by Siddharth Yadav
January 17, 2024
Introduction:
Read more here (This article is somewhat longer than articles to which I typically link): https://www.orfonline.org/research/sci ... ing-tech(Observer Research Foundation) This issue brief examines the complex interplay between science fiction and technology development in the age of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and brain-computer interfaces. As the line between science and fiction continues to blur, this brief argues for strategically using science fiction narratives to inform and guide technology development and policymaking. Drawing upon historical precedents of science fiction influencing real-world products, it highlights the genre’s role in shaping technological trajectories and governance frameworks. Amid rapid technological advancement and divergent views on future risks, this brief advocates for science fiction to be a vital tool in envisioning and evaluating the societal impacts of emerging technologies, proposing a novel approach to anticipatory policy governance.
Introduction
Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) will be strategically pivotal in the twenty-first century. The rapid advancement of frontier technologies, including AI, virtual reality (VR), and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), presents a pressing challenge for governments worldwide. The accelerating pace of technological innovation, the chaotic and sensationalist marketing strategies aimed by AI developers at non-experts, and the potentially asymmetric cross-sector impact of emerging tech platforms demand proactive policy responses and robust sociopolitical discussions. However, policymakers and analysts confront a unique difficulty: engaging in conversations about emerging technologies and platforms that are constantly evolving.
This issue came to the fore in 2017 during discussions on AI policy at the European Parliament. Following talks on possible near-future applications of AI in one of the world’s first AI policy documents, the European Parliament adopted its Civil Law Rules for Robotics. The discussions opened with various references to science fiction, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Czech author Karel Capek’s coinage of the term ‘robot’ in 1921, and the three laws of robotics posited in Isaac Asimov’s 1943 short story Runaround. During the discussion, the Parliament requested the European Commission to submit a proposal for a directive on civil law rules for robots and “creating a specific legal status for robots in the long run”.
