The new Terminator series brings up again<http://sentientdevelopments.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-terminator-show-brings-singularity.html>the concept of mass-market Singularity fiction.
The folly of argument from fiction has been discussed enough. I want to raise another question: What is the relevance, if any, of Singularity fiction? Speculative fiction has often influenced the real world. Walden 2, Old-New Land, Utopia, 1984, Brave New World, etc. changed people's political outlook. Science fiction inspired many people to become engineers and scientists, including some who accomplished great things. What is the real-world role of Singularity fiction? Should we differentiate between fiction which reaches the narrow intellectual/geek audience and that which spreads to a mass audience? Should we use fiction as a platform for getting attention by contrasting it to a more insightful analysis (as in the SIAI I Robot campaign) ? Or can we hold up specific works of fiction, with all their limitations, as inspiration for working to attain a better future or head off threats? Joshua ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=4007604&id_secret=93892203-2c9636
