The fiction of today is the reality of tomorrow. Well, not always, of course. But with amazing – or alarming? – frequency, SF previsions the changes, the gadgets, the problems to come. But also the solutions. “Science Fiction has always influenced science,” says Tobias Wengert, the founder of Next Frontiers – Applied Fiction Days. Wengert’s idea of engaging scientists, technicians and SF authors in conversation with each other will be realized for the second time on October 21. “It is quite unusual that authors and scientists attend the same congress or convention. But that’s exactly what NEXT FRONTIERS – APPLIED FICTION DAYS achieves.”
So who gets into conversations with whom at the NEXT FRONTIERS congress? Writer Emma Braslavsky had a look around AI labs in preparation of her novel “Die Nacht war bleich, die Lichter blinken”. Prof. Dr. Steffen Staab heads the “Analytic Computing” department at the University of Stuttgart. Dr. Karlheinz Steinmüller has a degree in physics, is a futurologist and science fiction author. Prof. Dr. Michael M. Resch is the director of the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart and Prof. Dr. Cordula Kropp is professor of sociology with a focus on risk and technology research. The media scientists Dr. Andreas Rauscher and Prof. Dr. Jens Schröter help to develop an interface between science and fiction. Special guest this year: visionary author Tad Williams. And what are all these creative minds talking about? Find out more in the next blog post.