From transporters and lightsabers to spaceships that can travel faster than the speed of light, futuristic devices that lie beyond humanity's grasp — for now, at least — are a staple of science fiction. And yet over time, people have steadily advanced the boundaries of what technology can do. For some, this raises concerns about whether we should be paying closer attention to sci-fi's cautionary tales about the hidden costs of relying too heavily on tech — particularly when it comes to robots and artificial intelligence (AI).
As machines become ever more sophisticated and specialized, and perhaps even begin to think for themselves, what does that mean for the humans who engineer and depend on them?
On Oct. 5, here at New York Comic Con (NYCC), a group of science-fiction authors took part in a panel titled "It's Technical: Our Future with Robots and More." During the discussion, they addressed rapid advances in robotics, how those advances align with sci-fi speculations about the creation of intelligent robots — helpful and malevolent — and whether some of the more pessimistic views of a technology-dominated future could ever come to pass.
To read more and view the video, click here.