Science Fictions becoming Reality
As a kid, I loved reading science fiction. I used to get fascinated by what the future holds in terms of technology. Most of these books I read were in Marathi and were by eminent scientists and writers such as Jayant Narlikar, Niranjan Ghate, Mohan Apte. These fictions did not restrict themselves to the technological progress of humankind but also explored how society will be shaped by it. And this aspect, which I did not find much interesting back then, is more fascinating than the technology itself. Today, when we are debating how technology is changing society, it is interesting to revisit some of these stories.
The first story (mostly from Narlikar’s book) was about a technologically advanced planet, where most of the tasks were automated and humans had little work to do. So when an individual became an adult at 18 years of age, s/he had to choose from 2 options — either s/he can decide to enjoy comfortable life fully provided by the government or s/he can decide to work hard to contribute to the improvement of the society. This so much mirrors the Universal Basic Income being discussed and how automation will require only highly skilled people. In the future, though not explicitly, people may indeed have this choice.
This option to spend life without any effort reminds me of the second science fiction. It was about a dystopian future, where people are addicted to certain devices n they just enjoy their effortless life. This reduces the productivity of the nation and crisis ensues. In today’s world, there is so much to consume through online content, social media that one can spend entire life without doing anything productive and just consuming stuff- movies, books, or any media. In my opinion, with this consumption-driven life, there is little motivation to put effort to contribute, especially in developed countries. I wonder if we will reach a stage, where most people have succumbed to ‘bliss of consumption’ and would not contribute anything productive.
The last science fiction that I would like to mention is very topical. AIDS virus undergoes metamorphosis and becomes a disease that can be spread by air. This forces people to stay indoors and there are strict restrictions on gathering. Yes, this does sound like COVID-19 outbreak. While the science fiction predicted the decimation of a large proportion of the human population (50% IIRC), I am sure COVID-19 won’t be that deadly. But in the future, the nature of human interactions and human society will definitely change. (This story is told by a time traveler to the future)
Science fictions indeed foretell not only science but also how societies will change because of science!
PS: Does anyone remembers the names of these stories and the books they appear in?
