It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be—and naturally this means that there must be an accurate perception of the world as it will be. This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our everyman must take on a science fictional way of thinking, whether he likes it or not, or even whether he knows it or not. Only so can the deadly problems of today be solved.
—Isaac Asimov, My Own View, 1978
Our Goal
When Isaac Asimov published his first piece of science fiction in 1939, he wrote for an analog world; a world without transistors or tupperware. There were no atomic bombs or automatic transmissions. We had yet to discover DNA or duct tape. Throughout his life, Asimov bore witness to many of the fictions he and others envisioned becoming reality. But he also knew that we were only getting started.
We live in an era of progress and incomprehensible change. The course of the last couple of centuries demonstrated that innovation can radically reconfigure geopolitics, economics, and daily life in ways that are not always under our control. Needless to say, as progress continues to escalate, technology presents us with enormous promise but also potential perils. The challenge before us is to continue ever upward without losing our humanity.
