Each title receives four scores from 0–10. Every category carries equal weight, and the final Realism Index is their average, rounded to one decimal place.
The number summarizes the argument. Each case file explains the evidence, its assumptions, and where the fiction takes a necessary shortcut.
The four categories
Technical feasibility (25%)
Could the system work as shown? We examine data, compute, architecture, interfaces, embodiment and known research limits.
Human behavior (25%)
Would people adopt, trust, misuse or resist it this way? Convenience, fear, status and dependence all count.
Institutional response (25%)
Do companies, governments and communities respond according to their incentives, capabilities and power?
Causal consistency (25%)
Once the story sets its rules, does it follow the consequences, or ignore them whenever the plot needs an escape?
Reading the Realism Index
- 9.0–10, near-future credible: the premise and its consequences could survive contact with reality.
- 7.0–8.9, plausible with conditions: a convincing core idea with a few visible shortcuts.
- 5.0–6.9, speculative but coherent: the technology stretches belief, while the consequences hold together.
- 3.0–4.9, dramatic shortcut: the system behaves mainly to serve the plot.
- 0–2.9, pure fantasy: AI functions as magic, monster, or metaphor.
Revisions
A score may change when new evidence emerges or a story develops. Each revision is dated and explained.
See every title ranked by score, browse the case files or suggest a title for the index.