Are we missing the point of science fiction?

Science fiction (sci-fi) is everywhere. Sci-fi occupies a unique position within the genre fraternity, straddling the line between science and imagination. For a long time, science and fiction were likened to oil and water as people believed they couldn’t exist together until writers like Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, and H. G. Wells proved them wrong. From 1984 and Ender’s Game to Dark and The Shape of Water, some of the most celebrated media have built on speculative futures, dystopian environments, and scientific breakthroughs.

In 1956, Minority Report, written by Phillip K. Dick, imagined a 2022 world with motion-control technology and crime prediction, while in 1989, Back to the Future Part II imagined 2015 to be the year when hoverboards and flying cars exist. In reality, while the latter didn’t bear fruit and the former came to be partly true, science fiction was a safe space with infinite and fantastical possibilities for both creators and audiences.

The problem arises because we rarely stop to examine where science ends and fiction begins

In recent years, however, these narratives have not remained purely speculative. As architect Liam Young argued, sci-fi became a platform that everyone used to attempt to understand the current crises engulfing the global population – climate collapse (cli-fi), artificial intelligence, and surveillance. While this reflects the genre’s cultural power, it led to the rise of a problem: when fiction is used to explain real-world issues, the line between scientific reality and speculative reality becomes dangerously blurred.

In the age of rapid technological development, we consume sci-fi almost every day through various media. The problem arises because we rarely stop to examine where science ends and fiction begins. Uncritical consumption has consequences: it breeds fear, misinformation, and distorted expectations about the capabilities and limitations of science.

American science fiction writer Nancy Kress was shocked and scared to hear her young relative say the words: “All the science I know I learned from your books.” According to Kress: “Science fiction is misleading at best, and harmful at worst.” There exists sparse literature on how science fiction impacts people’s understanding of actual science, and Kress noted some misconceptions her students had developed: aliens coming to invade Earth will use humans as slaves or as food, and if Earth’s ecology is destroyed, people will move to other planets.

Writers and scriptwriters have portrayed science to be the villain and that everything that comes out of a science lab is a harbinger of evil.

On a global level, businessmen like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are vocal disciples of science fiction with heavy influences visible in their personal beliefs and career choices. Musk has actively tried to replicate sci-fi novels – SpaceX is an attempt to recreate Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels and Tesla’s Cybertruck is a vehicle that “Bladerunner would have driven”. On the other hand, Thiel, a staunch believer of transhumanism, “demurred” on the endurance of the human race and invested half a million dollars on ‘seasteading’, the concept of building floating communities in international waters, based on Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.

The responsibility lies partly with those consuming the genre, but equally with those creating it. Science fiction is being consumed more and more in films and television, compared to being read in print. The bigger issue, Kress states, is that writers and scriptwriters have portrayed science to be the villain and that everything that comes out of a science lab is a harbinger of evil. In Ex Machina, robots go on a murderous spree; in Black Mirror, technology accelerates human cruelty; and in Jurassic World, scientific ambition resurrects dinosaurs just to unleash catastrophe.

When audiences continually consume such negative narratives, it reinforces the belief that science itself is evil, rather than how power, profit, and politics shape the use of scientific knowledge. In the current economy, there are not enough sci-fi creators creating thoughtful and positive explorations of science like Andy Weir’s Martian and Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, to balance the scales. These examples remind viewers that science is merely a tool and that the real danger is in how uncritically we absorb science fiction.

Sci-fi is meant to be a playground for the imagination and not always meant to be taken as a prophecy. Creators and audiences alike must engage with sci-fi cautiously, otherwise we will miss the entire point of science fiction and lose its pleasures. History has shown that speculative narratives can be considered as socially dangerous, with the entire genre facing endangerment due to censorship and restriction in various contexts. If we stop questioning what we consume, we will not only lose the pleasures of science fiction, but also its power to help us think about the future with care, nuance, and curiosity.