
And they delivered!īack in 1983, a young Matthew Broderick taught us all that hacking into NORAD's supercomputer for a game of Global Thermonuclear War is a very, very bad idea. Star Trek didn't just predict the future-it practically wrote a wishlist for scientists and engineers worldwide. McCoy using a handheld device for non-invasive scanning? Fast forward to today, and behold the ultrasound wand and similar medical imaging devices. Remember those scenes in sickbay, with Dr. Captain Kirk's communicator? A spitting image of our flip phones from the early 2000s. " Star Trek: The Original Series" (1966-1969)Īlright, it's not a movie, but it's impossible to ignore the significant cultural impact Star Trek has had on science and technology. Despite HAL's, let's say, 'unfavorable' disposition, it was an early example of an AI assistant-very much like our Alexa or Siri, just hopefully with less potential for a spaceship mutiny.Ħ. Remember the scene when HAL lip-reads the astronauts' conversation? In today's world, we have algorithms that can do exactly that, demonstrating how we've caught up with the "future" Kubrick imagined. Among these, the most remarkable is HAL 9000, the onboard artificial intelligence that controls the spacecraft. Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is not just one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, but also a catalog of eerily accurate predictions. You know, without the part about predicting future crimes. Remember Tom Cruise performing that beautiful ballet of information manipulation on a giant transparent touch screen? That same tech is now becoming commonplace, from interactive kiosks to the touch screen tablet you're probably reading this on. Spielberg's vision of the future was grim, dystopian, but oh-so-technologically advanced. "Total Recall" may not have predicted the rise of bread-making during lockdown, but hey, it got pretty close. Fast-forward to today, and we have advanced virtual reality technology that allows you to "travel" to simulated destinations without leaving your couch. Arnold Schwarzenegger visits Rekall Inc., a company that implants false memories for virtual vacations.
#A space odyssey how to
Heck, most folks were still figuring out how to work their VCRs! So yes, you can thank (or blame) Blade Runner for that device in your home that always seems to be eavesdropping.Īnother gem from the '90s. But back in 1982? It was about as sci-fi as you could get. Today, we barely bat an eyelid at Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. It's raining in Los Angeles, the year is 2019, and Harrison Ford is doing voice commands with his computer. Next up, Ridley Scott's cyberpunk masterpiece.

Who needs shoelaces when you have tiny motors and cables doing the work for you? Although, do note, Nike's version doesn't come with a complementary hoverboard.yet.

Fast-forward to 2016, and we were met with Nike's HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes, which feature-you guessed it-self-lacing technology. Remember when Marty McFly donned a pair of self-lacing Nike sneakers? It seemed like a cool, albeit far-fetched idea.
