In Ted Chiang's short story, "The Lifecycle of Software Objects," a startup sells intelligent digital pets called “digients.” At first, they are simple creatures—blobby virtual animals that toddle around a digital playground. But their owners raise them the way you would raise a child: teaching them language, playing with them, guiding them through the world. Over months and years, the digients gr...
The article introduces the concept of Science Fiction Science (Sci-fi sci), which combines behavioral science and immersive simulations to anticipate the human impact of future technologies. The approach can help avoid ethical pitfalls, inform policy decisions, and shape technology design in a way that prioritizes human agency and dignity.
By grounding science fiction warnings in experimental data, Science Fiction Science offers a more empirical foundation for the urgent conversations we need to...