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CES 2008: Segway inventor and Xena rock DVICE's panel about sci-fi's influence on tech
DVICE hosted a panel here at CES this afternoon. We had an impressive line up: Dean Kamen the renowned inventor who created the Segway, Lucy Lawless of Xena, Warrior Princess fame (above, with Kamen), and more recently a Cylon on Battlestar Galactica, Walt Mossberg, tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and the Science Fiction author Neal Stephenson, Author of Snow Crash. The subject was Science Fiction's influence on Technology, and vice versa and topics included helicopters, jet packs, Robert Heinlein, and the threat of biotechnology.
The panel was moderated by SCI FI Channel Executive Vice President and General Manager Dave Howe. We’ve got a rundown of the conversation after the jump.
The panel started with each member talking about his or her most important science fiction influence.
Kamen begins by saying that science is more interesting than science fiction. The surprising things that you find in real science are more exciting than the "other stuff." He says that he's here because today most kids find science difficult, boring, and esoteric. So he's hoping that science fiction will be a valuable tool that gets people interested in real science.
Lawless says that her favorite SF influence was Dr. Who.
Stephenson's read all the great SF novels, but his biggest influence was Robert Heinlein.
Mossberg loved Asimov, H.G. Wells, and especially Heinlein. "I have to say that StarTrek had a huge influence on me, including the Next Generation series, where they had enough money to hire some good actors and have better special effects." Today, he watches Battlestar Galactica: it's very different from StarTrek, but they both deal with human, social issues and just happen to be set in space.
How influential has the Sci Fi genre been on the technology that we see here at CES? Mossberg says "I absolutely think you can trace directly what inspired the engineers to make gadgets to Science Fiction." He gives the example of the StarTak flip phone.
Kamen: The only difference between science fiction and science is timing. Every generation imagines something that they really want to do: if they can't do it, then they write about it. It's amazing how much of what we do today is really just last generation science fiction. Jules Verne "made" a submarine in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that had plants growing in it to create oxygen. But he didn't predict the light bulb.
Lawless "takes" a phone call as her Cylon BSG character. She uses the word "frak" and Airlock!
The first screenshots of the Amazon Kindle were of Stephenson's Diamond Age. Stephenson complains that if an engineer rips off a Sci Fi idea, the author doesn't get royalties. He says that Sci Fi inspires engineers to see the big picture.
Mossberg uses the example of multi-touch on the iPhone and Minority Report. "Nobody can tell me that the engineers weren't influenced by the movie." He also mentions that the movie was probably influenced by real scientific research.
Lawless: are we so busy making things from Sci Fi that we aren't paying attention to making great science for simpler, more boring things like water filters?
Mossberg: Where's my jetpack? All those things on the cover of Popular Science in 1940s have been invented, but they never caught on.
Is Kamen working on a jet pack? No, instead he talks about his helicopter obsession. He has a heleport near his house, which is influenced by a Life magazine illustration of a father coming home from work to his family in a helecopter. He's more interested in hovering than in speed.
Mossberg: In the 1940s Popular Science kept predicting that helicopters would replace cars. Hovercraft is another example of technology that exists but doesn't seem like it will catch on. Plus, it took the Internet and personal computer to make the videophone catch on. AT&T showed that idea years ago.
Kamen: Radio is still more popular than television: we can drive while we do it, we can work while we do it…phone answering machines were invented so that you never miss a call. It's been used for the opposite purpose.
Mossberg: Inventors don't foresee the actual use of their products. Bell was once quoted as saying that the telephone would be good to bring opera to small towns. An inventor of the television thought that it would be useful to go into mines and show what's going on there. In science fiction, unless you're writing a story about unintended consequences you get to say this is what was invented, and this is what you use it for.
Howe: nobody really knew what the Internet was going to be used for. Sci Fi has been very good at predicting the destructive power of technology. How optimistic are you about how technology can help humanity?
Lawless: is it possible that the Internet can become self-conscious?
Mossberg: I would assume no, but I don't think you can rule it out.
Kamen: All technologies are used for both good and evil. Technology is an amplifier: a bulldozer amplifies your physical strength, a computer amplifies your analytic strength. Tech allows us to do good and bad better. The problem today is things move very quickly and we can't understand the unintended consequences as quickly as we used to. The technology/catastrophe race.
What should be concerned about/regulate? Stephenson is most worried about bio-terrorism and bio warfare. But there are so many labs out there using this equipment that it would be imposable to regulate The only thing we can do is to have defensive measures in place.
Mossberg agrees about biotech in general. A virus or pathogen could be generated on a MacBook Pro in some cave in Afghanistan, but in general, well meaning people can do research that comes up with something really bad.
Kamen: genomics should be the poster child for unintended consequences coming very quickly. Imagine somebody alone being able to make something in vials and using it to take out all of our food supply. A really bad flu with today's transportation would take out a third of the world's population: 2 billion people.
Howe: what are the downsides of technology in terms of humans and family?
Lawless: I'm not concerned. The other day it was raining and the kids had been inside for two days. They're being monstrous despite the wii and all the electronics in the house. I just booted them out in the rain. They had a great experience. Better than inside.
Kamen: kids use technology as infrastructure. Kids don't have to understand or question it. The kids don't even really know what it is, just like when you were little you didn't wonder how a toilet worked, you just used it. Kids cant tell the difference between science and pseudoscience. A dig in here at "intelligent design:" you don't put Newton's second law and the spaghetti monster on the same plane.
Stephenson: One of the rules that good things that SF can do is to blow up an idea to the point where it's spectacularly terrifying.
Mossberg: There's this romantic notion now in science fiction and real fiction of trying to get off the grid. We all know of situations where people are IMing each other in the next cubicle instead of talking, I think there's going to be a backlash against it, there may already be one.
Kamen talks about a program of his where kids make a robot with adults: it's actually more about human interaction than technology.
That's it! Check back on the site later for an interview with Kamen and Lawless, and for video clips from the panel itself.
By Charis.xX at 5:05 AM ON 01/08/08
Thank you for this wonderful article. Love the image with Lucy! THANK YOU! xX
By daveac at 9:08 PM ON 01/09/08
Great debate - especially the comments about the need to understand not just the difference between Science Fiction and Science - but between the difference between Science and Pseudo-Science
Cheers, Dave C. (daveac)
By DarrianAshoka at 2:22 PM ON 01/10/08
about the jet pack and other devices for land free travel; I had a friend asked why we do not have flying cars by now, and I told him how we have had flying cars for well over half a century. They are called airplanes and helicopter, but they are very expensive and the common man is not qualified to pilot one. Besides collisions if something malfunctions you may drop like a rock. Who out there is willing to spend over a half hour doing safety checks before going some where? Even the the hover-crafts are way to dangerous with little to no ground contact for swift braking or veering away from an unexpected traffic situation. They may be great fun in wide open spaces, but in tight traffic areas we would be smashing into each other, other stationary objects, and pedestrians.
On another note, I agree that bio-tech is by far the scariest. Which is why it is even that much more frightening that war mongers like the Bush administration are at the helm of our ship! Even if they were to have the best of ethics and intentions, showing other countries that 'might makes right' is likely to anger those we oppress and lower their sense of ethics and use that sort of weapons against us.
By rsc at 11:48 PM ON 01/10/08
The video doesn't come up for the Segway and Xena Rock panel. Please check the file. Thanks.
By JUNE at 2:04 AM ON 01/11/08
HI, THE VIDEO DOESN'T LOAD UP...THANKS
By gueststar at 12:46 PM ON 01/11/08
vid with Lucy Lawless not working :-(
By DVICE Editor at 3:01 PM ON 01/11/08
Hey guys,
If you can't see the video, the most likely culprit is that you haven't upgraded to the latest version of flash, which you can download here:
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash
Let us know if that doesn't work. Thanks!
By rsc at 5:12 PM ON 01/11/08
All your other videos come up fine. That file is the only one not coming up. It must be on your end. Thanks.
By marthese at 6:36 PM ON 01/11/08
the problem must be on your end,can you please look into it thanks marthese
By purplehawke at 7:12 PM ON 01/11/08
I would love to see the video, but the embedded player doesn't show on the page. I have the ungraded Flash. Only the picture, which is a great picture, is the only graphic. The transcript is fabulous though.
By purplehawke at 7:18 PM ON 01/11/08
I found it. The player shows in Firefox and not in Explorer. Thank you.
By gueststar at 12:19 PM ON 01/12/08
firefox does show the video, thank you
By GuestPoster at 7:00 AM ON 01/13/08
Yes, it does show using Firefox but it'd be nice if it would work in IE, all your other videos do.
By rsc at 7:21 AM ON 01/13/08
Yes, make this video respond to Explorer as the others do. Yahoo keeps blocking my attempt to download Firefox.
Thanks
By James Bond Loves Lucy Lawless at 11:59 PM ON 01/13/08
(sent to CES)
Dear International Consumer Electronics Association,
Please give my very best greatest most Loving Devoted Supportive (and Aroused) regards and wishes and support to the Infinitely Dearest Most Beloved Erotic Angelic Barefoot Heavenly Sexxxy Perfect Goddess Lucy Lawless :) who will be attending your event tomorrow in the sexxxy Las Vegas, which She has visited at least a few times before and on Her first occasion, She nearly won the Miss World beauty title and should have although the judge was biased to Miss Peru. She was Miss New Zealand and came in second. If only She had won, OH MY GOD YES LUCY! :) Perhaps if She had showed off Her famed Erotic bare Perfect Feet and Toes more to the judge, surely She would have won. She has the most Amazing Beautiful Gorgeous Mouth-watering Breath-taking Delightful Desirable Alluring Arousing Precious Cute Tender Wonderful Awesome Juicy Flawless Fragrant Mesmerizing Sensual Luscious Voluptuous Erotic Arousing Delicious Climactic Lovable Adorable Wonderful Seductive Sleek Smooth Legendary Sweetest Fascinating Exciting Angelic Heavenly Sexxxy Perfect :) FEET and TOES :) and everything in the history of the universe of all time, Oh My God Yes Lucy! :) I cannot begin to describe how greatly and infinitely I Desire Her famed Erotic Perfect Feet and Toes and Her everywhere Oh My God Yes Lucy! :) Oh God Lucy! :)
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Lucy is by far the most Beautiful Gorgeous Mouth-watering Breath-taking Delightful Desirable Alluring Arousing Precious Cute Tender Wonderful Awesome Juicy Flawless Fragrant Mesmerizing Sensual Luscious Voluptuous Erotic Arousing Delicious Climactic Lovable Adorable Wonderful Seductive Legendary Sweetest Sleek Smooth Fascinating Exciting Angelic Heavenly Sexxxy Perfect :) natural creature in the existence of the universe of all time. Oh God I Love and Desire Lucy So Much Forever Everywhere Always! :) Oh God I Love You Lucy! :) Oh God I Love the Sweet Perfect Erotic Angelic Barefoot Goddess Lucy and Lucy-Lou! :) Oh My God Yes Lucy I Love You So Much Forever Always Lucy! :) Oh God Lucy I Love You! :) I Love Lucy! :)
-Lucy's Personal Most Devoted Drooling Intimate Tushy and Belly Protection Specialist
Forever Devoted :) to the Sweet Sweet Sweetest Erotic Angelic Barefoot Heavenly Sexxxy Perfect Goddess Lucy, :)
David Kashfi aka James Bond Who Loves and Desires Lucy :) So Much Forever Everywhere Always :)
By marthese at 1:57 PM ON 01/14/08
i am so so upset and disappointed that i can not watch lucy's video ,i tried everyhing but so far i have not succeeded,not even fire fox worked ,can you please make it work with windows media or quick time.i am desperate.thank you marthese.
By JUNE at 5:18 PM ON 01/14/08
HI, I REALLY ENJOYED THE VIDEO,GREAT DEBATE AND VERY INTERESTING SUBJECTS...EVERYONE WAS FANTASTIC....LUCY WAS AWESOME!!! THANKS AGAIN...
By James Bond Loves Lucy Lawless at 10:37 PM ON 01/14/08
May I suggest offering additional formats for the extremely erotic Lucy video for those viewers who may otherwise have difficulties. Marthese, btw, if you so desire I will have the extremely erotic famed Lucy at Red Wings game video on my Lucy erotic yahoo group, let me know if you are so interested, Oh My God Yes Lucy!!!!!!!!!!! :) If I can locate those suspected Lucy Ryan-Garth Lawless Kalgoorlie bonking tapes, oh my that would be the hottest best most famed celeb sex tape in history by far Oh My God Yes Lucy! :)
By James Bond Loves Lucy Lawless at 10:41 PM ON 01/14/08
For readers, I also have other erotic Lucy videos on my Lucy erotic yahoo group. If you wish for the link, contact my MySpace and I will provide it certainly and erotically.
-Lucy's Personal Most Devoted Drooling Intimate Tushy and Belly Protection Specialist
Forever Devoted :) to the Sweet Sweet Sweetest Erotic Angelic Barefoot Heavenly Sexxxy Perfect Goddess Lucy, :)
David Kashfi aka James Bond Who Loves and Desires Lucy :) So Much Forever Everywhere Always :)
By angela at 11:05 PM ON 01/21/08
Thanks for the video! She looks really pretty/beautiful as well.
on your cellphone!
Text DVICE to 72434
editor@dvice.com
angela:
Thanks for the video! She looks really pretty/beautiful as well....More »