ABC News in Australia has released a clip of Arthur C. Clarke from 1974 accurately predicting how humans would use computers today. It’s almost eerie!
Clarke, known has one of the top science fiction writers of the 20th-century, is also known for working with Stanley Kubrick on ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.
In this clip filmed almost 40 years ago, Clarke is talking to a news reporter who asks him what he thinks computers will be like in 2001. Clarke’s response is eerily similar to how we now use computers today!
“The big difference when he grows up, in fact it won’t even wait until the year 2001, is that he will have, in his own house, not a computer as big as this, but at least a console through which he can talk to his friendly local computer and get all the information he needs for his everyday life, like his bank statements, his theater reservations, all the information you need in the course of living in a complex modern society. This will be in a compact form in his own house.”
Clarke was then asked if he sees our society becoming “computer-dependent”. He seemed to have a more positive outlook than maybe those of us who fear the Matrix is a legitimate threat.
“It’ll make it possible for us to live really anywhere we like. Any businessman, any executive, could live almost anywhere on Earth and still do his business through his device like this. And this is a wonderful thing.”
While he certainly predicted the advent of telecommuting (one of my favorite forms of commuting), Clarke didn’t delve into any negative aspects of being too dependent on computers. Maybe we aren’t so dependent after … never mind. I was just reminded that I checked Yelp one time to see if my kitchenette had a five-star rating. If I’m any example, I’d say we’re far beyond too dependent.
Check out the clip below:
Source: Blastr
