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Using Science Fiction as a Lens to Understand Our AI Future

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Compiled: November 4, 2025 Purpose: Comprehensive documentation of the AI sci-fi film festival concept, philosophy, and evolution

Core Philosophy: Sci-Fi as Orientation Tool

The Foundational Insight

Kris Krug, June 26, 2024 (Vancouver AI Meetup #18):

"I've been dreaming of having an AI sci-fi film festival since I learned about AI. I was like, I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but thank god Isaac Asimov exists. We can go read literature and watch old films, and this can be the lens through which maybe we have a clue what's going on."

The Core Premise

October 31, 2025 (BC AI Office Hours):

"Ever since the very, very beginning of my AI journey, I wanted to do an AI sci-fi film festival because, you know, my premise is just like that when we're feeling disoriented about the future, we should look to art and literature and sci-fi has been exploring this stuff for a long time and it might, you know, give us some clarity."

Why Sci-Fi? The Theory

Mass Disorientation & The Need for Frameworks

In times of rapid technological change, people experience disorientation. Science fiction literature and film have spent 50+ years exploring:

1. Human-Machine Relations - How do we relate to intelligent machines?
2. Identity in the Age of AI - Who are we when machines can think?
3. Cyborg Futures - What happens when we integrate with technology?
4. Labor & Displacement - What do humans do when machines do everything?