Artificial intelligence has been a common theme in science fiction books and movies since the year 1872. This is when author Samuel Butler wrote about a machine with “human-like intelligence”. Fast forward to the year of 2023, and those machines are now called computers and the “human-like intelligence” is called Artificial Intelligence. The creation of artificial intelligence was inevitable at the rate we are digitally innovating throughout the world, but why was it continuously brought up through science fiction?
This has to do with the genre of science fiction. Science fiction is fiction based on the imagination of technological advances within society. Oftentimes when AI is discussed in science fiction it is portrayed as a human-like robot, an all knowing computer, or even a voice in a smartphone if you have seen the movie Her. What makes artificial intelligence so easy to write about in science fiction, is its ability to change narratives. An author could portray AI to be against all humans or even make AI the hero of the science fiction novel or movie.
Growing up, I am sure all of us have had our fair share of Science Fiction books and movies, and have seen AI take many different narratives. This is what I believe to be the root cause of people’s fear of AI today. Fear of AI taking over people’s jobs and taking over the world, but it is also the reason people are excited to see what AI has in store based on what it has accomplished so far.
From the movie “Total Recall” filmed in 1990 there was a scene with a driverless car. Now, in the year 2023 we have a company named Tesla producing over a million self-driving cars each year. What used to be something that was only in movies, makes its way to reality. However this was not the only example of Sci-fi tech becoming reality. In Star Trek, Captain Kirk and Spock would run into alien life that spoke a different language than them, and they would use a universal translator. This translator would translate what the aliens were saying instantly into a language Spock and Captain Kirk could understand. This kind of technology exists and all of us are able to use it. It is within Microsoft teams, you are able to talk in any language you’d like and the person you are speaking with can listen to what you are saying in a language they understand in real time.
These two examples of science fiction becoming science nonfiction is why AI is being overhyped, this is why it is going through the hype cycle. There has been hype about AI since the year 1872, and now that is finally here society does not know how to react. With all this being said, what is one of your favorite examples of Science fiction becoming reality? Also, do you think that fear and excitement levels today are where they need to be regarding AI? Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you realized that nothing is ever impossible when it comes to science fiction technology, it just takes time.
I find that at some point, a student usually makes the connection between this class and the BBC/Netflix show “Black Mirror.” There definitely is a close connection between tech and sci fi.
Cool blog post. Science fiction is way out there but as innovation continues it becomes closer and closer. Pretty scary to think about.
Hey Garrett, this was an interesting post. Many people used to turn a side eye to “science fiction” because of how distant it seemed but now that the tech exists, many individuals have taken initiative to make it a reality. Professor Kane made a great point in the comment above when he brought up black mirror as a mix of the two phenomena and I firmly believe that it’s the route that we’re going down as innovation in tech and science continues.
Hi Garrett, I enjoyed reading your blog post. It is interesting to see how much we are advancing with AI, and it is definitely scary to see how far we have come in the last few years. I will be interested to see how much we continue to use AI and how many new industries that AI will become an integral part in.
Hey Garrett, this was a fun blog post to read as it reminded me of the movie i-Robot. I am honestly on the fence about where I think we are on the hype curve. I want to say we are overhyping it to an extent but at the same time, the shear amount of things AI can do is quite impressive. It is also only growing and with more people using it the better it only gets. Now that AI is getting a lot of hype big companies are pouring even more money than ever into it which I think is just speeding up the process of where AI can take us.
Hi Garrett, this is a great topic to write about. There are plenty of futuristic movies and TV shows, and I wonder which ones will have had the closest portrayal of future reality. It is interesting to see some science fiction technologies become real. Nice post!
This is a great topic to discuss. I love the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey which was released in 1968(!) by Stanley Kubrick. AI takes over in space, which is wild to see. Very interesting that it was such a topic of sci-fi – they most have known what was coming down the road even at the earliest origins of technology.
It is crazy to see how far-fetched technologies from a few years ago are becoming reality now. Applying this cycle to the present, I think there will be huge breakthroughs within the technology industry over the next decade. Although it is hyped up a ton, I think the hype is valid considering the possibility of changes that will alter how we live on a daily basis. Great post!
I really enjoyed reading your post about the history of artificial intelligence in science fiction and how it has become a reality in our society today. It was fascinating to read about how science fiction has influenced our perception of AI and how it has contributed to both our fear and excitement about its potential.
I think it depends on the form that AI takes that determines if it’s scary or not. Chatbots like ChatGPT that are just on your computer aren’t scary, but human sized robots programmed with AI like it shows in movies can seem terrifying. I also think it makes sense to be a little fearful of something you don’t completely understand, especially when it has been constantly portrayed to you as a villain.
Garrett, this blog post definitely relates to a lot of what I’ve been thinking and feeling, haha! My girlfriend and I have been watching Star Wars and seeing some of the things that they considered sci-fi in the 70’s and such being actual technologies we have now (ignoring the hyper space travel) is just really cool but also definitely concerning in other ways such as rogue AI. Lots of room to wonder in excitement and be a little wary for what’s to come!