When Tech Goes Wrong and the Science Fiction that Glorifies it
This last week we saw two major stories of technology going horribly wrong. First, Google’s new Gemini text-to-art AI program displayed serious racial flaws, churning out inappropriate historical images such as black Nazi soldiers.
Second, the Odysseus lunar lander tipped over after touching down on the moon’s surface, apparently dooming the craft. Houston-based Intuitive Machines announced that the lander’s solar panels cannot gather light due to its current position, meaning its useful time is thus limited.
Science fiction often covers the wonder of using effective technology, and is often prescient. If an author can imagine it, the tech will probably come about, eventually. Submarines, flip phones, the Internet, and many more things were predicted in SF before their invention in real life.
But when the technology goes wrong . . . that’s where the real drama lies. Who can forget the faceless, emotionless apology from HAL informing Dave he could not open the airlock? Or the damaged spaceship bringing an astronaut back from suspended animation, only to find him landing on a planet full of apes? Or perhaps most notoriously, when a global AI system decided to terminate humans using robots?
Indeed, faulty technology makes for interesting stories.
Thanks in part to your efforts, the Steam & Aether Books 1-5 box set debuted last week as the #1 new release in Steampunk Science Fiction on Amazon. I remain humble and grateful for your support.
I’m happy to announce the pre-order availability of Stentorian’s Moon, Book 8 in the Star League Assassins series. It is scheduled for release on Mar. 21.