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Artificial intelligence has influenced many books and films over the years, ranging from the Wintermute AI in William Gibson’s Neuromancer to the Skynet defense network in the Terminator movies.
And who can forget HAL 9000, the calculating AI that controlled the spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey, with its glowing red “eye” and monotone voice?
Now, as we enter a new era of AI capabilities, advancements and concerns, it’s a safe bet that artificial intelligence will dominate the science fiction genre for the foreseeable future.
Of course, this is a prediction and not a certainty. We’ll find out over the next few years if I’m right. But I would wager a good chunk of change that we will see a new outpouring of AI-inspired science fiction books and movies over the coming years.
Why AI Could Soon Dominate the Sci-Fi Genre
As a sci-fi writer myself, I’m drawn to artificial intelligence for a number of reasons. AI gives writers a tremendous blank slate to work with. We can look at today’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems and speculate about what might be possible 20, 50 or 100 years from now. And that opens up a world of storytelling possibilities.
Here are five reasons why AI could dominate science fiction in the near future:
1. It has captured the world’s attention.
“And nowadays, the idea of AI is not really science fiction anymore—it’s just science fact.” -Lisa Joy
Over the past year alone, artificial intelligence has generated a tsunami of news coverage, speculation, debate, conspiracy theories, and philosophical discussion. With its breakthrough capabilities and seemingly endless applications, it has captured the world’s attention and thrust itself into our daily lives.
And where the world’s attention goes, science fiction often follows.
Sci-fi writers have a way of quietly observing new discoveries, achievements and scientific advancements, and then speculating about them. Here are some prominent examples:
The Space Race and the moon landing of the 1960s sparked an interest in space exploration and led to a new outpouring of space-related science fiction stories.
The early days of Cold War, and the existential angst surrounding nuclear weapons, resulted in a slew of post-apocalyptic nuclear holocaust stories.
Evolving insights into DNA have inspired many stories about genetic engineering and cloning, such as Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park.
The rise of the internet spawned stories about virtual reality, augmented reality, and other technologies that blur the lines between the real world and the digital world.
Concerns about climate change and environmental degradation have inspired dystopian and post-apocalyptic science fiction narratives.
The development of artificial intelligence and robotics has encouraged writers to imagine a future where machines become sentient and self-aware.
Right now, a lot of science fiction writers are watching these AI-related developments and mining them for unique story ideas. And we will see some of those stories very soon.
2. It’s the biggest scientific breakthrough of our lifetime.
“Science fiction and fantasy is a kind of literature that embodies the highest aspirations of the human race.” -Harlan Ellison
There’s no denying that AI is one the biggest scientific breakthroughs of our lifetimes. It’s mind-boggling, when you sit back and think about it. Humans have learned to create artificial entities that can mimic human behaviors—entities that might someday surpass our own intelligence.
That’s the futuristic and speculative side of it. But even here in the present, AI represents a tremendous scientific achievement with seemingly limitless applications.
It can improve agriculture, accelerate vaccine development, generate educational curriculums, and even prevent the decline of bee populations. And that only scratches the surface. Is there any other technology on the planet with so many diverse applications, uses and abilities?
Of course, AI can cause a lot of harm as well. We’ve already witnessed a disturbing rise of disinformation, misinformation, deep fakes, fake news, and other forms of malicious use.
Enter science fiction. Sci-fi writers can assess the current abilities of artificial intelligence—warts and all—and speculate about how AI might affect our society in the future.
3. We still don’t fully understand its true potential.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” -Albert Einstein
Artificial intelligence came into existence due to the combined and cumulative knowledge of countless humans. But at the same time, we have tremendous knowledge gaps when it comes to AI and its future capabilities.
According to a May 2023 article in Scientific American:
“No one yet knows how ChatGPT and its artificial-intelligence cousins will transform the world, and one reason is that no one really knows what goes on inside them. Some of these systems’ abilities go far beyond what they were trained to do—and even their inventors are baffled as to why.”
This is fertile territory for science fiction writers.
Imagine all of the different ways AI might surprise us down the road. They might be pleasant surprises, like the ability to diagnose and treat childhood illnesses; or unpleasant ones, like the ability to rewrite their own programming and “break free” from their constraints.
The truth is we just don’t know. But sci-fi writers can help us explore such possibilities.
4. AI gives writers many different themes to work with.
“Science fiction frees you to go anyplace and examine anything.” -Octavia E. Butler
Science fiction writers like to explore weighty themes and thought-provoking subjects, and to come at them from different angles.
Take climate change. It’s a serious subject, no doubt. But a sci-fi writer could portray this subject through many different lenses. They might use this theme to create eco thrillers, dystopian futures, alternative histories, post-apocalyptic visions, or even light-hearted humor stories.
Artificial intelligence gives science fiction writers even more space to create. I can think of no limits as to how you might explore this particular subject … can you?
Additionally, a writer could depict AI from the so-called “hard” side of science fiction, which focuses on scientific accuracy and technical detail, or the “softer” side that emphasizes the human aspect. Or they could integrate both in whatever measure they see fit.
Consider the differences between these types of AI-themed science fiction:
- Harder: The author might delve into the highly technical aspects of AI by exploring its advanced programming languages, algorithms, and the intricacies of neural networks. They might describe the precise inner workings of the machine consciousness and its capabilities.
- Softer: The author might instead choose to focus on the social and cultural impact of AI on society. They might show humans struggling to adapt to rapid technological change, or focus on themes of companionship, loneliness, identity and self-awareness.
This is a simplified dichotomy, obviously. By its very nature, science fiction can span a broad range of technical or human-focused themes, and blur them as it sees fit. The point here is simply to demonstrate how a science fiction writer might look at AI from different angles to create an interesting story.
5. AI unsettles us.
“What [AI] does is it sucks something from you. It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.” -Tim Burton
There’s no shortage of ideas, views and opinions circulating on the subject of artificial intelligence, and they cover a wide spectrum. Some are enthralled by AI, while others find it deeply unsettling and perhaps even frightening.
The very term “artificial intelligence” works as a Frankenstein metaphor. Victor Frankenstein built his creation from assembled body parts and strange chemicals, rather than algorithms and neural networks. But he still created something from nothing, and that something went on to develop its own kind of intelligence and motives.
The concept of mimicry can be equally unsettling. Large language model (LLM) chatbots are designed to mimic human language, writing and “thought.” But they obviously aren’t human. It’s almost like a person pretending to be someone they are not, in order to infiltrate a group.
The term “humanlike” is often used to describe the abilities of artificial intelligence. The creators of these technologies often tout their humanlike behaviors, as if that’s the ultimate measure of success.
But there’s a flip side to this as well. The more humanlike a machine is, the more difficult it becomes to identify it as a machine. Especially online.
Have you ever had a customer service chat with what you thought was a real person, only to find out it was an AI-powered chatbot? It won’t be long before this kind of mimicry manifests in other ways as well, such as lifelike onscreen personas that look and sound human but aren’t.
I asked ChatGPT why some people find AI creepy, and it cited the uncanny valley effect (among other things). Here’s what the chatbot told me:
“The uncanny valley is a concept in robotics and AI that suggests that as a robot or AI becomes more human-like in appearance and behavior, there is a point at which it becomes unsettling or creepy rather than endearing. When AI looks and acts almost like a human but still has subtle differences, it can evoke a feeling of discomfort.”
What do you think? Do you like reading (or writing) science fiction stories involving AI? What is that you like, or dislike, about artificial intelligence themes in fiction? Do you think AI will dominate the sci-fi genre going forward, maybe for some reason that wasn’t listed above? I’d love to hear from you!