How Science Fiction Can Inspire Real-World Innovation with Ed Finn

In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Ed Finn, founding director of ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination, explores the impact of storytelling on our ability to envision and create better futures—and why we urgently need more hopeful narratives.

Ed shares his journey from a generalist interested in how technology shapes culture to co-creating initiatives like "Project Hieroglyph" with celebrated sci-fi author Neal Stephenson. He argues that our collective imagination is often stuck in dystopian loops or unable to escape the status quo, hindering our capacity for large-scale, positive change. By bringing together storytellers, scientists, and artists, we can craft "technically grounded, hopeful stories about futures we might actually want to live in."

In this conversation, we explore:

• The fundamental role of imagination and narrative in how we understand the world, make decisions, and even perceive reality.
• Why science fiction can be a powerful tool for foresight, societal deliberation, and inspiring innovation (the "hieroglyph" concept).
• The importance of moving beyond easy apocalypses to explore "protopian" futures where things are actively getting better, and the challenge of crafting compelling narratives of social change.
• How reflecting on classic tales like Frankenstein can inform our approach to scientific creativity, responsibility, and the societal implications of new technologies like AI.
• The potential resurgence of the humanities in an AI-driven world and why critical thinking and a rich self-imagination are crucial for collaborating with new technologies.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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