Title: Media Lab: mechanisms driving sci-fi to real world technological innovations?

Authors: Wesley L. Harris; Jarunee Wonglimpiyarat

Addresses: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA ' Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA; Leonardo Research Centre, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

Abstract: Can science fiction (sci-fi) be transformed into real innovations? This is the challenging question that inspires Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab to turn imagination to future technological innovations. This research study analyses futuristic innovations of MIT Media Lab through the integrative lens of the competitive diamond model and the triple helix model. The results show that the government has to be less controlling in order to engender the process of 'innovation to create demand' and thrive high-tech initiatives. The 'demo-or-die' culture, a free-ranging and interdisciplinary approach to research, has effectively linked the Media Lab science fiction to the process of technology transfer. The empirical results and lessons of MIT Media Lab provide an interesting model of moving sci-fi to reality.

Keywords: science fiction; sci-fi; Media Lab; demo-or-die; technology transfer; triple helix; entrepreneurial ecosystem.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2025.146995

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2025 Vol.37 No.3, pp.356 - 371

Received: 06 Aug 2021
Accepted: 02 Jul 2022
Published online: 10 Jul 2025 *

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