Can the prescience of Blade Runner engender a deeper understanding of our relationship with AI technology?

Abstract

This article explores how, in the 1982 film Blade Runner (directed by Ridley Scott), some preeminent creative minds predicted a future which increasingly reflects the realities of our age. The research outcome is multidisciplinary in perspective, drawn from interviews with the filmmakers as well as with thought leaders in Artificial Intelligence, Classics, Engineering, Ethics, Philosophy, Robotics, and Theology, and is, in part, influenced by the seminal work of Alessandro Portelli. The author has also structured the article by applying some of Jonathan S. Feinstein’s models of creative engagement in exploring the intricacies of creative and innovative work in the arts and sciences, as developed in his book The Nature of Creative Development (2006). The article contributes to the debate about the numerous contentions within the text which it seeks to clarify, as well as to the debate about the nature of creative work and the extent to which the visionaries involved could benefit from a cross-pollination of ideas between disciplines.