Between Speculation and Regulation: Science Fiction as a Tool for Legal Inquiry

This article develops a conceptual framework for using science fiction as a tool for anticipatory legal analysis of emerging technologies. As technologies such as artificial intelligence, gene editing, advanced reproductive systems, and autonomous weaponry advance faster than conventional legal methodologies can accommodate, legal scholarship requires tools capable of proactive rather than reactive regulatory thinking. This article argues that science fiction, approached on its own literary terms, provides precisely this. The argument proceeds in three parts. Part I establishes that legal theory and science fiction share a long tradition of speculative thinking, showing how both fields have relied on hypothetical reasoning to work through the social and normative implications of technological change. Part II articulates a working account of science fiction for legal inquiry. It defines the genre through its core elements: the novum, cognitive estrangement, and paradigm shift. It then traces the evolution of science fiction in an era where the boundary between speculation and technological reality is increasingly compressed. Finally, it challenges two enduring misconceptions that continue to hinder legal engagement with the genre – the assumption that science fiction is primarily predictive, and the assumption that it is inherently dystopian. Part III introduces the category of “realist science fiction”: a sub-genre set within our recognisable social world, built around a plausible technological development whose legal and ethical consequences the narrative then explores. This sub-genre is particularly well suited to anticipatory legal analysis, because it projects emerging technologies to the point at which their legal implications become visible – allowing scholars to identify regulatory gaps, trace the effects of technological change, and consider appropriate legal responses before the moment for meaningful intervention has passed. The article concludes with practical guidance for incorporating realist science fiction into legal research.