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 Another story follows the journey of a machine-learning algorithm searching for alien life long after its human creators have perished. In a third tale the narrator is an AI agent awaiting instructions from Earth while submerged in the seas of Enceladus.

In each of these stories, AI characters often hold more control over events than their human counterparts. Interestingly, the narratives tend to avoid the idea that AI is evil. Instead, they focus on more nuanced and complex portrayals of intelligent machines.

The Feedback Loop Between Sci-Fi and Reality

The evolving depiction of AI in science fiction is not just entertainment. It also contributes to a longstanding feedback loop between fiction and technological innovation. 

This loop has been active for decades, with many tech pioneers citing classic sci-fi as inspiration. 

For example, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has acknowledged that the Alexa voice assistant was inspired by the conversational computer in Star Trek. Alexa, in turn, was adapted for an in-space demonstration of an experimental AI agent called Callisto during NASA’s Artemis 1 mission in 2022.

One of the stories in Kaster’s anthology, Ocasta by Daniel H. Wilson, mirrors real-world developments.

 The novella features an AI-based algorithm searching for extraterrestrial life. In reality there are AI-driven data analysis tools being developed by the University of Washington’s DiRAC Institute for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. 

Although DiRAC’s researchers aren’t specifically hunting for aliens, they are searching for other exotic phenomena like dark matter, dark energy, and active asteroids.

Beyond AI: New Frontiers in Science Fiction

While AI is a significant theme in modern science fiction, it is not the only technological frontier inspiring new tales. 

One of the novellas in The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories tells the story of a billionaire who buys a trip to the moon to investigate mysterious lights flashing from the lunar surface. 

These flashes, known as transient lunar phenomena (TLP), are a subject of real-world scientific debate, with their causes still shrouded in mystery.

The novella, Lemuria 7 Is Missing by Allen M. Steele, also incorporates references to NASA’s Artemis moon program, the Space Launch System, and commercial space stations.

 “The science in it is well-done, and it’s relevant to today because there’s a conspiracy theory going on,” Kaster notes. “And aren’t there conspiracy theories all over the place these days?”

The Human Touch in Modern Sci-Fi

Despite the advanced technology depicted today, enthusiasts agree that it’s not the science that elevates these stories above those written during the “Golden Age” of the mid-20th century.