What to read after A Frayed New World?

The term ‘science fiction’ conjures an image of aliens, laser guns, and dystopia—a medley of wild, improbable scenarios and possibilities. As a literary genre, we can like it or hate it, but we can’t ignore the impact it has on our world, from influencing innovations to shaping public policy. While it may be easy to dismiss sci-fi as fantasy or imagination, it isn’t as easy to disregard the questions it raises around ethics and the societal impact of science.

We can’t chase the futuristic ideas sci-fi introduces and disregard the warnings it delivers. To illustrate, tech giants today are committing billions of dollars to ‘Metaverse’, touting it as the next big thing. The idea was originally conceptualized in science fiction books—interestingly these presented a world where people are infatuated with virtual avatars, global tech corporations wield more power than governments and the quality of physical life has deteriorated.

As we enter a phase where science of today is rapidly catching up with science fiction of yesterday, can we afford a que sera sera approach to our future? 'A Frayed New World' dives into some leading works of science fiction to highlight the importance of greater questioning and making deliberate, ethical choices as we design our future with science and technology.