It is widely accepted that literature is a mirror of society. It reflects the trends, direction, and issues existing in the context of the time in which it was created. However, literature has also predicted the times that have not yet existed.
Some writers in history have been able to peer into the unknown and accurately write about the realities of a world that has not been seen yet. Some of these writers were dismissed and understood during their time. Some weren’t even celebrated because they created works that seemed out of place. But their works have gained recognition when viewed in retrospect. They saw tomorrow and, through their stories, predicted it.
Science Fiction
Science fiction is a genre that is characterised by writers who imagine the future. Authors like Philip K. Dick and Arthur C. Clarke used their works to imagine the direction human civilisation was headed.
In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur Clark wrote about space exploration, AI, and the ethical questions surrounding it decades before these things became mainstream. In the novel, Clarke’s artificial intelligence machine named HAL malfunctions and ends up killing Frank Poole and the hibernating crew. HAL also attempts to kill David Bowman by locking him out of the ship. HAL also controlled the ship’s systems. It could outthink and deceive the astronauts and could even read their lips to stay ahead of them. This made it a threat to the safety of humanity. The danger of HAL to the safety of humans epitomises modern-day concerns about AI safety. According to research published in BMJ Global Health Journal,
‘The potential for such machines (AI) to apply intelligence and power—whether deliberately or not—in ways that could harm or subjugate humans—is real and has to be considered. We might see AGI operating independently of humans and… present a threat to humans… possibly an existential threat, by… attacking or subjugating humans… disrupting the systems, or using up resources we depend on.”
Even though Clark wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey in the 1960s, a period in which computers were unspophisticated, his understanding of technology’s trajectory was so profound and accurate that, till date, tech researchers and experts use his work as a source of both inspiration and warning.
Another novel that predicted the future is Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth’s life has been greatly damaged by a nuclear global war, leaving most animal species endangered or extinct. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who has to “retire” (i.e. kill) six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, while a secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-par IQ who aids the fugitive androids. With advancements in AI, VR, and biotechnology, his musings on the blurring lines between humans and machines have become increasingly relevant. The novel’s futuristic landscape and exploration of themes such as the commodification of identity, surveillance, and artificial intelligence make it feel almost painfully contemporary.
H.G. Wells is another science fiction writer who predicted the future. His novel The War of the Worlds featured advanced alien civilizations and space warfare long before such concepts became popular. His work The World Set Free also predicted the development of nuclear weapons. He writes,
“The gaunt face hardened to grimness, and with both hands the bomb-thrower lifted the big atomic bomb from the box and steadied it against the side… Then very quickly he bent forward, bit the stud, and hoisted the bomb over the side. The bomb flashed blinding scarlet in mid-air, and fell, a descending column of blaze eddying spirally in the midst of a whirlwind. . .”
Even though The World Set Free was written in 1914, it contained major technological and societal changes that would later become a part of the modern world.
These science fiction writers did not write about the future so accurately by guessing. They analysed the trends in their society and reckoned where it would lead. They envisioned societies where humanity’s technological advancements surpassed its moral and ethical growth. Sadly, this is a tension we still wrestle with today.
Social and Political Prophets
But it isn’t only science fiction writers who predicted the future. Some of the most precise predictions of the future came from authors writing about political and social structures.
1984 – George Orwell
1984 takes place in an imagined future. The current year is uncertain but believed to be 1984. Much of the world is in perpetual war. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, has become a province of the totalitarian superstate Oceania, which is led by Big Brother, a dictatorial leader supported by an intense cult of personality manufactured by the Party’s Thought Police. The Party engages in omnipresent government surveillance and, through the Ministry of Truth, historical negationism and constant propaganda to persecute individuality and independent thinking.
Orwell wrote during a time of a rapid increase in fascist and communist regimes. Although his work was written against the backdrop of the Second World War, 1984 has remained relevant across generations. It introduced the concepts of “Big Brother” and “thought police,” which have become part of modern lexicon as we grapple with the implications of propaganda, misinformation, and authoritarianism.
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) was an English writer and philosopher who was renowned for his ideas on individual freedom, society, and spirituality. His dystopian novel Brave New World (1932) explores themes of technology and totalitarianism in a highly controlled society. It is set in a dystopian future where society is scientifically engineered through cloning and chemical manipulation.
In the novel, Huxley predicted a world in which people would be controlled by pleasure and distraction rather than violence. Unlike most dystopian novels, the people in Huxley’s work weren’t ruled by fear but by consumerism and drugs. This is akin to modern-day concerns about the influence of mass and social media networks in shaping our desires and behaviours. While Orwell’s work was concerned with coercive subjugation and control, Huxley’s was about a society complicit in its own suppression.
Fahrenheit 351 – Ray Douglas Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and one of the most renowned writers of the twentieth century. His novel Fahrenheit 351 takes place in a futuristic American setting in which books are banned and burnt. The narrator, Guy Montag, is a fireman who burns books. However, he becomes dissatisfied with his role and quits his job. Montag goes on to fight for the protection of books. The novel predicts several modern-day concerns, including flat-screen televisions, in-ear headphones, and a surge in book censorship.
In the novel, the government banned books because they believed they disillusioned citizens. This is similar to the reasons many right-wing advocates and politicians lead efforts to ban the use or appearance of certain books in schools and libraries. According to PEN America, in the first half of the 2022-2023 school year., there were 1,477 instances of books being banned. These book banning campaigns are geared towards suppressing under-represented voices, as 41% of banned books feature notable black or LGBT characters.
But books are not the only things that are burnt in the novel. Houses are burnt down and people are killed as well. This portrays Bradbury’s belief that censorship affects us as humans. Though today’s book bans are mostly anti-Black and anti-BGLTQ, Bradbury had the opposite issue. He detested “political correctness” and fought to preserve the right to “criticise” Black and BGLTQ individuals.
The Unexpected Prophets
Some writers, though not commonly thought of as “futurists,” nonetheless produced works that have become unexpectedly relevant in contemporary times. Mary Shelley, for instance, may have written Frankenstein in 1818 as a gothic horror novel, but its themes of scientific overreach, ethical dilemmas in creation, and the consequences of technological hubris resonate strongly in today’s discussions on genetic engineering, cloning, and artificial intelligence. Frankenstein’s monster is a symbol of unintended consequences—an idea as potent in our age of CRISPR technology and AI as it was in Shelley’s day.
Another book is Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Published in 1985, the book is about a theocratic regime that suppresses women’s rights and freedoms. Although it was written to criticise patriarchy and religious extremism, the novel’s depiction of women’s oppression has remained relevant, especially in the ongoing debate about women’s bodily autonomy, reproductive freedom, and gender equality.
In Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, a lone human emissary travels to Winter, an extraterrestrial planet where people mostly don’t identify as either male or female. His intention is to make Winter’s integration into an expanding interstellar society easier. The novel takes place in a society where gender is fluid and determined by biological cycles. Through this, Guin subtly critiques the traditional ideals of gender and identity. When Guin wrote this novel, there were only a handful of popular trans people. Also, gender-neutral pronouns were not commonly used to address nonbinary people. However, the novel implicitly foresees a future of dialogue and debate about gender norms. Guin’s foresight into the deconstruction of gender norms continues to inspire and provoke thought in contemporary discussions about gender and sexuality.
Lessons from Literary Prophets
These writers were able to write beyond their present environment. They were not prophets or predictors in the literal sense of the world. They were just people who were deeply in touch with the forces shaping humanity. Through their imagination, they were able to explore the trajectory of the world and envisage what the future will hold for it. Their writing reminds us that literature is not only a mirror, but a window that gives us glimpses of what is to come to warn, guide, and inspire us. Their works also remind us that while the future may be uncertain, it is already written—we just have to look in the right place.
