Hard Science Fiction Films that Predict Future Technology
“As the breakneck advance of technology takes us into a world that is both exciting and menacing, sci-fi films give us an inkling of what is to come, and what we should avoid.” —Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, and host of Big Picture Science
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Dr. Andrew Maynard, physicist and leading expert on socially responsible development of emerging and converging technologies, examines hard science fiction movies and brings them to life.
Science and technology are radically changing our world. Films from the Future is an essential guide to navigating a future dominated by complex and powerful new technologies. The jump from room-filling processors to pocket-size super computers is just the beginning. Artificial intelligence, gene manipulation, cloning, and inter-planet travel are all ideas that seemed like fairy tales but a few years ago. And now their possibility is very much here. But are we ready to handle these advances? As Maynard explains, “Viewed in the right way―and with a good dose of critical thinking―science fiction movies can help us think about and prepare for the social consequences of technologies we don’t yet have, but that are coming faster than we imagine.”
Dr. Maynard looks at twelve sci-fi movies and takes us on a journey through the worlds of biological and genetic manipulation, human enhancement, cyber technologies, and nanotechnology. Gain a broader understanding of the complex relationship between science and society. The movies include old and new, and the familiar and unfamiliar, providing a unique, entertaining, and ultimately transformative take on the power and responsibilities of emerging technologies.
Read books such as The Book of Why, The Science of Interstellar, or The Future of Humanity? Then you’ll love Films from the Future!
Andrew Maynard is a scientist and leading expert in the responsible development of emerging and converging technologies. Over the past twenty years he has worked closely with experts from around the world on the challenges and opportunities presented by technologies ranging from nanotechnology and synthetic biology to artificial intelligence. As well as an impressive list of academic publications, Andrew writes for media platforms that include The Conversation, he maintains a blog on technology and society (2020 Science), he produces the YouTube channel Risk Bites, and he is active on Twitter as @2020science. Andrew also regularly appears on radio, and is a sought-out speaker on emerging and converging technologies. Andrew is currently a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, and Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Lab. He is a leading expert on the risks and benefits of nanotechnology, and has testified before congressional committees and served on National Academy of Sciences committees. He is actively involved with the World Economic Forum, and previously chaired the Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies. Andrew has a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge, UK.
