Science fiction allows artists to speculate about the future through imaginative and technical concepts. But so often the prevailing vision of that future in popular culture tends toward the dystopian — including themes of environmental catastrophe, societal inequity, and technological domination.
So why is it that so many writers of science fiction (sci-fi), or, for that matter, the emerging genre known as “cli-fi” (climate fiction), inhabit realities that no one wants to live in? And how might these stories instead encourage audiences to behave in ways that can help lead to a better future?
Science fiction isn’t just about imagining the future — it’s about shaping it.
In a new series called “Sci X Sci-Fi,” Yale Planetary Solutions will convene leading thinkers from across many realms — futurists and scientists, artists and engineers — to envision a thriving, resilient future and to identify the kinds of knowledge that must be created, catalyzed, and implemented to get there. The series kicks off next week with a four-day visit — from March 31 to April 3 — by science fiction author and science writer Annalee Newitz.
Yale Planetary Solutions is a university initiative that unites leadership and experts across campus, and across disciplines, to advance solutions to the greatest environmental challenges facing the planet.
“Science fiction isn’t just about imagining the future — it’s about shaping it,” said Julie Zimmerman, Yale’s vice provost for planetary solutions. “By bringing together scientists, engineers, humanists, artists, and the broad Yale community, Sci X Sci-Fi sparks the creativity and collaboration needed to turn bold ideas into real-world planetary solutions.”
As Sci X Sci-Fi’s inaugural “creator-in-residence,” Newitz will participate in a series of events on campus and in New Haven, including a conversation with Carl Zimmer, a science writer for the New York Times and Yale lecturer; a green chemistry and engineering breakfast in which students can pitch their research ideas; a seminar on “Avoiding Dystopia, in Theory and Practice”; and a closing fireside panel discussion on “Re-Writing Our Climate’s Future by Embracing Creativity and Optimism” at the New Haven Free Public Library. Their visit is being supported by a Poynter Fellowship in Journalism.
Newitz has written three novels — “The Terraformers,” “The Future of Another Timeline,” and “Autonomous,” which won the Lambda Literary Award — and is the author of multiple nonfiction books, including “Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind,” “Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age,” and “Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction,” which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science.
In an interview, Newitz explains how science fiction offers a kind of “safe sandbox” to game out scenarios for a better future, why it’s critical to convene science and the humanities, and why they are excited to visit one Yale robotics lab in particular.
What future world do you want and how do you think we can we get there? And given all the challenges we face in achieving a more utopic world, what are some alternate directions proposed by sci-fi or cli-fi that we can learn from?
Annalee Newitz: Instead of dividing our dreams up into “utopia” and “dystopia,” I’m interested in thinking about “topias,” or futures that have elements of hope and struggle. I think the best fiction offers us a practical picture of a future world where things might be going better — we might have carbon-negative energy sources, or sustainable agricultural practices — but at the same time we’ll still be dealing with hard problems around governance and resource allocation. I think what science fiction offers is a safe sandbox where we can game out possible future scenarios, imagining unexpected secondary and tertiary effects of new technologies and policies.
A great example of this is in Octavia Butler’s classic trilogy “Lilith’s Brood.” Butler imagines that a group of aliens have rescued the remains of humanity from an Earth ravaged by nuclear war. These aliens live in complete harmony with their environment inside a planet-sized spaceship, using carbon-neutral, organic technologies. Humanity has a chance to join their civilization, but only if they assimilate into the aliens’ culture, giving up their human identities. Like all great sci-fi authors, Butler reminds us that every step forward into a better future also involves a sacrifice. We have to prepare to compromise and transform ourselves.
How does bringing together communities of science and humanities help us get to a thriving future?
Newitz: When it comes to the environment, we already have the technical ability to solve the twin crises of climate and energy. Now, we need new, robust social and governmental systems to put our scientific knowledge to work. That’s why we need experts in culture working hand-in-hand with experts in science. We need to convince our fellow humans to form new relationships with the environment, and that’s a cultural problem that can only be solved using tools from the humanities.
What are you most excited about for your visit to Yale?
Newitz: Most of all, I’m excited to meet the students, learn about what they’re working on, and get their perspectives on the future. But I’m also a giant nerd, so I’m looking forward to touring the Faboratory — the lab of [Yale mechanical engineer] Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio, which is working on soft robots. One of the main characters in my forthcoming book “Automatic Noodle” is a soft robot.
In future iterations of Sci X Sci-Fi, Yale Planetary Solutions will continue to bring together scientists creating new knowledge to drive planetary solutions and creators including authors, cinematographers, and video game designers, among others. Registration for all events is free.
