Courses
GTSC2047 When Science Fiction Comes True: The Future of Humanity (3 units)
- Medium of Instruction:
- English
This course links science fiction with reality to explore the significance of the work in the sci-fi genre (movies, novels, TV shows and the like) in technological innovation of the world, and how they provide insights to the ways science and technologies influence us and the world. The course will first examine how the technologies around us affect present and future, and then foresee the latest trends in the developments in AI, remedial medicine and gene editing, with the predictions made in the “dystopian” sci-fi genre, and those made by scientists, economists, historians and philosophers. It will then compare technological developments today and those in the past—to identify lessons and warnings, acknowledge new threats, and to tame technological progress from spinning out of control. An interdisciplinary approach will be adopted to gain a full picture of the intricate inter-relationships between human psychology, interpersonal relationships, moral values, cultures, economic development and political ideologies in relation to technological development. Students will be encouraged to reflect on how these factors are related to their personal lives, careers and their roles in the society, and to reflect on and challenge some values and ideologies for the future.