Nearly thirty years ago, one of the most clear-sighted prophets of science fiction addressed the many ways that artificial intelligence (AI) and nanotechnology would revolutionize society and culture. 

In Neal Stephenson’s 1995 masterpiece The Diamond Age, society has fractured under the yoke of technological advances. Numerous factions live in bizarre proximity to one another— from an underground (and underwater) society of tribal drummers to street thugs with impressive implant technologies.

 

One group that stands out particularly is a group known as the ‘vickies,’ or Neo Victorians, a closed, upper middle class enclave that harkens back to a time when the rules of society were clearcut and rigid. They value craftsmanship. They prefer woodworking to technology, ride animatronic horses, and dress conservatively.  

Faced with cascading changes that technology and AI is poised to deliver in the here and now, it isn’t hard to imagine the ways that our own society could turn — and the many ways that Stephenson was dead on in his assessments. As we watch AI change our daily interactions, as it becomes enmeshed with every aspect of our already technologically-codependent lives, I foresee that we, too, will simultaneously see the rise of its backlash. 

if you’re looking at what’s happening with AI and nanotech right now and thinking to yourself, “this is going to change my job,” I would say, look harder.

Parts of society will lean back towards the “vanishing authentic” — or the last authentic we can find. We’ll try to purify parts of our lives in an attempt to regain that “human” experience. Heck, maybe we’ll even rediscover books, board games and human interaction. Of course, there’s the flip side of that coin, as well — those who wholeheartedly embrace the rapid shifts in technology, who see opportunities rather than the potential for harm. 

The real point here is that if you’re looking at what’s happening with AI and nanotech right now and thinking to yourself, “this is going to change my job,” I would say, look harder. 

The changes we’re about to experience will be more sweeping than I think we can comprehend. Our communities, our lives, our relationships will reorganize and revolve around basic concepts of technological embrace versus technophobia. In the short term, this will probably play out along the lines of who can afford to determine their relationship to technology in contrast to those whose fates will be predetermined.

We stand at a major turning point. We’ve entered the Diamond Age, and it’s a long, strange trip from here.