With all this talk lately of “Minority Report” type technology in Bio-Metrics and other Security apparatus, I thought it would be interesting to look at other sci-fi movies that nailed it as far as actual current or “coming soon” technology. -SF
Did you know a kid’s cartoon predicted 3D-printed food in 1962?
Or that the first tablet device debuted in 1968 when computers were still the size of warehouses? For as long as we’ve acknowledged that there is a future, storytellers have been trying to predict it. And damn if 20th-century pop culture didn’t get a lot right.
Okay, so there’s still no cryonic resuscitation or a warp speed travel option. But some of these predictions are so spot on, it makes you wonder if time travel is actually real and how NASA paid Hollywood for filming the moon landing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
1. Tablet Computers, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)
In the Movie
In Reality
Stanley Kubrick’s epic science fiction film is known for its eerily accurate tech predictions and chillingly plausible visions of the future. In fact, the movie’s depiction of personal computers was so accurate that some *cough cough Samsung* cite Kubrick as the actual inventor of tablet computing.
Are we suggesting that Apple completely ripped off the iPad’s design from the 1968 film? Of course not. But could one in good conscience say it was invented without any of 2001: A Space Odyssey’s influence? I’m sorry Steve, I’m afraid I can’t do that.
2. Autonomous Cars, ‘Total Recall’ (1990)
In the Movie
In Reality
Cars are an integral part of American culture, so it’s no wonder that our futuristic visions of them are a pop-culture constant. It’s also why the advent of autonomous vehicles feels like world-changing technology.
Judging from its test group of self-driving vehicles, it seems Google has chosen a slightly different aesthetic than the Johnny Cab from Total Recall. But the likelihood that you’ll need to program a destination –even when being chased by armed assailants sent by the government– seems on the mark.
Read the Remainder at Digg