In this article, part 7 we explore a blueprint and Elon Musk isn’t subtle about his inspirations. In interviews and posts, he’s repeatedly hailed Iain M. Banks’ Culture series as “the future we’re building.” SpaceX drone ships bear names straight from the books: Of Course I Still Love You, Just Read the Instructions, A Shortfall of Gravitas. He describes himself as a “utopian anarchist” in the Banksian mold, envisioning AI and robotics delivering abundance while humanity explores the stars. When responding to visions of AI-built dream homes and instantaneous transport, Musk tweeted: “Iain Banks Culture books are a pretty good prediction of the future.”.

This isn’t hype; it’s blueprint. The Culture book represents a society where benevolent superintelligences, Minds handle logistics, allowing sentients to pursue me ...