> irrelevant social dilemmas

Some of them, others not so much. In the original series there was an episode on computerized warfare and efficiency (Season 1 Episode 23 A Taste of Armageddon). In the later series "The Next Generation" there was an episode on AI and rights (Season 2 Episode 9 The Measure of a Man).

Both still get cited in actual work, probably because it's easier to direct someone to watch a reasonably short and entertaining TV episode than some 300 page book on the subject.