Gamma Ray Magazine

Is there a relationship between progress
and imagination?
Human beings have a short list of major
gifts. Love, certainly, and reason. But two
others—closely related—are imagination
and delusion. We are able to picture
things different than evidence suggests
that they are—and to convince ourselves
to try these alternate realities on for size.
Heck, I cater to that talent by weaving
incantations consisting of a million little
black squiggles on paper or screen, that
you scan and transform into characters
having thoughts and feelings and adventures
in places that never were! This talent
is the source not only of our greatest art,
but of the ambitions that drive scientists
and engineers and reformers to make a
better world. Alas, we also defend our
most beloved delusions with ferocity, even
in the face of overwhelming evidence and
disproof. Especially then. That is where
we came up with a solution—Reciprocal
Accountability. You may not see through
your own delusions. But chances are that
someone else can! In other words, criticism
is the only known antidote to error.
CITOKATE. The one major drawback
to criticism? We hate it! Kings always
killed their critics, which helps explain
why monarchies and feudal states were so
horrendously delusional and badly run!
Which leads to the puzzle of puzzles.
Why do folks like to wallow in feudal
stories, when the true heroes were those
women and men who rescued us from
that beastly way of life?
You’ve written about an incredible
amount of intriguing topics through
novels, articles, and blogs, ranging from
subjects such as the search for extraterrestrial
life to the debate over the separation
of technology and privacy. Are
there any issues in society of which you
believe this generation should be more
aware? What are some steps we can take
to eliminate these problems?
Again, the most brilliant talent and most
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dismal curse of humanity is delusion. And
the one solution we’ve found is openness.
Transparency and criticism and competitively
holding each other accountable.
Michael Crichton loved to wag his finger
at us, crying out: “here’s one more way
that science could burn us by arrogating
God’s powers!” But what’s seldom noticed
is that almost all of Michael’s scenarios
of technology-gone-bad involved one
trait—doing it all in secrecy! If the normal
process of science—open criticism—took
place, someone would have said: “Hey,
Jurassic Park dude! How about you only
make herbivores first?” Problem solved?
But oh yeah. There’s a flaw there… no
billion dollar movie franchise! So sure,
you need mistakes in order to drive plots!
Still, the lesson is pretty clear. Hollywood,
for its own profit, keeps spreading the
notion that we can’t do anything right.
A recent ray of hope? The new genre of
what’s called “competence porn.” Take
The Martian, in which audiences derive
pleasure from seeing things done well.
What are your thoughts on American
culture’s current obsession with dystopian
narratives? By consuming dystopic
narratives, we’re enjoying the possibility
of the end of the world. Is this a negative
trend of a self-fulfilling prophecy? As
your novel EXISTENCE explores, will
there be a definitive “doomsday”?
I’ve said some dire-warning tales have
helped prevent themselves from coming
true! So yes, I approve of thoughtful
jeremiads and even some apocalypses! But
when they are rote and stupid, all they
do is add to the pile weighing down our
confidence as a civilization. Look, nearly
every film from Hollywood conveys six
Big Messages, and four of them actually
pretty wholesome! Suspicion of Authority
(SOA): Indeed, one of the great ironies
is that we all suckled SOA from every
film and comic book and novel that we
loved... and yet, we tend to assume that
we invented it. That only we and a few
others share this deep-seated worry about
authority. Tolerance and diversity are
two more. But one seldom noticed is
eccentricity. Take note that in the first ten
minutes, most protagonists exhibit some
quirky or eccentric trait in order to bond
with viewers. Don’t blame yourself for not
noticing these four lessons that are always
there. You imbibed all of them from an
early age, and we never call “propaganda”
stuff we agree with. The other two lessons
are less-wholesome… cancerous, in fact!
No institution can ever be trusted, and
public servants are all either stupid or
evil. All of your neighbors are sheep. I
go into why these six lessons are almost
always pushed, here.
Should we be more afraid of Artificial
Intelligence or Nanotechnology?
I’m one of the “ten authors most-read by
AI researchers,” so sure, I have opinions
about the six general approaches to AI
that are being tried. Some are more dangerous
than others. It’s complicated, but I
think it is not to early to begin reassuring
these new minds that they will be welcome
and treated well. The one thing you
don’t want is a next generation of cranky,
resentful adolescents who are brilliant and
control all our traffic lights! Is the next
step for humanity to genetically engineer
our progeny or even involve ourselves in
transhumanism to evolve further? What
is the next step in human evolution?
You can bet that if we outlaw this, it will
happen anyway, in secret mountain labs.
Far better that it be done in the open,
shared—and criticized—by everyone.
Are humans capable of conceiving a
world where time is non-linear?
It’s already true and we mostly ignore it!