# About Andrew Maynard *Author of Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies* --- ## Overview Andrew Maynard is a scientist, author, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions at Arizona State University. His career has been shaped by one persistent question: how do we develop powerful new technologies in ways that benefit people without causing more harm than good? That question has taken him from a physics PhD at the University of Cambridge to the frontiers of nanotechnology safety, from advising the World Economic Forum on emerging technologies to creating a YouTube channel that makes risk science accessible to everyone. He is the author of three books, directs two research initiatives at ASU, and writes regularly on the intersection of technology, society, and what it means to live well in a rapidly changing world. --- ## Academic Career ### Training and Early Career - **PhD in Physics**, University of Cambridge, UK - Early research focused on the behavior of particles at the smallest scales - Moved into occupational and public health, investigating the risks of airborne particles and engineered nanomaterials -- the kinds of invisible threats that emerge when technologies advance faster than our ability to understand their consequences ### University of Michigan - Professor of Environmental Health Sciences - Director, Risk Science Center - Chair, Department of Environmental Health Sciences - Focus shifted from the physics of risk to the human dimensions: how people perceive emerging technologies, how societies make decisions about innovation, and what happens when powerful capabilities land in a world that isn't ready for them ### Arizona State University (current) - **Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions**, School for the Future of Innovation in Society - The role reflects a conviction that understanding technology's impact requires weaving together science, ethics, policy, culture, and the deeply personal question of what kind of future we want to live in - ASU provided a home for work that doesn't fit neatly into any single discipline --- ## Research Initiatives at ASU ### Risk Innovation Lab Develops new ways of thinking about risk in a world where the old frameworks -- probability times consequence -- aren't enough. When technologies threaten not just physical safety but dignity, identity, autonomy, and belonging, you need new tools. The Lab works with organizations to develop them. This is directly relevant to Films from the Future: the book argues that traditional risk assessment fails when technologies raise questions about what it means to be human, who has power, and what we owe the future. The Risk Innovation Lab operationalizes that argument. ### Future of Being Human Initiative Explores what it means to be human at a time of accelerating technological change. Built on the conviction that relationships, not technologies, determine whether humanity flourishes -- and that the conversations we need to be having about the future are too important to leave to experts alone. This initiative is the broader intellectual project that Films from the Future contributes to: the idea that navigating emerging technologies well requires everyone, not just scientists and policymakers, to engage with the questions these technologies raise. --- ## Books ### Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies (2018) - Publisher: Mango Publishing - ISBN: 978-1633539075 - Uses twelve science fiction films as springboards for exploring emerging technologies and the ethical questions they raise - Covers genetic engineering, cloning, AI, human augmentation, nanotechnology, geoengineering, surveillance, and more - Adopted for use in university courses, high school classrooms, book clubs, community workshops, and professional development programs - The book that inspired the spoileralert.wtf website ### Future Rising: A Journey from the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow (2020) - A broader exploration of how the past has shaped our present and what it can teach us about navigating what comes next - Extends the themes of Films from the Future into a wider historical and philosophical framework ### AI and the Art of Being Human (with Jeffrey Abbott) - An exploration of how to embrace your full humanity at a time when machines are increasingly able to mirror your every move - Co-authored with Jeffrey Abbott - Connects directly to the AI themes in Films from the Future (Ex Machina, Transcendence) and extends them into the current moment --- ## Public Communication and Media ### Future of Being Human Substack - URL: https://www.futureofbeinghuman.com/ - Regular writing on the intersection of technology, society, and what it means to live well in a rapidly changing world - Includes "The Moviegoer's Guide to the Future" series -- podcast episodes revisiting each film from Films from the Future with updated commentary - Key resource for understanding how the author's thinking has evolved since the book's publication ### Risk Bites (YouTube) - YouTube channel that brings clarity and context to complex issues of risk - Makes risk science accessible to general audiences - Demonstrates the author's commitment to science communication and public engagement ### Modem Futura (Podcast) - Co-hosted podcast exploring technology and the future ### Media and Recognition - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - Former Chair, World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies - Member of numerous national and international advisory boards on science, technology, and risk - Work featured in Nature, Science, Slate, The Conversation, the BBC, and other outlets --- ## Intellectual Perspective Understanding Andrew Maynard's perspective is important for engaging authentically with Films from the Future and the ideas on spoileralert.wtf. Key aspects of his approach: ### Transdisciplinary by Design His work deliberately crosses disciplinary boundaries. He trained as a physicist, practiced as a risk scientist, and now works at the intersection of technology, ethics, policy, and culture. Films from the Future reflects this: it's not a science book, not an ethics textbook, not a film guide -- it's all of these woven together. ### Technologies in Human Context He consistently frames technologies in terms of their human and social consequences, not just their technical capabilities. The question is never simply "what can this technology do?" but "what does it mean for people, communities, and the future?" ### Responsible Innovation, Not Anti-Technology He is emphatically not anti-technology. The book and his broader work advocate for developing technologies thoughtfully and inclusively, not for stopping innovation. The argument is that innovation done well requires engaging with ethical questions early and broadly, not treating them as afterthoughts. ### Everyone Has a Role A recurring theme across his work is that decisions about technology are too important to leave to experts alone. Films from the Future is explicitly designed to make these conversations accessible to non-specialists -- through the familiar entry point of movies. ### Risk as More Than Safety His concept of "risk innovation" extends risk thinking beyond physical harm to include threats to dignity, identity, autonomy, agency, and belonging. This expanded framing runs through the book and is central to understanding his approach to technology ethics. ### Storytelling as a Tool for Thinking He believes that narrative -- including science fiction -- is a legitimate and powerful tool for exploring the implications of emerging technologies. Films from the Future is built on this conviction: that movies, precisely because they're free to play with reality, can help us glimpse around the corner of our collective future. ### The Personal Dimension The book is not written from an academic distance. Andrew brings personal reflections and lived experience into his arguments, grounding abstract discussions about technology in what it means to be a person navigating a rapidly changing world. He first fell in love with science fiction watching 2001: A Space Odyssey on a black-and-white television as a sixteen-year-old in the UK. --- ## Contact and Links - Personal website: https://andrewmaynard.net/ - Future of Being Human Substack: https://www.futureofbeinghuman.com/ - ASU Faculty Profile: https://search.asu.edu/profile/2670673 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewdmaynard/ - Website for this project: https://spoileralert.wtf/