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Is this a call for pink glasses? It sounds like that to me.
On Twitter, Colin Fraser pointed out that Black Mirror was somewhat optimistic in that the horrible evil technology actually works as described[1]. Truly pessimistic science fiction would have - people worshipping an AI God which is demonstrably dumber than a dog - friendly humanoid robots which don't really understand how to walk down a flight of stairs - gravitational warp drives which are purely cosmetic and canno…
Hilariously, a dyson sphere operating at 5% capacity would still generate more power every second than humanity currently generates in 10,000 years.
Good point. Can someone recommend some good optimistic science fiction?
> You can't operate a deconstruction machine indefinitely; ultimately, the machine is all you have left to take apart. We need to make aspirational shit again so we have something to deconstruct later. It's not a mysterious process, it's just the opposite of what we were doing before.
Unpopular take, and note, I am not an expert: There seems to be an overabundance of sci-fi that is hyperoptimistic with regard to tech advances. The 2nd law of thermodynamics is not understood by most, or waved away as 'overcome thru future science'. fwiw, here's a few works I've found to be less the above: book: Kim Stanley Robinson's _Aurora_ short stories: Damon Knight's _Stranger Station_ Larry Nivens' _Inconstan…
Good point. Can someone recommend some good optimistic science fiction?
Project Hail Mary, The Martian, Contact. Somewhat in line with a better future mentioned in the essay, The Ministry for the Future and the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson posit some solutions to some big technological challenges with a lot of time with each side in the political debate, though whether one finds it optimistic lies with the reader.
OK, we know what's coming. - Energy is less of a problem, between cheap solar cells and batteries. - Materials may start to be a problem, but not yet. - Population is leveling off and dropping in some countries, but continues to grow in Africa and among the religious groups which keep women at home. - Equatorial areas are becoming uninhabitable. - AI is rapidly getting better. Not clear how good it gets, but if every…
This is a problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufmu1WD2TSk
- AI is rapidly getting better. Not clear how good it gets, but if everything you do for money goes in and out over a wire, you're in trouble.
Or, everything gets so abundant that we can actually have high UBI
This reminds me if why I disliked to movie Elysium. They had a robots that effectively gave free perfect medical care. I didn't buy the premise of the movie that only that rich would be able to use them. Given they were robots, governments, hospitals, could and would make them readily available since ultimately it would massively lower their medical costs.
Good point. Can someone recommend some good optimistic science fiction?
The Ministry for the Future , by Kim Stanley Robinson. Realistic and optimistic climate fiction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future
The human part of that book is fantasy, and not a great one. At some point the suspension of disbelief crash into pieces.