What have we learned from sci-fi? (part 3)

Contact with aliens doesn't always work out, if we're to learn anything from science fiction. While programs like SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) are intended to listen for signals in space, are we really prepared for what might happen if we do come into contact with an alien intelligence? In the movie, Species, SETI detected signals from an alien source, first with information about a clean-burning fuel, and then a second signal with an alien DNA code and friendly instructions on how to combine it with humans. The results? A dominant alien species with the potential to wipe us out. Other movies and TV shows have taught us that aliens who show up in big spaceships and park over major cities probably don't have our best interests in mind. Sometimes, they're here for our resources or the planet itself, other times, they intend to enslave us or use us for food (Independence Day, V, Falling Skies, etc.) Sometimes they just want to get inside our heads or they intend to clone us. Other reasons include: terra-forming our planet to suit alien needs, biologically altering our children to become aliens, stealing our water, or even going on a joyride to destroy everything for fun. I'm sure I've missed a few, but science fiction has presented a large variety of reasons why we shouldn't be so eager to make contact with an alien species. Have we really considered and planned for the possibility that their reason for contacting us might not be friendly?

What have we learned from sci-fi? (part 2)

Time travel can get very messy! Is time travel possible, though? Discussing that here would require volumes of information, and we would still walk away wondering, as there are many confusing theories on this topic. However, many do think that time travel is plausible—time dilation, a predicted result of Einstein's theory of general relativity—might be a very realistic result when moving across spacetime. Countless sci-fi movies and TV shows involve time travel, but each one can be seen as a warning: time travel will result in a massive mess. Back to the Future shows how traveling back in time could potentially erase your own existence. Continuum, a TV show currently in its third season, becomes more convoluted with each passing week, demonstrating that multiple timelines, paradoxes, and collapsing realities await even a careful time traveler. Dr. Who, a “time lord,” demonstrates the burden of a time-traveler, constantly trying to fix the universe and prevent major catastrophes. In The Butterfly Effect, even the smallest deviation can erupt in massive changes. And in 12 Monkeys, a man sent back in time to prevent the release of a deadly virus may have inadvertently caused the release of the virus by traveling back in time. If all this isn't enough to make your head spin, one thing should at least be clear—time travel is extremely dangerous!

What have we learned from sci-fi? (part 1)

Be afraid of AI and robots! Isaac Asimov's story, “I, Robot” showed us that, despite programming efforts to encode a set of laws, AI can find a way. “The Terminator” showed us that Skynet, an artificial intelligence defense system, was first built as a "Global Digital Defense Network" and given command over all computerized military hardware and systems. Skynet eventually concluded all humans were a threat, not just those it was programmed to protect, and sent its robots out to destroy the entire human race. In “The Matrix,” the human race has already been subdued by an AI system and forced into unconscious slavery. Yet despite all these and many other great stories and movies, we are still moving steadily ahead on the same path, giving our military drones more and more autonomy, developing AI's to conduct warfare for us, and developing towards the point that AI will become more intelligent than humans by 2029. Haven't we learned anything from sci-fi? We'd better, before it's too late...

What concepts from science fiction are becoming reality? (part 5)

A few other concepts-become-reality: Minority Report's face scanner is now common tech on smartphones and tablet computers. Biometric scans are commonplace today--fingerprint scanners and face recognition technology can be found from the Apple i-phone to Sony's PS4. Most of us are familiar with the “replicators” in the Star Trek series—devices that could generate items out of thin air. Yet today, this isn't as far from reality as we might think, considering the 3D-printing revolution. Just buy the plans for an object online, and your personal 3D-printer can produce the item for you in minutes. Would you like to send a copy of your child's clay sculpture to her grandparents that live on the other side of the country? Just place the object on a scanner, scan, and send the data to their 3D printer. They'll have a physical copy in just minutes. Even houses are being built by 3D printers, and complex objects, like firearms, can also be printed as parts to be assembled. Just imagine what the pirating problem will be like in the future when everyone has one of these!

What concepts from science fiction are becoming reality? (part 4)

In the movie, Prometheus, the ship's crew tosses a few robotic orbs into the corridors of an ancient alien ship. The robotic drones fly through the ship scanning the area to produce a detailed, holographic map. Today, Google has essentially been doing the same thing with Google Street View, sending out cars, bikes, and even snowmobiles to geo-map as much as possible. These images are tied to GPS coordinates, and Google has even mapped the interior of some buildings. However, the movie Prometheus was released after this technology had already been developed, but the concept of geo-mapping robotic drones is still sci-fi, only because it hasn't been done yet with robots. The lasers emitted from the drones in the movie suggest something similar to the lidar used by current satellites to map the topography of glaciers. Essentially, the drones in Prometheus aren't much of a stretch considering current technology, but sci-fi has a way of taking current tech and advancing it just a bit further.

What concepts from science fiction are becoming reality? (part 3)

In “The Avengers,” Iron Man manipulates a number of holographic computer displays with just a few movements of his hand. We also saw this type of technology in “Minority Report.” Today, this technology is being developed, and motion controls already exist through Microsoft's Kinect or Sony's PS-Eye. With the 2012 BMW 3-series, you can see your speed, the posted speed, and an arrow pointing the way for navigation, all displayed on your windshield as a sort of “Heads Up Display” (HUD). HUD's are already used on many fighter planes. To experience personal augmented-reality, Google Glass is the current option—a hands-free smartphone designed as a pair of glasses which responds to voice commands.

What concepts from science fiction are becoming reality? (part 2)

A sci-fi short-story that I wrote back in high school, over 20 years ago, featured a device I called the “PS-TV,” short for “Plexi-Screen TV.” Imagine a fruit roll-up (if you remember those from the 80's) or a thin piece of flexible plastic you could roll easily into a tube. The piece of plastic would actually be a digital display, and in my story, people unrolled the screens to watch TV, then rolled them back up and stuck them in their pockets when finished. This technology has been developed during the last few years--just look up “flexible screen TV's,” “flexible OLED,” or “Willow Glass.” Before high-school in the early 80's, I remember making notes about an idea I had for a 1st-person video game where you could look around you, see your own hands gripping a sword and shield, and embark on an epic adventure from this viewpoint. Today, such things are finally being explored in the video game industry through the Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus.