This is the fourth post in the "Knowledge and Fiction" Series.
Part 4: Knowledge at Societal Level & World Building
The novel I am working on is set in 2065, which is 40 years
from now. As we are witnessing that a lot can happen in a week, a lot can happen in 40 years. At the same time, 40 years is only half
a lifetime. I am not engaging in comprehensive world-building in the traditional sense. I am not envisioning flying cars and life on Mars. In crafting this world of 2065, I am constructing a framework for how knowledge and expertise function in the future. In many ways, world-building is about the unseen structures—institutions, trust networks, and ways of knowing—that define everyday life. Themes to consider include:
- The
role of expertise in a knowledge-driven society.
- Impact
of advanced technologies on data and information flows.
- Trust
in knowledge institutions and emerging professional roles.
- Global
knowledge flows: What networks facilitate or hinder them?
- Knowledge
access disparities: Who benefits, and who is left out?
- Consequences
of knowledge loss, whether through societal breakdown or natural disaster.
These are contemporary themes that are unlikely to become obsolete in 40 years. At the same time, I am likely overlooking elements that will be prominent by 2065.
The way we (in Western society) approach knowledge today, in
2025, is not the same as the way we approached it 40 years ago. The way we access and treat information, the
way we handle data, issues around misinformation, lack of trust in traditional
institutions of knowledge, etc., all these changes are part of broader societal
shifts.
Since I am looking at 2065 for the setting of the novel, I need to figure out
how things will have evolved around these themes. For a while in the late 1990s and early
2000s, there were references to “knowledge societies” but over time focus on
knowledge was replaced by focus on data and now we’ve entered the era of the
“AI-driven society”. For the purposes
of my plot --putting on my amateur futurist hat--, here are some questions I am contemplating:
What is the role of expertise in 2065?
In the past, I might have asked what is the role of
expertise in a knowledge-driven society. Today, I would ask about the role of
expertise in an AI-driven society. For the purpose of writing speculative fiction,
I have to imagine the role of expertise 30-40 years from today.
- Who is considered an expert in 2065? What expertise is most valued? How is that expertise validated? Whose
knowledge is valued?
- Perhaps the term “expert” has become pejorative
in 2065 because of a catastrophic failure of so-called “experts”.
- What are some emerging pathways to
expertise? Have traditional credentials
(degrees and certifications) been replaced by new ways of learning and
acquiring experience? Have resumes
finally disappeared as obsolete relics of the past? Is expertise measured on an
individual’s ability to manipulate or work with advanced technologies?
- What new roles and professions have emerged? What do they “do” for work? Has the distinction between work and the rest
of life changed? Are the characters
still struggling with work/life balance?
I hope not.
- What areas of “old” knowledge might become
relevant again?
What is the impact of advanced technologies and data
flows in 2065?
I will no doubt be challenged to come up with a realistic perspective
on technology in 2065. The speed of progress is difficult to predict. It’s somewhere between fast and extremely
fast. Technological advances don’t impact everyone equally or at
the same pace, which could be an
interesting aspect to explore. We are
still very early in the era of AI advances but by 2065, the term “AI” will mean
very little, just as the term “IT” means
very little now because it covers too many different things.
- How far along will quantum computing be by 2065
and what will be the impact on daily lives (if any)? What about neural
interfaces and nanotechnology? What
about medical advances in the treatment of all the conditions related to
cognitive decline and more broadly, aging?
- How will robotics and the Internet of Things
(IoT) have evolved? For this aspect, I’m
particularly interested in the convergence of robotics and IoT to address
challenges related to an aging population in most of the Western world and
parts of Asia. In that context, I am
researching AgeTech and even experimenting with more wearable technology than I
have in the past.
- What ancient, sustainable technologies might
make a comeback?
- How will new technologies impact societal
inequalities and divisions?
- How will information and data overload impact
decision-making and governance in 2065?
What is the level of trust (or mistrust) in knowledge
institutions and professional roles in 2065?
Considering the erosion of trust in all kinds of
institutions, including media and academia, and confusion around the role of
science, I consider it a very legitimate concern for 2065.
- What will be the role of academia, scientific
research institutions, and the media, and how will they evolve?
- What new roles might emerge to address challenges in scientific knowledge?
- How can speculative fiction portray conflict
around trust and sensitive issues that currently lack consensus without
becoming “political” in nature?
What are the relevant global networks facilitating global
knowledge flows in 2065?
Even if the action takes place in a relatively confined
setting, the characters don’t live in isolation. Their primary network might be
very local, siloed and constrained by geopolitical factors, or global but
narrowly defined by professional needs. It’s not clear to me (yet) that any of
this is central to the plot but it’s worth exploring.
- Can new technologies facilitate decentralized
knowledge hubs and global (planetary) cooperative AI systems? This might involve autonomous networks of locally
based AI systems collaborating (for the common good?).
- What are the barriers to such knowledge
flows? What are the technology barriers
and AI-related challenges? And perhaps
equally important, what are the human/political challenges, geopolitical
tensions, linguistic divides and other implications for knowledge equity.
What does access to knowledge look like in 2065?
- Who has privileged access to knowledge in
2065? How is that privileged access
leveraged? In 2065, data is a highly
prized commodity – it already is now.
There is probably some highly profitable, illegal trade in data,
including personal data.
- Who is left out of the knowledge economy? What is the impact of increasing disparities
and technological illiteracy? By 2065,
there are new names for issues emerging from disparities in technological
adoption.
- Are there societal counter-movements fighting
against some of the new technologies and their impacts?
- Is anything happening underground to challenge
authorities and promote access to “forbidden” knowledge?
- Are there any ethical dilemmas around access to
knowledge, access to proprietary, dangerous, or personal data?
What knowledge(s) are lost or on the verge of collapse in
2065?
As of 2025, there are concerns about linguistic diversity
not being represented well in Large Language Models, lack of acknowledgement of
traditional and indigenous languages, and overall Western domination of
knowledge institutions and research.
What will be the status of these concerns in 2065?
- What systems will have been put in place to preserve
knowledge and create resilient local knowledge networks?
- What ancient or old knowledge previously
perceived as obsolete will have been rediscovered and leveraged to solve 2065
challenges?
There is a danger, of course, of overcomplicating the novel,
getting lost in research and losing track of the critical elements of the plot.
What I have been reading:
The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow, by Michael
F. Roizen, M.D..
People put M.D. or Ph.D. after their names to signify expertise. Will these traditional credentials still hold weight in 2065? Defining who holds knowledge, how they acquire it and how they convince others of their expertise in 2065 is part of world-building.
The first part of the book is about current and anticipated advances in
medicine that will increase human longevity, not just by allowing us to live
longer but to live healthier longer. Some
of what the author describes and the timelines seem optimistic – I am no expert
in that field. Realistic or not, reading
about the potential future of medicine has been very useful to imagine certain
aspects of the world of tomorrow for the novel.
The second half of the book is a lengthy reminder that regardless of
medical advances, there is a lot we all can do individually today to maintain
good health with lifestyle choices… and then hope to benefit from the medical advances
if and when we need them in the future. That also resonated with me even if I’ll
admit to scanning that section as it did not tell me anything I didn’t already
know.
Final Thoughts
Speculative fiction has long explored knowledge as a force that shapes worlds. In Dune (Frank Herbert), knowledge monopolies define power structures, while in The Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson), access to knowledge is a key theme. The approach to world-building mentioned in this post differs—it focuses on how knowledge institutions, technologies, and trust evolve over time, shaping the fabric of everyday life in 2065.
As I refine my world-building for 2065, these knowledge themes will continue to shape the story’s backdrop. While much of this won’t be explicitly detailed in the novel, the underlying structures will influence every aspect of the characters’ reality.
