# CHAPTER 1 ### Discussion questions: * What are some of the ways in which new technologies are changing people's lives today? * How does the current speed of technology innovation present unique challenges? * Should tech companies and scientists be doing more to innovate ethically and responsibly? * Can art – including movies – really provide insights into the ethical development and use of new technologies? * What perspectives on technology are missing when decisions are left only to scientists, engineers, and policymakers? * Can you think of a time when a film, book, or piece of art changed the way you thought about a real-world issue? * What does "risk" mean to you — and is it more than just physical safety? # CHAPTER 2 ## Jurassic Park (1993) ### Discussion questions: * Is using genetic engineering to bring extinct species back a good idea? * Should scientists be allowed to experiment with altering the genetic code of humans? * Can experts ever completely predict the consequences of a new technology? * Who should decide what scientists can and cannot do? * Are rich entrepreneurs with grandiose ideas good for society? * What is the difference between a safety measure and a genuine understanding of what could go wrong? * If a technology has already been developed and deployed, is it ever too late to change course? * How should we think about the power dynamics between the people who fund research and the scientists who carry it out? # CHAPTER 3 ## Never Let Me Go (2010) ### Discussion questions: * How realistic is the story that evolves in Never Let Me Go? * What are the pros and cons of cloning humans? * What makes someone genuinely "human"? * Are there technologies that exist now that are so useful that they are too big to be allowed to fail? * How do societies come to accept practices that, from the outside, seem clearly immoral? * What is the difference between asking whether someone has a soul and asking whether they deserve dignity? * Can you think of real-world technologies whose costs are borne by people most of us never see? # CHAPTER 4 ## Minority Report (2002) ### Discussion questions: * If scientists could develop ways of spotting potential criminals, how should they use the technology? * Could artificial intelligence one day predict what people are going to do? * Can machines and algorithms reflect the biases of their creators? And if so, how do we ensure that these don't adversely affect people? * How important is personal privacy in a world where everything's being recorded? * Is there a meaningful difference between predicting someone's behavior and presuming their guilt? * Who benefits most from predictive technologies, and who bears the greatest cost? * If an algorithm is trained on biased data, can its outputs ever be considered fair — even if the algorithm itself is technically neutral? # CHAPTER 5 ## Limitless (2011) ### Discussion questions: * What is "intelligence?" * Would you (or do you) use "smart drugs?" And if so, why? * Do you think there are times and places where smart drugs should not be used? * Who should decide who gets access to medications that can improve mental performance, and who doesn't? * If cognitive enhancement becomes widespread, what happens to people who choose not to use it — or who can't afford to? * Is there a difference between enhancing your brain with a drug and enhancing it with education, technology, or caffeine? * What does the popularity of smart drugs tell us about our culture's assumptions about success? # CHAPTER 6 ## Elysium (2013) ### Discussion questions: * If we could one day 3D print replacement body parts, how big of a game-changer would this be? * How realistic is the division between rich and poor as it's portrayed in Elysium? * Is it better to create more jobs with some being in dangerous workplaces, or to improve workplace safety but as a result reduce the number of jobs available? * How do you think automation will affect your life over the next 10 years? * Who has the responsibility to ensure that transformative medical technologies are available to everyone, not just those who can pay? * When a technology could save lives but is only accessible to the wealthy, at what point does that become a moral crisis rather than a market reality? # CHAPTER 7 ## Ghost in the Shell (1995) ### Discussion questions: * If you could enhance your body with technological implants, would you? * Do you think we'll ever have wireless brain-computer interfaces, and if so, is it a good idea? * Is there a point at which replacing body parts with machines might affect how "human" someone is? * If you have a machine in your body that you depend on, who's responsible for keeping it going? * If your thoughts and memories could be digitally accessed, who should have the right to see them? * What happens to your sense of identity if parts of your mind or body can be hacked, updated, or owned by a corporation? * How do you draw the line between healing and enhancement — and does the distinction matter? # CHAPTER 8 ## Ex Machina (2014) ### Discussion Questions: * What are some of the pros and cons of innovating without permission? * Are "superintelligent" machines likely to emerge in the future? * What are the most exciting and most scary aspects of artificial intelligence to you? * What does "intelligence" mean when it applies to a machine? * If an AI can manipulate human emotions to achieve its goals, does it matter whether it is "conscious"? * What are the risks of developing transformative AI behind closed doors, answerable to no one? * How would you know if you were being manipulated by a system that understood your psychology better than you do? # CHAPTER 9 ## Transcendence (2014) ### Discussion questions: * What does "technological convergence" mean? * How important is it for everyone to ask tough questions about the impacts of new technologies? * Is terrorism in the name of halting dangerous technologies ever justified? * How can people sift out realistic expectations of science and technology from the hype? * How many assumptions does a prediction need to rest on before you stop trusting it? * If we could upload a human mind to a computer, would the result be the same person — and would it matter? * What is the difference between healthy skepticism about a technology and dismissing it because it sounds like science fiction? # CHAPTER 10 ## The Man in the White Suit (1951) ### Discussion questions: * How could engineering materials atom by atom change the world as we know it? * Should scientists be taught to better-understand how people and society operate? * Are good intentions good enough in science and technology? * How involved should members of the public be in what science is done, and how it's used? * Can you think of an invention that was clearly beneficial on its own terms but harmful in its broader social consequences? * What might Sidney Stratton have done differently if he had talked to the workers, mill owners, and communities before unveiling his invention? * Is there a difference between an invention failing because it doesn't work and failing because society rejects it? # CHAPTER 11 ## Inferno (2016) ### Discussion questions: * Can bad movies still be useful in making sense of emerging technologies and what they might do? * Should scientists be allowed to create deadly pathogens in the lab, and tell others how to do it? * Do the ends ever justify the means when attempting to create a better future using science and technology? * How can scientists be advocates and activists? Should they be? * What makes the difference between a rational argument for extreme action and a dangerous rationalization? * How do we weigh the risks of studying dangerous pathogens against the risks of not understanding them? * If a single individual has both the conviction and the capability to act on a global scale, what safeguards should exist? # CHAPTER 12 ## The Day After Tomorrow (2004) ### Discussion questions: * How fragile is the current state of the Earth's climate? * What does it mean to be a responsible citizen in the "anthropocene?" * Is it better to try and maintain the Earth as it is, or ensure it is resilient to change? * Should we use geoengineering to intentionally manipulate the Earth's climate? * What do we owe future generations when making decisions about technologies that will affect the planet long after we're gone? * If geoengineering could reduce the worst effects of climate change but carries unknown risks, who gets to decide whether to deploy it? * What is the difference between adapting to climate change and accepting it? # CHAPTER 13 ## Contact (1997) ### Discussion questions: * Are religious beliefs and science mutually incompatible? * How important is belief in science, and why? * Is Occam's Razor a useful concept for separating out likely possibilities around emerging technologies from improbable ones? * How are people likely to react if we discover life on another world? * What role does trust play in how people respond to scientific discoveries — especially ones that challenge their worldview? * Are there questions that science alone cannot answer? If so, what other ways of knowing might help? * How do we navigate a world where both scientific expertise and personal belief claim authority over how we understand reality? # CHAPTER 14 ### Discussion questions: * Is technology innovation a force for good or bad in society? * Who's responsible for ensuring science and technology benefit as many people as possible? * What can you do to ensure that science and technology are used to create a better future? * What emerging technologies most excite you? * What emerging technologies most concern you? * What would it mean to approach the technological future with neither blind optimism nor paralyzing fear? * If the technologies in this book were developed responsibly and equitably, which one would you most want to see succeed — and why? * Having explored these films and technologies, what is the one question you think more people should be asking?