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Most recently published stories in Futurism.
Artificial Intelligence Endangers Mankind?
“With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon,” chief executive of Tesla and Space X Elon Musk eerily warned listeners at the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics department’s Centennial Symposium in October of 2014. “In all those stories where there's the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it's like, yeah he's sure he can control the demon. Didn't work out.” Some people believe artificial intelligence is evil and will end the human race while others believe they will only enhance our well-being. The thought of an evil robot stampeding through a mound of human skulls are deeply ingrained by way of modern pop culture and movies like James Cameron's iconic Terminator. These outrageous, though plausible, thoughts make the idea of artificial intelligence less attractive when giving a helping hand to everything in your everyday life.
George GottPublished 8 years ago in FuturismHow to Analyze a Science Fiction Film
I like to time travel, so I love science fiction. Unlike other genres of film, science fiction warrants its own criteria to be effectively evaluated. First, like any film, we measure a movie for its entertainment value: cinematography, acting, and plot (the basics). Science fiction cinema has an extra step. Audiences have to ask, is this good science fiction? The most important thing to realize when learning how to analyze a science fiction film is that qualifying as sci-fi takes more than putting actors on a stage set in space. Plenty of films purport to be science fiction but fall flat under analysis, because they fall back on fantasy or rely on absurd logic.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSpace Exploration Developments by 2050, A Fictional Vision
By 2050, the concept of exploring Mars will have been the impetus that drove the world to tackle space exploration. Here, society is filled with goals of establishing permanent habitats on the Moon and Mars, and developing the resources of these and other planetary bodies. The concerted efforts to meet the challenges of space exploration might well bring about a multitude of exploratory developments. By 2050, how will our outer-world function?
S.H. JuchaPublished 8 years ago in FuturismMost Creative Indie Games
This unique article has become a small ever-evolving list and blog of new and even a few old games, depending on perspective. Perhaps playing the original Space Invaders is a brand new experience to you; for me it was over 35 years ago, and I still remember how I loved it. I have been playing video and arcade games since before there were cable boxes. In some ways, perhaps, this will become my personal diary of new and old (again, depending on your timeline) video and arcade games, that might interest you and challenge your intellect. The article is in no particular order but my most recent additions are at the bottom.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in FuturismBest Clone Movies
One day we will clone a woolly mammoth. A discovered gene that kept mammoths warm in their arctic habitat could be the answer to cloning the animal today. Although there have been other clones such as Dolly the Sheep, the clone of a woolly mammoth is especially spectacular because it is an extinct animal that no human has ever come in contact with before. While it is unsure when the cloning will take place, it is inevitable. As with a great deal of science, it is derived by the pursuit of science fiction. Perhaps geneticists will one day turn to Hollywood to inspire them in their pursuit of genetic cloning in the best clone movies.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSci-Fi Romance Kindle Novels
Love knows no boundaries or different gravitational pulls. Sci-fi romance is still a relatively new category which can make it difficult to find well-written and original plot lines. There are plenty of great love stories in science fiction literature. Amazon Kindle is the most convenient way to access the endless library of literature on the internet and read it anywhere and anytime. From classics like the romantic relationship of Paul and Chani in Dune to an alien's last hope to restore his species in Captured, there is a story for every fan of sci-fi romance Kindle novels.
Futurism StaffPublished 8 years ago in FuturismBest Isaac Asimov Books
Often known to say that he did not fear computers, Isaac Asimov was truly fearful of the lack of computers. Isaac Asimov's imagination is synonymous with prophetic visions of the future. On science, he said, "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I've found it!), but 'That's funny...'" At one point, Isaac Asimov served as the Vice President of the MENSA organization. He referred to his colleagues in MENSA International as "brain proud" and quite passionately raved about their IQs. A genius among geniuses, Isaac Asimov's contribution to science fiction literature stands alongside those of his contemporaries, and his books surely rival the best Arthur C. Clarke books and the greatest works of Robert Heinlein. Whether I, Robot or I, Asimov – the author's memoir – is your book of choice, celebrate this iconic author with the best Isaac Asimov books.
Natasha SydorPublished 8 years ago in FuturismPlanet of the Apes is the Best Reboot Ever
Tim Burton’s reimagining of Planet Of The Apes in 2001 will always serve as a ready example of why Hollywood reboots are often as forgettable as they are unnecessary. It failed to capture any of the social commentary intended by the originals. Filmed during the civil rights movement, Planet Of The Apes was a warning of sorts, as relevant today as it was then. This, in spite of all the love and artistry that went into making the film, is the extent of its legacy. Chalk it up to Mark Wahlberg’s wide-eyed performance, which in the larger context of his filmography makes The Happening look like a masterwork of cinema by comparison—or to the offensively absurd ending. Either way, you are unlikely to find anything redeeming whatsoever within the film’s tedious runtime.
Yar's Plume
It was uncomfortably chilly on the night we saw each other last. I remember the methane snowflakes and the carbon ice, the first time around. The landscape around the Plume had an unusually eerie feeling. Even a really long displacement such as the one I was going through now could not approximate the feeling. The memory somehow made the hair on my back rise. A distant, logical, and pedantic part of my troubled, aching mind sought to inform the other part—the instinctive, impulse-driven part—that technically, I had no hair. No back for that matter either.
Vasileios KalampakasPublished 8 years ago in FuturismExamining the Fermi Paradox
The Fermi Paradox is the apparent contradiction between the high probability of other lifeforms in the universe and humanity's lack of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. For every grain of sand on Earth there are 10,000 stars, a vastness so immense it escapes comprehension. Humanity should not be the only intelligent life in the universe, but so far no evidence indicates otherwise. Robin Hanson is amongst pragmatic intellects who answer the paradox by amplifying the differentiation between finding life, and finding intelligent life.
John FoleyPublished 8 years ago in FuturismCan We Live on Venus?
Floating cities on Venus; it sounds like something Hugo Gernsback would have published in the pulp era of science fiction, but colonizing the second planet from the sun may not be as impossible as is widely believed. Despite Dantean-like surface conditions with temperatures that can melt lead, and atmospheric pressure equal to being under 3,000 feet of water, there remains a plausible place humanity might be able to exist—not on the surface but in the atmosphere above.
Chris LitesPublished 8 years ago in FuturismRemembering Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy
Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy once said, "Spock is definitely one of my best friends. When I put on those ears, it's not like just another day. When I become Spock, that day becomes something special." Commemorating the life and work of Leonard Nimoy could not be done without admiring his accomplishments, as Spock and otherwise. Nimoy passed away on February 27, 2015, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the age of 83. Seemingly inseparable from Star Trek with his role as Mr. Spock, the superrational Vulcan-human, a role Nimoy portrayed for over 40 years, the actor also was a successful poet, author, director, photographer, and music artist. However you remember Nimoy, his career will remain nestled in our memories until the last galaxy flickers out of existence. He embodied the driving tenet of his counterpart, Mr. Spock. Nimoy "Live[ed] long and prosper[ed]."
Isaac ShapiroPublished 8 years ago in Futurism