Some authors do really think about how technological developments could change societies, and I love them for that. I adore the Culture novels of Iain M. Banks

Some authors do really think about how technological developments could change societies, and I love them for that. I adore the Culture novels of Iain M. Banks, for example, while I only feel a moderately warm regard for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both settings have roughly the same imaginary technologies: nigh-limitless energy, replicators, faster-than-light communications and transportation, teleportation, strong AI. They both started in 1987. But ST: TNG imagined a future society that was still easily recognizable in terms of social relations and behaviors. In the Culture, AIs make most of the big decisions while most people are (effectively) beloved pets of the AIs; people are also immortal, gleefully unemployed, regular users of recreational drugs, and biologically enhanced for pleasure as well as health and intelligence. I really hope that Amazon doesn't file off the interesting parts of the Culture setting in their upcoming adaptation of Consider Phlebas. Dennis Kelly at least seems to appreciate the source material: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/consider-phlebas-iain-m-banks-amazon-novel-dennis-kelly-1202706327/ https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/consider-phlebas-iain-m-ban...