Hollywood’s always predicting our futures technologies in such bulky way, that it’s a miracle they don’t predict everything we have today. Dozens of movies coming out every year with visions of the worlds most talented visual artists and directors. Let’s take a look at things now from a historical perspective. Exactly when, and what did these movie oracles predicted?
1. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
In 2001: A Space Odyssey Stanley Kubrick’s shows us video calls and artificial intelligence, which is kind of Alexa today, or Siri. It’s even creating itself nowadays. And of course, there’s tablet computing, and the International Space Station.
2. BLADE RUNNER (1982)
We have the huge electronic billboards Ridley Scott predicted and the video calls, and some of the almost infinite zoom-technology for viewing digitized pictures. Although it’s still not quite 2019!
3. The Terminator (1984)
No Skynet yet right? No autonomous flying robots killing us either. Wait. What about the military drones? Oh crap! It’s coming true all right! Did we mentioned the US military satellite system called Skynet? No kidding.
4. TOTAL RECALL (1990)
The Johnny Cabs, are basically autonomous cars, with a hint of funny AI (very sensitive to bullets!), and we have the Teslas. We are heading for Mars, several preparing expeditions into test-living-chambers closed for years already took place. Oh yes, and by using Oculus, we have much better tennis instructors, than predicted in the movie, not to mention the airport body scanners, which are arrived too. (Please don’t tell Cohagen we know!)
5. THE NET (1995)
Sandra Bullock gets a glimpse from the future in this early prediction of identity theft scenario. Today we have to say it understated the situation by far, and it foresaw online chat and shops also. And she used an Apple Macintosh laptop with a rainbow colored logo and a floppy drive! Miss that point bigly!
6. FACE/OFF (1997)
Facial transplantation is a reality, though it seamed very-very futuristic at the time Nicolas Cage and John Travolta undergone it, back in ’97 in this chase and catch story. One Russian guy’s even preparing for a head transplantation in 2017, so in case of success, it’ll soon be a heavy understatement too.
7. MINORITY REPORT (2002)
You saw it coming all right. If it’s Spielbergs future – even in 2002, Tom’s gonna be there somewhere. The hand-gesture controlled computer interfaces are cold hard realities, and we also have cool flying backpacks, though not operational at the police. Eye transplants are still to come, but we have really advanced artificial eyes, which already given aback the vision of several patients. Facial recognition is also a reality, not to forget the personalized ads, hooray, there are here too. And self driving cars. They are everywhere.
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
An other dystopic dream we gifted humanity with: the erasable memories. In 2015 researchers in cooperation with the American Psychological Association announced that memory erasure for people with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTS) that derive from bad memories will soon be a reality. Or maybe for anyone asking for it.
9. JURASSIC PARK 1994
My personal favorite! And not just because the dinos but because, somehow you could knew all the long-long way here from 1994 that someday it’s gonna come baby! And it isn’t quite here however, it’s really close now. Not yet the A-bomb, no T-Rex or Triceratops, but the Woolly Mammoth, the Mastodon, the Woolly Rhino, Quagga, Dodo, Tasmanian Tiger, Saber Toothed Tiger: Smilodon and some 20 other species! It’s going to be a Zooper-cool century! The methods used in this one aren’t simply good for bringing extinct species back to life. They are forming the basis of genetic engineering, which can alter the whole human race once and for all. Soon we would be able to be, well, anyone or anything, without really changing the mind controlling the things inside. Now that’s something to think about!
10. You’ve Got Mail (1998)
I’ve saved the best for last. Or is it the worst? Online love, dating and social life become a fact and joy or misery of our everyday lives. No-one gets the chills any more if we got mail.
(image credit: Soundandmotionradio)
The Cyber-Secret Futurist 