> I thought Star Trek was considered Utopian, at least inside the Federation.
In my comment, I'm implying that any universe where we don't figure out AI, where humans are still in charge is a sort of dystopia.
To be absolutely clear, it was a poor attempt at a joke. Many of these observations can also be read in a positive light. But I do think that in a lot of ways you can see darkness in the federation.
They haven't figured out AI and still have humans in charge of menial tasks, humans who aren't particularly good at those tasks compared to a computer.[1] I mean, sure, exploring, sending people to explore is great, but they also send people to fight, even when the battle is existential. They still have humans in charge, even though those humans are still only slightly less corrupt and petty than we are.
They also apparently still have huge issues with racism even within the federation. This is the second part of the comparison; I have recently learned that my own society seems to be rather more racist than I thought it was. I have learned that progress is way slower than I initially thought. Star trek reflects this glacial progress.
[1]Apparently, they have bans on enhancing those humans, even though they have the tech to do it (see bashir's storyline on DS9) To me? this seems like the worst kind of waste. To have the technology to make us all brilliant, but to leave us all as dullards.
