Futures Thinking: 5 Brilliant Books on Tech, Culture & Society
Fiction and literature play a central role in shaping how we think about and imagine the future, including the technologies we will use, and our relationships to those technologies. Here are five recommended reads that look at ideas ranging from AI companions to rising screentime in ways that are fresh, fascinating and extremely readable.
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (2016)
The second Wayfarers book is one of the best books I’ve read on AI — and I’ve read a lot. It brings a uniquely empathetic view to the discussion, and has stayed with me.
Pair with: The Employees, A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn (2020), which is similarly ethnographic and similarly bingeable.
Ubik by Philip K. Dick (1969)
Read this for the best portrayal of a smart home that I’ve come across in fiction. It’s a regular reference for my futures and tech research, and touches on other major sci-fi themes like cryonics as well.
Pair with: Moist House (2022), Kate Folk’s short story about a man who must tend to a vacant house, and becomes consumed by its needs.
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020)
A novel that presents a plausible and fairly hopeful roadmap of how societies could navigate climate breakdown and maintain a liveable world over the next few decades, including policy mechanisms such as carbon coins.
Pair with: Years and Years (2019), a TV show by Russell T Davies that also perfected the believable flash-forward.
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin (2018)
This book examines how a hit product can increase addiction to technology and amplify human impulses and traits to the point that they become a problem.
Pair with: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (2021), which also looks at smart assistants/AI companions and how they might fit into our lives.
The Circle by Dave Eggers (2013)
Now complemented by a sequel, this novel brought to life our increasing use of screens and devices to mediate interactions, among many other ideas and observations, and will only become more prescient as spatial computing and VR headsets continue to develop.
Pair with: Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke (2021), where an ad agency worker accidentally disappears into Slack.
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