Science Fiction Prototyping. Brian David Johnson
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think what captivated me at 11 was that the movie allowed me to imagine the implications of a future that seemed very real. I knew enough about computers to know that this could possibly happen but what really captivated me was imagining how it could possibly happen.
The goal of SF prototypes is to start a conversation about technology and the future. This is incredibly important because the future is not set. The effects of science and technology are not a predetermined thing of nature. The future is made everyday by the action of people. We control our own future. It is precisely because of this that we must talk about the future we want to live in and explore the various futures we must avoid. Science fiction gives us a language so that we can have a conversation about the future. SF prototypes are tools to develop that language. The stories, movies and comics that we make can get researchers, designers, scientists, engineers, professors, politicians, philosophers and just everyday average people thinking about science in a new and creative way by using science fueled stories that capture our imaginations. SF prototypes let us imagine the future, to think through the ethical implications of technologies, play with possible benefits, explore possible tragedies and ultimately engage in a deeper conversation about science, technology and our future.
THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS
I am a futurist at the Intel Corporation. My brother says that if I were a character in a science fiction movie, when I came onto the screen and announced that I was a futurist from the Intel Corporation, pretty much everyone in the audience would assume that I was evil. That I was the villain! But I am not really that kind of futurist. My type of futurism is very pragmatic and realistic. It is my job to envision how people will use computers and intelligent devices in the future. I am writing this in 2011, it is my job to develop a practical vision for computers and gadgets in the year 2020 and beyond.
Now most of this work is not as exciting as it sounds. To have a vision for computing in 2020, you need to have a vision for what the world will actually look like in 2020. This involves a lot of research profiles, government reports, projections, market analysis, studies and a mass of data about where our world economies, environment and infrastructure are headed. The biggest let down about the year 2020 is that is looks a lot like 2010. Just like 2010 looked a lot like 2000 in many ways. But there are some bright spots, some cool new gadgets, some nearly magic technologies and some things that could change how we live, work and have fun.
Now future casting may sound like science fiction but it is not. It is actually very pragmatic. Intel makes microprocessors, Chips, the brains inside your computer. To design, build and produce a microprocessor take about 5 to 10 years. What that means is that today, in 2011, we have to have a pretty good idea of what people will want to be doing in 2017. We are building that 2017 chip today. I actually had a meeting about it this afternoon.
Future casting is not about predicting the future. Like I said before, the future is not set, we build our future everyday by the decisions we make and the things we do. Because of this, it is really impossible and useless to try and predict the future. Future casting is a process that we use to develop a vision for the future. We pull together trends, global projections and technology development into this vision and then iterate it over time. The future is always in motion, so we have to keep moving as well, adjusting to innovation and changes in culture. The key to this process is to make things, develop prototypes and generally just create stuff that expresses the future as we currently see it. Then, we share these artifacts with people to start or continue the conversation about where we are headed. Often, the things that we create are complex data models that we can analyze and discuss, but just as often, these prototypes are science fiction stories, movies and comics.
SF prototyping is an important part of future casting. We use these prototypes to envision technologies in the lives of real people all over the world. SF prototyping allows us to explore and iterate how technology can shape and be shaped by the people who use it. To date, probably the most public example of how we have used SF prototyping at Intel is The Tomorrow Project. In Germany, in 2010, we published Uber Morgen, roughly translated, it means “the day after tomorrow.” The English language version of the work was called The Tomorrow Project (http://newsroom.intel.com/docs/DOC-1490).
The Tomorrow Project is a short story anthology of four works by world renowned science fiction authors and futurists. To produce the stories, we gave them access to the technology development work we are doing in Intel’s labs. Our engineers showed them the work we are doing in robotics (robot assistants for interior spaces where people live or work), telematics (making road transportation more intelligent; cars, trucks, buses, street signs that could be equipped with IT systems to communicate and reduce congestion), photonics (transferring massive amounts of data using light), dynamic physical rendering (using intelligent material consisting of thousands of tiny robots to collectively facilitate telepresence, teleoperation and distributed sensing) and finally, the fascinating intelligent devices (devices equipped with sensors to analyze environmental pollution as well as a personal health and emotions, allowing people to interact with devices using gestures and even just their thoughts).
What was striking about each story was that even though they are all science fiction stories, they are all first and foremost, stories about people. Each story was unique in its own vision and portrayal of life in the future, but each of them was also extraordinarily good at capturing the human drama of the future. These stories were not about technology, they were about the complex and fascinating lives of their characters. Technology was simply a part of the drama.
In the collection, English science fiction writer Scarlett Thomas’ story, The Drop, gives us a portrait of a family in a world that is mundane and familiar yet ingenious in its technological connections. German author Markus Heitz’s Blink of an Eye is a fascinating cautionary tale, pitting our human wants and desires against our ability to construct a future that we may not want to live in. American Douglas Rushkoff’s Last Day of Work tells us about Dr. Leon Spiegel’s last day of work, literally the last human to work. With intelligence and foresight, Rushkoff ultimately challenges what it means to be human. And finally, England’s Ray Hammond’s The Mercy Dash gives us a couple’s pulse-pounding break-neck race to save the life of a loved one. It is a race that is both helped and hindered by a complex landscape of devices, sensors and connections.
These stories ultimately show us that the stories of our future are not about technology, megatrends or predictions. They show us that the future is about people. By building these visions for the future, we can explore the innovations that Intel is building in our labs today and imagine them in real-life situations tomorrow.
But I think SF prototyping is a bit more important than that. Remember what I said before that the future is not set … that the future is made everyday by the actions of people? I truly believe this. I also believe that it is incredibly important that we are all active participants in the future. What kind of future do we want to live in? What are we afraid of ? What should our future look like all over the world? Well, if we are the ones who control our future, then we should do something about it!
Creating SF prototypes, writing stories, making movies and drawing comics about the future are one of those things that people can do to actually change the future. Think about the power of science fiction to capture people’s imagination and change the way we think. WarGames was just one of the science fiction stories that did that for me when I was a kid. If we can capture people’s imaginations and get us all talking about the future, then we can affect that future, we can build it by what we care doing today. Your future is truly in your hands.
“SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?”: WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THIS BOOK
The idea of using science fiction as a prototype or development tool for the future is a pretty new idea. Certainly, science fiction and science fact have had long and fruitful relationship in the past. Science fiction stories and movies have inspired generations of scientists, engineers and developers. Similarly, scientific breakthroughs and technology innovation have revved up the imaginations of writers, filmmakers and artists.