Recursor attended Science Fiction L.A. on October 29, 2016 at USC — an event that explored Los Angeles’ status as the science fiction capital of the world.
Bradbury Building – Interior Ironwork in daylight
Discussions covered everything from Ray Bradbury to Blade Runner to AI in Hollywood, all of which have important contributions to the cultural heritage of the City of Angels.
The event lasted two days and featured a screening of the movie Her and panels which covered, among other things, the famous architectural landmarks of L.A. that are
Blade Runner version
important to the genre —including the Bradbury Building (featured in Blade Runner) and Clifton’s Cafeteria where Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein used to hang out.
During a panel discussion Saturday titled “Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction, and the Future,” Mark Frauenfelder (founder of Wired.com) noted that AI poses a threat to society, but it’s not likely to be a machine uprising as is portrayed in the Terminator.
AI, SF and the Future panelists
Frauenfelder noted that autonomous vehicles will have a near-term impact on the livelihood of truck drivers, especially when you consider that this is the most common job in the U.S. He also noted that in the future, “People will be paid by how well they work with robots.”
Another panelist, Tracy Fullerton (an award-winning game designer) believes that Hollywood’s portrayal of AI creates gender and racial identity problems.
“Lack of women in leadership roles in LA’s entertainment industry and in game design is an issue,” she explained. “Also, ethnicity and socioeconomic background are problems of representation. These problems get more complicated with AI because we are teaching them who we are. What gender will my refrigerator be?”
Lots of food for thought there. We’re looking forward to Science Fiction L.A. 2017.