.</di=
v></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84439"><div style=3D"line-hei=
ght: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_14974000=
51335_84440">Sci-fi prototyping has also moved beyond tech companies and th=
e military. Journalists at&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84441"=
>Vice</em>=E2=80=99s&nbsp;<em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84442">Mothe=
rboard</em>&nbsp;have used science fiction to do&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://mot=
herboard.vice.com/after-the-big-one" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(=
102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16=
_0_1_1497400051335_84443">a fact-based series of short stories</a>&nbsp;abo=
ut how a long-predicted major earthquake would impact Portland, Oregon. Fus=
ion has used it to imagine&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://fusion.kinja.com/here-are=
-3-legal-cases-from-the-future-1793852862" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color=
: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yu=
i_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84444">the future of tech law</a>, while lawyer Ch=
arles Duan at the copyright reform=E2=80=93focused NGO Public Knowledge has=
&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.sbf5.com/~cduan/writings/published.shtml" targ=
et=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; =
font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84445">used science fi=
ction</a>&nbsp;to illuminate controversies in intellectual property law. Sc=
i-fi prototyping to inform conference discussions has also become a trend. =
Human rights organization Access Now held a&nbsp;<a href=3D"https://www.acc=
essnow.org/crypto_summit_part1/#flashfiction" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"co=
lor: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D=
"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84446">flash fiction contest</a>&nbsp;at its co=
nference on the future of encryption policy. (Another nerd disclosure: I wr=
ote one of those stories.)</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335=
_84447"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em=
;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84448"><a href=3D"https://wiki.mozilla.=
org/OIPS" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoratio=
n-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84449">M=
ozilla commissioned stories</a>&nbsp;from big-name writers like Cory Doctor=
ow, Hannu Rajaniemi, and Daniel Suarez for its conference on the future of =
the open internet, while the Data and Society Research Institute similarly =
used science fiction as a scenarios tool for driving a conference discussio=
n, which ultimately led to a published&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://autonomy.data=
society.net/futures-forum/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 5=
1); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497=
400051335_84450">set of four stories</a>&nbsp;about the future of A.I. and =
automation. A new online community and content portal called&nbsp;<a href=
=3D"https://scout.ai/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); t=
ext-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149740005=
1335_84451">Scout</a>&nbsp;is explicitly focused on using science fiction t=
o understand the present and plan for tomorrow. And even Future Tense, wher=
e you=E2=80=99re reading this piece right now, has gotten into the game, pu=
blishing original science fiction by&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.slate.com/a=
rticles/technology/future_tense/2017/03/_mr_thursday_a_short_story_by_stati=
on_eleven_author_emily_st_john_mandel.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51)=
; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149740=
0051335_84452">Emily St. John Mandel</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://ww=
w.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/04/mika_model_a_new_short=
_story_from_paolo_bacigalupi.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-de=
coration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_8=
4453">Paulo Bacigalupi</a>&nbsp;accompanied by&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.s=
late.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/04/a_robotics_law_expert_on_=
paolo_bacigalupi_s_mika_model.html" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-d=
ecoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_=
84454">expert commentary</a>&nbsp;to help readers grapple with new technolo=
gies.</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84455"><div style=3D=
"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1=
_1497400051335_84456">Will all of this science-fictional activity actually =
help us better cope with the future? Although it=E2=80=99s hard to tell, it=
 seems that this flood of realistic near-term science fiction should at lea=
st help spur more, and more helpful, thinking about our own future than the=
 fantastic tales of spaceships and aliens that have long dominated the sci-=
fi field. In the meantime, one new project at Glasgow University points tow=
ard a new and expanded approach to science fiction prototyping that looks t=
o the past rather than the future. That project,&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://sci=
fimedhums.glasgow.ac.uk/" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51)=
; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_149740=
0051335_84457">Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities</a>, is attemptin=
g to&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://io9.gizmodo.com/help-build-a-new-database-of-sc=
ience-fiction-works-that-1785477965" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(=
102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16=
_0_1_1497400051335_84458">crowdsource a database</a>&nbsp;that details past=
 science-fiction=E2=80=99s treatment of medical technology to see what migh=
t be usefully applied to current medical thinking. In other words, rather t=
han crafting new sci-fi prototypes, the project is looking to leverage the =
entire corpus of past science fiction as a prototype.</div></div><div id=3D=
"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84459"></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051=
335_84460"><div style=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: =
1em;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84461">The wisdom of this approach i=
s evident when you think of how it might apply in other areas, like A.I. et=
hics. As a society we are practically forced to use science-fiction concept=
s to conceptualize our artificially intelligent future, but those conversat=
ions seem mostly limited to our hopes for ethical artificial intelligence a=
 la&nbsp;<a href=3D"http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/robotics.html" target=3D=
"_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-=
weight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84462">Asimov=E2=80=99s Thr=
ee Laws of Robotics</a>, or our fears of evil A.I. like Skynet from&nbsp;<a=
 href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5AETMO/?tag=3Dslatmaga-20" target=3D"=
_blank" style=3D"color: rgb(102, 0, 51); text-decoration-line: none; font-w=
eight: bold;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84463"><em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_=
1_1497400051335_84464">The Terminator</em></a>&nbsp;or HAL 9000 from&nbsp;<=
em id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84465">2001</em>. Imagine if we instead=
 systematically mined the decades of work on the issues of AI ethics done b=
y thousands of talented science fiction writers, to widen our conceptual vo=
cabulary?</div></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84466"><div styl=
e=3D"line-height: 1.8; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" dir=3D"ltr" id=
=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1497400051335_84467">Science fiction as a field has alread=
y done an enormous amount of hard thinking about the future of intelligent =
machines, and a range of other challenging topics. It=E2=80=99s simply up t=
o us to use it. In the end, every science fiction is a prototype.</div></di=
v></div></section></div></body></html>
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