>> Do these sort of things automatically follow from the idea of "setting a story in a technological future", and why? Not necessarily - Iain M. Banks' Culture

>> Do these sort of things automatically follow from the idea of "setting a story in a technological future", and why? Not necessarily - Iain M. Banks' Culture series is a good example, where the Culture is portrayed as being a Utopia where the Machines - Minds - have all but taken over the day to day running of the society, replete with limitless energy availability, hedonism, and the inhabitants can basically do just about whatever the heck they want. The great thing about the Culture stories is that for some, that Utopia is a bit of a nightmare for them.