Dr Ryder's research highlights the worlds imagined in Pohl's works, where advertising firms are in charge, exploiting customers for profit and priding themselves on their ability to shape human desire, where social status and consumption are intrinsically entwined, and where characters become hyper-consumers, threatening the stability of the local area. An overarching theme is a concern that the boundaries between humans and machine are blurring.
"Pohl's work highlight the ability of science fiction to provide a better understanding of possible futures and the lasting impacts of modern and emerging technologies, allowing people to see what the world may become in a way easily understood by a mass audience," says Dr Ryder.
"Science fiction is an important tool for testing 'what-if' scenarios, speculating on what the future might bring. Frederik Pohl's worlds of hyper-consumption, robot workers and ecological disaster are even more relevant today than they were in the 1950s.
See the full story here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/lu-sfs072420.php