TAKES: The science fiction inspiring big tech episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 27, 2025

TAKES: The science fiction inspiring big tech

from Tales of Our Time

Today we're trying something a little different and more experimental with our TAKES episode, and exploring the science fiction stories that inspire big techm or more specificaly, the people behind big tech. We'll talk mostly about X, Google, and Meta and talking inspiration (and more) they may take from 1961's Stranger in a Strange Land, and 1992's Snow Crash. Sources for today's episode: 1. Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert A. Heinlein, 1961), 2. Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson, 1992), 3. Elon Musk And Jeff Bezos Were Inspired By Sci-Fi And So Should You (Christian Stadler, Forbes), 4. Why Does So Much New Technology Feel Inspired by Dystopian Sci-Fi Movies? (Casey Michael Henry, the New York Times), 5. How Elon Musk Is Remaking Grok in His Image (Stuart A. ThompsonTeresa Mondría TerolKate Conger and Dylan Freedman, the New York Times), 6. After a wave of lawsuits, Character.AI will no longer let teens chat with its chatbots (Lisa Eadicicco, CNN), 7. What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality (Kashmir Hill and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, New York Times)

Today we're trying something a little different and more experimental with our TAKES episode, and exploring the science fiction stories that inspire big techm or more specificaly, the people behind big tech. We'll talk mostly about X, Google, and Meta and talking inspiration (and more) they may take from 1961's Stranger in a Strange Land, and 1992's Snow Crash. Sources for today's episode: 1. Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert A. Heinlein, 1961), 2. Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson, 1992), 3. Elon Musk And Jeff Bezos Were Inspired By Sci-Fi And So Should You (Christian Stadler, Forbes), 4. Why Does So Much New Technology Feel Inspired by Dystopian Sci-Fi Movies? (Casey Michael Henry, the New York Times), 5. How Elon Musk Is Remaking Grok in His Image (Stuart A. ThompsonTeresa Mondría TerolKate Conger and Dylan Freedman, the New York Times), 6. After a wave of lawsuits, Character.AI will no longer let teens chat with its chatbots (Lisa Eadicicco, CNN), 7. What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality (Kashmir Hill and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, New York Times)

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TAKES: The science fiction inspiring big tech

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This episode was published on November 27, 2025.

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Today we're trying something a little different and more experimental with our TAKES episode, and exploring the science fiction stories that inspire big techm or more specificaly, the people behind big tech. We'll talk mostly about X, Google, and...

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