Science fiction and science futures: Considering the role of fictions in public engagement and science communication work

Reinsborough, Michael

Abstract

The imagination of possible scientific futures has a colourful history of interaction with scientific research agendas and public expectations. The 2017 annual UK Science in Public conference included a panel discussing this. Emphasizing fiction as a method for engaging with and mapping the influence of possible futures, this panel discussed the role of science fiction historically, the role of science fiction in public attitudes to artificial intelligence, and its potential as a method for engagement between scientific researchers and publics. Science communication for creating mutually responsive dialogue between research communities and publics about setting scientific research agendas should consider the role of fictions in understanding how futures are imagined by all parties.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 20, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 10, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 10, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Science Communication
• Print ISSN: 1824-2049
• Publisher: Sissa Medialab
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 4
• Keywords: history of public communication of science, participation and science governance, science communication: theory and models
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/880792
• Publisher URL: https://jcom.sissa.it/archive/16/04/JCOM_1604_2017_C01/JCOM_1604_2017_C07
• Contract Date: Apr 10, 2018