Neomania 5. Midtopias and Blue Sky Futures w/ LastNPCAlex
Exploring decentralized social networks, sci-fi world-building, and why the future might be surprisingly mid.
I'm joined by Alex (LastNPCAlex), a physicist and author of the sci-fi novel "A Mote in Shadow." We dive into why Bluesky's decentralized approach might be worth burning your social graph for, how to build believable tech interfaces in a space-faring sci-fi future, and a surprisingly rigorous approach to faster-than-light travel that doesn't entirely handwave the physics away. We explore the concept of "midtopias" - where we'll neither get our techno-utopia nor face apocalyptic doom, but instead land somewhere entertainingly weird in between. Along the way, we discuss why talking about "replacing" humans with AI is both technically inaccurate and socially destructive, and imagine how kids growing up with AI might develop an entirely different relationship with knowledge than we have.
-it's ya boi
Links:
Alex:
https://bsky.app/profile/lastnpcalex.com
"A Mote in Shadow" (Alex's sci-fi novel):
Your Host, Lance "it's ya boi" Robotson:
https://bsky.app/profile/robotson.media