Science Fiction/Futures II: understanding present and future(s) of strategy, social and technological development through storytelling
Presenters:
“From what I’ve read,” I said to him, “the world goes crazy every three or four decades. The trick is to survive until it goes sane again.” ― Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower.
The first Science Fiction/Futures: how science fiction can influence strategic thinking and technological development event (Sept 2021) sparked conversation about a range of topics from how reading and writing fiction can help military strategists envision the future of warfare, to debate about whether the social lessons of science fiction are ignored in favour of the technological content.
This event Science Fiction/Futures 2 built on those discussions with new voices and ideas, including visions of South Australia in 2070. The event was to enable creative collisions of researchers and practitioners from different disciplines, with the hope of fostering a community of interest that may continue building on the ideas discussed on the night.
Background materials:
- Militaries plunder science fiction for technology ideas, but turn a blind eye to the genre’s social commentary (theconversation.com)
- Going Boldly: Military Thinking with Science Fiction | Mad Scientist Laboratory (army.mil) – Podcast
- Using Science Fiction as a TOOL for Military and Defense Organizations to Imagine the Future of War (apf.org)
- ‘It’s not climate change, it’s everything change’: sci-fi authors take on the global crisis | Science fiction books | The Guardian
- Convergence Science Fiction – Futures September 2021 (opens as PDF)