10 Science Fiction Movies That Predicted the Future
Marc Howard
2015-09-12 00:00:00
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9. Wearable Computers

Movie: Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Filmmaker Roger Zemeckis was on point with his futuristic shades that seemed to tap into the TV network as well as the phone system in the movie. Marty’s kids have them as if they were a common component to a kid’s entertainment repertoire. Perhaps in ten [or less?] years our kids will be wearing their own version of Google glasses at the dinner table.

8. Military Robots

Movie: Short Circuit (1986)

In the movie Short Circuit the NOVA Corporation attempts to persuade the military to add robots to their army. Not surprisingly, as today’s has shown interest in robotics. They have given the makers of Roomba, as well as other companies, contributions. Robots created by the government, like the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System, are created to shoot machine guns as well as deliver grenades.

7. Intelligent Monkeys

Movie: The Planet of the Apes(1968) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

These movies showed we aren’t the only species capable of intelligent thoughts. Researchers from universities including Wake forest, Kentucky, and Southern California have performed experiments on the neural performance of monkeys in 2012, and continued for two years. The monkeys were taught to follow a pattern. When they performed correctly the researchers recorded how their neurons fired. They were able to improve the monkey’s performance by firing “correct” signals into their neurons.



6. Day After Tomorrow

Movie: Day After Tomorrow (2004)

This film wasn’t joking. Although a firm argument for global warming can’t be made to show how a storm as powerful as Sandy can be created, at the time of the storm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean were found to be five time higher than normal. It is theorized the melting of the polar ice caps had a major factor in the harshness of Sandy. A scientist from MIT, Kerry Emanuel, believes that we are experiencing storms that would only happen once or twice in a century but are starting to become more common.

5. Soylent Green

Movie: Soylent Green (1973)

Like many sci-fi movies of the time, Soylent Green tackled social issues of the day such as overpopulation and government overreach. In the film, Charlton Heston played a police investigator trying to solve a high-profile murder case. In doing so, he discovers the truth about Soylent Green, a nutrient supplement harvested from human beings.

That was 1970’s science fiction but modern companies are bringing fiction to reality. As the world population tops 8 billion, companies like Beyond Meat, Obvious Corp, and Soylent, are developing nutrient substitutes that replace real food.



4. Flying DeLorean

Movie: Back to the Future (1985, 1989, 1990)

Science fiction writers love to add flying cars to their work, and we have all been waiting for many years for this to actually happen. Though it has been a slow going process, it seems that we may be close to achieving this. Terrafugia Transition Roadable Aircraft is a prototype for a flying car that has even had a couple of successful flights. Unfortunately this car is going to run up to almost $300,000.

3. Cyborgs Are Real

Movie: Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

A common theme here involves replacing organs that have been damaged, for electrical devices. Geordi LaForge has a VISOR (Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement) which allows vision of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In 2005, members of Stanford University successfully inserted chips behind the eyes of blind rats. These chips were able to process light through infrared LED images as they acted in place of damaged cells, by stimulating a part of the eyes called photodiode.

2. The Twilight Zone

Movie: The Twilight Zone

Originally shown on television between 1959 and 1964, Rod Sterling’s The Twilight Zone covered many themes and subjects that predicted the future. Many episodes tapped into the paranoia felt by US citizens regarding governmental control and surveillance. Other themes were technology and robotics becoming human-like.

1. Self-Driving Cars

Movie: Demolition Man (1993)

In 1993’s Demolition Man, the peaceful utopia of the future is threatened by a criminal from the past, who starts rampaging through the streets after being cryogenically frozen for 36 years. We don’t freezer burn our super villains yet (or the cops that capture them), but we are closing in on their awesome rides. Google started test driving self-piloted cars in San Francisco. By March 2012, Nevada passed a law allowing the autonomous vehicles, with California and Florida following close behind. 2 years later, the cars logged over 700,000 hours with only two crashes. More recently, Google announced the possibility of Robo-Taxis and cars with no pedals or steering wheel whatsoever.