Many researchers acknowledge the role that science fiction has played in triggering their interest in science and inspiring breakthroughs. Indeed, there are many examples of fictional technologies ...

For the past decade, a group called the Future of Life Institute has been campaigning for human welfare in public conversations around nuclear weapons, climate change, artificial intelligence and ...

Science fiction (SF) influences everything in this day and age, from the design of everyday artifacts to how we—including the current crop of 50-something Silicon Valley billionaires—work. And that’s ...

BOT or NOT? This special series explores the evolving relationship between humans and machines, examining the ways that robots, artificial intelligence and automation are impacting our work and lives.

Many of the technological achievements in the last few decades were actually ideas prophetically described in science fiction literature long before they became a reality. Throughout most of history, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover aerospace, astronomy & hosted The Cosmic Controversy Podcast. As the recent Worldcon 2025 Convention here in Seattle ...

AlphaGo, fake news, cyberwar: 2017 has felt science-fictional in the here and now. Space settlement and sea-steading seem just around the bend; so, at times, do nuclear war and pandemic. With ...

There are well understood terms of engagement between the people who write for publication, on one hand, and the academics and critics who discuss it, on the other. Writers write. Then the academics ...

The current cultural fascination and frustration with artificial intelligence is nothing new. As far back as the 1921 Czech play R.U.R. — the workers-rights story that first coined the term “robot” — ...

Young people who are hooked on watching fantasy or reading science fiction may be on to something. Contrary to a common misperception that reading this genre is an unworthy practice, reading science ...