Scientists Are Secretly Testing Unthinkable Technologies Years Before They Exist
By Elizabeth Rayne | Published August 14, 2025
Imagine if society could fully grasp the social, ethical, and behavioral consequences of emerging technologies before they become widespread. This forward-looking approach, which sounds like the plot of a science fiction story, is actually gaining traction among researchers aiming to harness the scientific method to forecast the impact of future innovations.
The Birth of “Science Fiction Science” (Sci-Fi-Sci)
The concept, coined as “science fiction science” or “sci-fi-sci,” is an innovative framework that sits at the intersection of imagination and empirical inquiry. Developed by a trio of experts—Iyad Rahwan from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Germany), Azim Shariff of the University of British Columbia (Canada), and Jean-Francois Bonnefon of the Toulouse School of Economics (France)—this method seeks to simulate and study technologies that are still in speculative or nascent stages.
Their goal is bold: to apply controlled experimental methods to technologies that have not yet reached mainstream use, thereby illuminating the potential social and behavioral effects well ahead of time. Doing so could help policymakers, developers, and consumers shape technology development responsibly, ensuring pitfalls are addressed early.
Why Predicting the Future Matters
As the authors explain in a recent study posted on arXiv, “Predicting the social and behavioral impact of future technologies, before they are achieved, would allow us to guide their development and regulation before these impacts get entrenched.” This approach involves creating virtual or experimental environments where participants can interact with simulated versions of future technologies, enabling researchers to collect quantitative data on human attitudes and behaviors.
Consider social media—a technology that transformed society rapidly and profoundly. If “sci-fi-sci” principles had been applied before the rise of social platforms, society might have anticipated the psychological effects, such as impacts on self-esteem, and the complex ethical questions now posed by vast data collection and online behavior monitoring. The dystopian scenarios portrayed in shows like Black Mirror, particularly the “Nosedive” episode where people’s social scores dictate their societal standing, illustrate the risks of unchecked technology adoption.
From Fiction to Reality: The Rise of Social Credit Systems
Some speculative technologies eerily mirror the concepts once only explored in fiction. For instance, the app Gage, created by founder and CEO Justin Henshaw, tracks employee social interactions and generates a “social credit score” based on virtual compliments and other peer feedback, designed to follow employees from one job to another. Critics, including YouTube commentator Joshua Fluke, warn this system risks codifying biases and disadvantaging neurodivergent individuals who may not conform to typical patterns of workplace communication.
On a larger scale, the European Union is considering preemptive regulatory action against broad AI-based social credit systems that continuously monitor behavior and assign public scores to citizens. The debate surrounding these technologies echoes real concerns raised by sci-fi inspired foresight.
Other Technologies on the Horizon
Aside from social credit systems, the researchers highlight other “nascent or speculative” technologies ripe for sci-fi-sci analysis. These include:
- Autonomous vehicles: How will self-driving cars reshape urban life, insurance, and liability?
- Genetic screening: What ethical considerations emerge from selecting embryos based on desired traits?
- Ectogenesis: Artificial womb technology reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World poses societal and moral questions yet to be fully explored.
These futuristic innovations are poised to redefine human experience, but their ultimate societal consequences remain difficult to predict without scientific scrutiny beforehand.
Challenges and the Road Ahead
The investigators acknowledge the inherent challenges: “Studying the behavior of future humans interacting with future technology in a future social world raises unusual challenges for behavioral scientists, which call for unconventional methods.” Virtual reality experiments and controlled simulations offer promising tools, yet the question remains—can these experiments reliably forecast real-world outcomes once the technologies materialize?
For now, the intersection of science fiction and scientific method continues to be a fertile field for exploration, one that may transform how humanity anticipates, regulates, and lives alongside tomorrow’s innovations.
Elizabeth Rayne is a freelance writer whose work appears in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, and other outlets. She lives just outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat, and enjoys drawing, playing piano, and shapeshifting in her free time.
