Science-fiction — the literature of ideas, as it’s often called — is something that has influenced almost everyone even if they aren’t aware of it. From credit cards to tablet computers to prosthetic limbs, sci-fi is something that has influenced many items we use today.

For those like Eliot Peper, however, the influence is a little more apparent. With books such as Borderless, Bandwidth and True Blue, Peper has proven himself quite the player in the realm of sci-fi literature.

Peper has also served as an independent advisor, helping to build tech businesses, design games and “inspire teams to challenge the status quo.“

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Peper’s answer when asked about the most influential and/or important piece of tech we have today.

“Writing. Without the written word, it’s hard to imagine human culture, science or technology advancing to the point we have today,” Peper said.

This answer really made me take a step back and realize the candor simplicity of technology. How impossible all of these complex and intricate machines would be without the simplest, most basic concepts.

“Technology is a part of life and a part of being human. We’ve been making tools since we evolved into who we are today, and by ignoring technology, you risk ignoring a fundamental aspect of humanity.”

Eliot Peper

Getting to the more-complex side of the technological spectrum, I like to ask my sci-fi interviewees about where they think we’re behind, or more appropriately, what we should have moving forward.

“I’ve always wanted easy, safe teleportation,” Peper said. “If you could vanish and reappear anywhere else on Earth, political borders would become instantly irrelevant, prisons would have to be radically reimagined, you could grab tacos for lunch at Torchy’s and ski Antarctica that same afternoon. It would be the internet made physical, a world at your fingertips.”

Peper is speaking in the session entitled: Sci-Fi CEOs, How Fictional Futures Influence Tech. With that in mind, I felt it imperative to bring up the topic and hear Peper’s take on the sort of “chicken or egg” causality dilemma between sci-fi and its actual influence on the real world.

“Science fiction is the mythology of our age of acceleration,” Peper said. “It reflects the fact that we are trying to make sense of living lives that are fundamentally different than our ancestors, it warns us of danger and inspires us to imagine how the world might be made better. Many technologists and entrepreneurs love science fiction not just because it’s a wellspring of ideas, but because by presenting plausible alternative realities, science fiction challenges readers to reexamine the status quo.”

“I’m fascinated by exploration. I read, travel, reflect and experiment in order to find new perspectives, to look at life through fresh eyes.”

Eliot Peper

Regardless of which came first, the binary existence of tech and sci-fi will continue; we as humans are on the precipice of a world unlike one we have ever experienced.

Be sure to attend the session at the time and location below, where Peper joins New America’s Open Technology Institute’s Kevin Bankston, Quartz’s Tim Fernholz and fellow author Malka Older to discuss the future of tech. #SciFiCEOs 

Friday, March 8
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
JW Marriott – Salon F