A woman smokes a mask bong on the final day of Hempfest, Seattle's annual gathering to promote the legalization of marijuana, on August 17, 2014. (Photo by Jordan Stead/Seattlepi.com)

Sculptures entitled “The Rising Tide” by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor are seen beside the River Thames in front of the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye ferris wheel in London, September 3, 2015. The representations of four horses and riders are fully visible at low tide but become immersed underwater twice a day as the Thames rises to reach full tide. The installation will be on display throughout September as part of the annual Totally Thames festival. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A labourer carries a basket of bananas inside a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Bengaluru, India, August 22, 2016. (Photo by Abhishek N. Chinnappa/Reuters)

William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.

In this April 20, 2017 photo, a woman is aided by fellow demonstrators after falling, overcome by tear gas, during anti-government protests in Caracas, Venezuela. Tens of thousands of protesters asking for the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets again, one day after three people were killed and hundreds arrested in the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

A man dressed in traditional clothes tries to pull his opponent over the table at the 40th Alpine Country Championships in Fingerhakeln_finger wrestling_ in Woernsmuehl, Germany, Thursday, May 25, 2017. Competitors battled for the title in this traditional rural sport where the winner has to pull his opponent over a marked line on the table. (Photo by Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

Director George Clooney reacts as he and his wife lawyer Amal Clooney arrive for a screening of the film “The Tender Bar” as part of the BFI London Film Festival, in London, Britain, October 10, 2021. (Photo by Henry Nicholls/Reuters)

A robot using artificial intelligence is displayed at a stand during the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on May 30, 2024. Humanity is in a race against time to harness the colossal emerging power of artificial intelligence for the good of all, while averting dire risks, a top UN official said. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)