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William Gibson Gives Up on the Future

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the what-chance-do-the-rest-of-us-have dept.

Tinkle writes "Sci-fi novelist William Gibson has given up trying to predict the future — because he says it's become far too difficult. In an interview with silicon.com, Gibson explains why his latest book is set in the recent past. 'We hit a point somewhere in the mid-18th century where we started doing what we think of technology today and it started changing things for us, changing society. Since World War II it's going literally exponential and what we are experiencing now is the real vertigo of that — we have no idea at all now where we are going." "Will global warming catch up with us? Is that irreparable? Will technological civilization collapse? There seems to be some possibility of that over the next 30 or 40 years or will we do some Verner Vinge singularity trick and suddenly become capable of everything and everything will be cool and the geek rapture will arrive? That's a possibility too.'"

6 of 352 comments (clear)

  1. Well, crap! by monkeyboythom · · Score: 4, Funny

    there goes my investments in learning Chinese, buying slums in Tokyo and building a crappy AI called Wintermute.

  2. New Title Tag by Solokron · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slashdot: News for nerds, behold the geek rapture.

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  3. Geek rapture by eclectro · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dates with girls.

    I can hardly wait.

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    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  4. Huh? by iknownuttin · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Sci-fi novelist William Gibson has given up trying to predict the future -- because he says it's become far too difficult.

    I find it impossible. I guess that's why I can't get a job:

    Interviewer: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

    Me: "If I knew what was happening in 5 years, I'd be a billionaire and NOT interviewing for some dipshit wage slave job! And maybe, if I actually knew, I'd be committing suicide for my dismal future of: commuting at least an hour in traffic one way each day, having to put up asinine reviews that are geared to make me fail, watching CEOs who get fired leave with tens of millions of dollars in severance while, the rest of us watch our jobs go overseas,and ... oh fuck it!"

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  5. Re:Here's my prediction by Lehk228 · · Score: 2, Funny

    People will find more ways to kill time.

    and each other

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  6. He was right about one thing by gelfling · · Score: 2, Funny

    In the future authors will have 5 or 6 different good ideas and they will recycle them endlessly into an entire genre.