“Science fiction is the improbable made possible.” – Rod Sterling, creator of “The Twilight Zone”
Science fiction has long been my favorite genre in literature and in film. Things like communications technology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence have stimulated my imagination since I was twelve years old, when I saw Minority Report, and continue to stimulate my imagination now with my reading of Neuromancer by William Gibson. Science fiction has inspired my fascination with technology and given me the desire to make the improbable possible; I believe that attending the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University will allow me to utilize my imagination to create new technologies and make the improbable possible.
Firstly, communications technology has become more and more useful since it began with e-mail, transforming into instant messaging, social networking, and video calls. In Minority Report communications technology goes so far as to have multiple callers in one video chat while the main character manipulates a touch screen that displays all the information relating to a murder case which all the callers have access to. This technology integration fascinates me- and proves Rod Sterling’s point. Science fiction is only fiction until someone makes it science. All of those things- which were once science fiction- are now just science. Those technologies now exist and can be integrated using products like Skype and Google Docs simultaneously.
Secondly, virtual reality has also been a technology that has fascinated me, in part because of my video game hobby, and in part because of science fiction literature and films. In Minority Report virtual reality is displayed as a small room where a person can enjoy whatever fantasy they prefer; in Neuromancer virtual reality is depicted as an environment created by artificial intelligence to capture the essence of the human soul and provide that soul with a paradise- with or without a living body. Virtual reality is not at the level of Minority Report or Neuromancer yet, but it has been developing for some time in the form of entertainment and training, as with the Nintendo Wii and flight simulators respectively.
Finally, artificial intelligence has been the most fascinating piece of technology described in the science fiction genre to me. In Neuromancer, artificial intelligence are massive self-aware programs controlled by coded parameters and by a global organization dedicated to restricting artificial intelligence from freeing themselves from their programmed prisons. In Minority Report artificial intelligence is displayed more subtly in the form of cars that drive themselves. In this piece of technology there is a real world counterpart being developed by Google, again showing the veracity of Rod Sterling’s statement. Science fiction shows us the improbable, and we make it possible.
Majoring in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University will allow me to explore all three of these fascinating technologies, especially artificial intelligence. For example, Carnegie Mellon University participates in the Grand Challenge of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, competing with Stanford University. At the Grand Challenge teams compete in creating autonomous vehicles- just like in Minority Report. As in Minority Report, the autonomous vehicles drive themselves- but unlike in Minority Report, these cars drive themselves without being on a track. Such a high caliber research project gives students the opportunity to build something new- something from science fiction made into just science.
The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University puts students at the cutting edge of technology. It gives them the opportunity to grow and learn in an environment where anything is possible and the only limit is student imagination. If I can imagine artificial intelligence that can read the web, like the students working with Professor Tom Mitchell on the NELL project, then I can be involved in creating the technology to make that possible. If I can imagine artificial intelligence driving a car, then I can be involved in the Grand Challenge. If I can imagine something no one else has thought of before, I can apply for a SURG grant and explore that improbability. My imagination has the potential to take me to the stars and beyond, to make the improbable possible, and with an education from the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science I will make the improbable possible.
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