{"id":309649,"date":"2021-07-27T14:19:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T11:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/militaries-are-plundering-sci-fi-for-technology-ideas\/"},"modified":"2021-07-27T14:19:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T11:19:34","slug":"militaries-are-plundering-sci-fi-for-technology-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/militaries-are-plundering-sci-fi-for-technology-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"#Militaries are plundering sci-fi for technology ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a22eb1074b7c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a22eb1074b7c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/militaries-are-plundering-sci-fi-for-technology-ideas\/#Imagined_worlds\" >Imagined worlds<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/militaries-are-plundering-sci-fi-for-technology-ideas\/#Fiction_to_fact\" >Fiction to fact<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/militaries-are-plundering-sci-fi-for-technology-ideas\/#Facing_change_creatively\" >Facing change creatively<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Militaries are plundering sci-fi for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> ideas<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>Military planning is a complicated endeavor, calling upon experts in logistics and infrastructure to predict resource availability and technological advancements. Long-range military planning, deciding what to invest in now to prepare armed forces for the world in thirty years time, is even more difficult.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most interesting tools for thinking about future defense technology isn\u2019t big data forecasting and the use of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/defence.nridigital.com\/global_defence_technology_oct20\/improbable-synthetic-training-military\">synthetic training environments<\/a>, but narrative and imagination. And we get this from <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> fiction.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.net\/embed\/iframe\/xo23fcyip6?videoFoam=true&amp;autoPlay=true\" title=\"Whats it like to be a startup founder in Barcelona? Video\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wistia_embed\" name=\"wistia_embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\" msallowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>That might sound fanciful, but many militaries are already engaging with the genre. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/onezero.medium.com\/the-u-s-military-is-turning-to-science-fiction-to-shape-the-future-of-war-1b40d11eb6b4\">US military<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/7\/24\/20708432\/france-military-science-fiction-writers-red-team%23:%7E:text=The%2520French%2520military%2520wants%2520to,might%2520face%2520in%2520the%2520future.&amp;text=The%2520UK's%2520Telegraph%2520reports%2520that,of%252Dthe%252Dbox%2520thinking.\">the French army<\/a> use science-fiction writers to generate future threat scenarios. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theforge.defence.gov.au\/publications\/science-fiction-jpme-and-australian-defence-college\">Australian Defence College<\/a> advocates for the reading of science fiction and, in Germany, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2021\/jun\/26\/project-cassandra-plan-to-use-novels-to-predict-next-war\">Project Cassandra<\/a> uses novels to predict the world\u2019s next conflict. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sigmaforum.org\/\">Sigma Forum<\/a>, a science fiction think tank, has been offering forecasting services to US officials for years.<\/p>\n<p>But while science fiction provides military planners with a tantalizing glimpse of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-autonomous-killing-systems-of-the-future-are-already-here-theyre-just-not-necessarily-weapons-yet-45453\">future weaponry<\/a>, from exoskeletons to mind-machine interfaces, the genre is always about more than flashy new gadgets. It\u2019s about anticipating the unforeseen ways in which these technologies could affect humans and society \u2013 and this extra context is often overlooked by the officials deciding which technologies to invest in for future conflicts.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Imagined_worlds\"><\/span>Imagined worlds<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Like my colleague David Seed, who has studied how fiction impacts on real-life threat assumptions about <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palgrave.com\/gp\/book\/9781137543271\">nuclear terrorism<\/a>, I\u2019m interested in how science fiction informs our sense of the future. This has given me the opportunity to work with members of the armed forces, using science fiction to query assumptions and generate novel visions of the future.<\/p>\n<p>But the relationship between military planners and science fiction is a troubled one. Despite increasing calls for \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/03\/teams-solve-problems-faster-when-theyre-more-cognitively-diverse\">cognitive diversity<\/a>\u201d and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-uk-government-tried-to-reshape-the-civil-service-with-wacky-psychology-before-heres-how-that-went-132632\">new ways of thinking<\/a> in government and the armed forces, the genre faces a significant image problem.<\/p>\n<p>People tend to associate science fiction solely with aliens and space <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s more fantastic elements \u2013 which is seemingly removed from the supposedly proper business of planning and strategy. As a result, even open-minded planners who identify science fiction as a source of inspiration, especially for novel technologies, invariably keep it at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n<p>So when I read a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/986301\/Human_Augmentation_SIP_access2.pdf\">recent report<\/a> on the strategic implications of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S1071581919300576\">human augmentation<\/a>\u201d, published by defense planners from the UK and German militaries, I was intrigued. Human augmentation \u2013 like enhanced sensory perception and personalized medicine \u2013 is a big thing in defense circles, which see the technologisation of the human body as a key arms race this century.<\/p>\n<p>If you think this all sounds like science-fiction, you\u2019d be right. The subgenre of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Cyberpunk-Culture-and-Psychology-Seeing-through-the-Mirrorshades\/McFarlane\/p\/book\/9780367535681\">cyberpunk<\/a> (think <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/new-william-gibson-novel-revives-his-1980s-cyberpunk-vision-34726\">William Gibson<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taylorfrancis.com\/chapters\/edit\/10.4324\/9781315810775-11\/cyberpunk-dystopia-pat-cadigan-networks-david-seed\">Pat Cadigan<\/a>, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s such as the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/deusex.fandom.com\/wiki\/Deus_Ex_series\">Deus Ex series<\/a>) is perhaps the acme of human augmentation fiction: cyborgs with enhanced vision; warriors with bionic arms and razor claws; \u201cconsole cowboys\u201d infiltrating the data fortresses of big businesses in cyberspace.<\/p>\n<p>For super-soldiers striding on the battlefield in powered armor, look no further than Robert Heinlein\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abebooks.co.uk\/servlet\/SearchResults?an=Robert+Heinlein&amp;bi=0&amp;bx=off&amp;ds=30&amp;pics=on&amp;sortby=17&amp;tn=Starship+Troopers\">Starship Troopers<\/a>, Joe Haldeman\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.waterstones.com\/book\/the-forever-war\/joe-haldeman\/9780575094147\">The Forever War<\/a>, or John Scalzi\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abebooks.co.uk\/9780765348272\/Old-Mans-1-John-Scalzi-0765348276\/plp\">Old Man\u2019s War<\/a>. The genetic hybridization of enhanced soldiers features extensively in texts such as James Cameron\u2019s serial <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0204993\/\">Dark Angel<\/a> and, more recently, in Adrian Tchaikovsky\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sffworld.com\/2018\/08\/review-dogs-of-war-adrian-tchaikovsky\/\">Dogs of War<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How we&#039;ll become cyborgs and extend human potential | Hugh Herr\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PLk8Pm_XBJE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fiction_to_fact\"><\/span>Fiction to fact<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Yet these texts don\u2019t really make it into the military planning report. There\u2019s a reference to \u201cscience fiction inspired suits\u201d and technologies that \u201cmake possible what used to be science fiction\u201d, but otherwise the genre is absent. Like many military planners, the report\u2019s authors seem to want to define these technologies against science fiction, emphasizing that the genre is fiction, while human augmentation technologies are fact.<\/p>\n<p>But in sidelining science fiction, something is lost. In contrast to readers who might bemoan any mention of science fiction in military reports, I would assert that such reports aren\u2019t nearly science fictional enough.<\/p>\n<p>The genre might be commonly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.technovelgy.com\/\">associated with technology<\/a>, but even then it\u2019s not about technology per se, but about the contexts, uses, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/1536504218792521\">effects of new technologies<\/a> on humans. Science fiction author <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.isfdb.org\/cgi-bin\/pl.cgi?58484\">Frederick Pohl<\/a> said it well: \u201cA good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam.\u201d Science fiction is always about the second-and third-order effects of technology \u2013 effects military planners may not anticipate.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the true value of science fiction for those concerned with the future. Technologies aren\u2019t neutral but operate within a discourse set by the stories that are told about them. This affects their development and possible <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lications (and misapplications).<\/p>\n<p>When military reports speak of perceiving the human as a platform to optimize with new technologies, alarm bells go off for science fiction scholars. When augmentation has been imagined in fictional worlds, it\u2019s often associated with profound new inequalities and conflicts.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Facing_change_creatively\"><\/span>Facing change creatively<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to military planners, augmentation is no longer just about \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/from-bioweapons-to-super-soldiers-how-the-uk-is-joining-the-genomic-technology-arms-race-159889\">supersoldiers<\/a>\u201d, but also \u201csuper civilians\u201d. If augmentations might need to protect an entire population from biotechnological threats, how are we to explore the ethics of this? How are societies navigate the emergence of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/en\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2019-22-10-gartner-unveils-top-predictions-for-it-organizations-and-users-in-2020-and-beyond\">bring your own enhancement<\/a>\u201d technologies in the workplace? What black markets might come about to perform such augmentations on the cheap?<\/p>\n<p>Science fiction doesn\u2019t have all of the answers to these questions, but it does provide us with a space to examine them \u2013 an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thestargarden.co.uk\/Why-society-needs-science-fiction.html\">imaginative experiment<\/a> where audiences can consider dramatic situations that expose the dangers and benefits of technological interventions.<\/p>\n<p>Military planners are right to foreground these issues now. But they should also consider science fiction as more than just a fictional background to \u201creal-life\u201d debates. Science fiction can help in what the planning report calls \u201cmaking sense of these potential changes to human capabilities\u201d, pointing not only to the automobile but to the traffic, the fumes, and the crashes too.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/164978\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/164978\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>Article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/will-slocombe-260151\">Will Slocombe<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in English, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-liverpool-1198\">University of Liverpool<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/militaries-plunder-science-fiction-for-technology-ideas-but-turn-a-blind-eye-to-the-genres-social-commentary-164978\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/militaries-plundering-scifi-technology-syndication\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Militaries are plundering sci-fi for technology ideas&#8221; Military planning is a complicated endeavor, calling upon experts in logistics and infrastructure to predict resource availability and technological advancements. Long-range military planning, deciding what to invest in now to prepare armed forces for the world in thirty years time, is even more difficult. One of the most&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":309650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/shutterstock_1915570804-robot-military-war-warfare-hed.jpg&signature=116d404f16ad9ebe7fb86782ff96caab","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}