We need more illustrations of optimistic technical futures

Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. — Shelley

Sci-fi of the last ~20 years is mostly pessimistic in tone about technology whereas there was more optimistic sci-fi in the mid-20th century.
Optimistic sci-fi provides examples of futures in which there has been a definite positive change. The specific visions of technology can rally people to deliver those, but also, these reinforce the underlying basic idea that definite changes should be conceived and executed (rather than indefinite, incremental, financialised progress).
Optimistic sci-fi provides inspiring, individual role models for pursuing technical careers.
Journalism, literature and entertainment provide a valid critical role — not all technology is positive, not all technical founders are heroes.
This argument is not meant to be universal. There was dystopian sci-fi in the past (eg Brave New World) and there are optimistic presentations of technology in the present. But the dominant mood does feel different to the 1950s (or 1850s!)

Thunderbirds:
- Core idea of a high-tech organisation delivering a critical civic good to the world, altruistically rather than for profit or exploitation.
- Background plots reflect ambitious technology and infrastructure: nuclear-powered irrigation of African and Australian deserts, Fireflash hypersonic airliner, Sun Probe rocket mission, Highway Delva construction. Of course, the point of Thunderbirds is that many of these have problems (though often due to sabotage), but the technical ambition is still there and the crises are not portrayed as illustrating technical hubris.
Star Trek:
- Post-scarcity society, liberal values
- Emphasis on exploration and expanding frontiers ("Wagon Train to the Stars") rather than just zero-sum combat a la Star Wars
Literature:
- Arthur C. Clarke: Project Spaceguard (Rendezvous with Rama), space elevator (Fountains of Paradise), general space infrastructure and normalisation of progress in spaceflight; counterpoint that HAL in 2001 is the original "bad AI"
- Not just the 50s-60s:
  
  https://twitter.com/jasoncrawford/status/1312779908490371074?s=21
Advertising and mass-media that incorporated specific positive visions of technical progress; World's Fair showcases as examples

Britain during Industrial Revolution had a vibe of definite optimism: "Recollect farther, that every natural and every artificial advantage is susceptible of gradual progression, and trace the yearly elevation to higher perfection. New societies for improvement …, new machines to advance our arts and facilitate labour; waste lands enclosed, roads improved, bridges erected, canals cut, tunnels excavated, marshes drained and cultivated, docks formed, ports enlarged: these and a thousand kindred operations which present themselves spontaneously to the mind’s eye, prove that we have not yet attained our zenith, and open an exquisite prospect of future stability and greatness."

Age of Invention: Improveable Beings