Is it not fascinating how action movies in the past had predicted the technologies of the future? While many such Hollywood movie productions have visualized future technologies, there are three that stand out in this list; they are The Terminator, Blade Runner, and Total Recall.
The Terminator
The Terminator was released in 1984 and continues to garner interest amongst movie-buffs so much so that the sequels are getting produced even now. This movie focuses on a dystopian future that is going to be completely ruled by AI or Artificial Intelligence; the software in the movie being called SkyNet.
The robotic revolution has not happened in the way envisaged by the movie, but AI has surely emerged as the most dominant technology, one that is being adopted by all industries.
The filmmaker James Cameron had visualized the concept long before drones or advanced machine learning developed. In the past three-and-a-half decades, a huge range of AI advancements has made this story seem plausible. Today, AI surpasses human intelligence in many applications like reading CT scans or helping self-driven cars navigate through crowded streets.
Blade Runner
Blade Runner, 1982 was a noir movie focusing on a “replicant” hunter meant to hunt bio-engineered human rogue replicas. Ultimately, he develops feelings for one of these. So, when such a group of replicants comes to Earth to extend their life span, the protagonist Deckard is chosen to eliminate them.
From its predictions regarding a world ravaged by pollution, forecasting onset of climatic changes to the preponderance of flying cars, there is a hint of futuristic technologies in the Blade Runner all along.
One of the more-relevant predictions made by this movie was how people would be using video calling as a casual means of communication. Today, you will come across many psychics providing free reading online through this innovative video calling means. In an age of Facetime and Skype, this futurist prediction is here.
The Blade Runner also predicted that technology used by us soon become disposable and redundant; this fact was represented by the life span of the replicants who would exist only for 4 years and no more. This concept is interesting in that technology that we use becomes outdated after a while; the biggest example is how Apple keeps coming out with a new iPhone every 12 months or so.
Total Recall
Total Recall was released in 1990 and focuses on the protagonist who undergoes a memory programme, discovering that his whole life is a false memory. There are scenes of self-driving cars being made for commercial use and being tested on roads.
Major automobile manufacturers all over the world are testing this technology and industry analysts are hopeful that there will soon be driverless vehicles completely navigated by computers.
Another relevant prediction involves Arnold Schwarzenegger walking through a full-body scanner that attracts the attention of security guards. This is now used in most airports and any frequent flyer will be used to this. Today these scanners are used for detecting illicit weapons that passengers may be carrying on their bodies.