From sci-fi films to visionary thinkers, some incredible predictions about technology and society have come true. Join us as we explore mind-blowing forecasts that seemed impossible at the time but are now our everyday reality!
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00:00Good afternoon, Hal. How's everything going?
00:02Good afternoon, Mr. Amer. Everything is going extremely well.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 futuristic
00:11technologies or concepts previously predicted by a person or film. For this list, we'll be
00:17looking at foresight into the future that seemed outlandish at first, but turned out to be eerily
00:23accurate. Number 10. Online shopping. 1999 A.D. This retro film gave us a whimsical peek into
00:37the future where computers rule the home. What year is it now? I forgot. Here, I'll show you.
00:49From online shopping, to smart couches, to on-screen education, to automatic cooking,
00:54the family in this short film leads a pretty convenient and comfortable life,
00:58much like what we have today. Split-second lunches, color-keyed disposable dishes,
01:04all part of the instant society of tomorrow. A society rich in leisure and taken-for-granted
01:10comfort. What's mind-blowing is that this vision was conceived over 50 years ago. Sure, they didn't
01:15get everything right. They used labeled buttons instead of keyboards, and a single-function
01:21computer instead of smartphones. Still, 1999 A.D. nailed the core concept of the tech-filled
01:27house of tomorrow that we're living in today. You've got to keep up with the times, you know.
01:32Number 9. Increased human height. John Elfrith Watkins. In the year 1900, an engineer named
01:38John Elfrith Watkins wrote an article in the Ladies' Home Journal titled,
01:42What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years? Surprisingly, many of his predictions ended
01:47up being quite accurate. One fascinating guess he made was that the average American would be
01:52approximately 1 to 2 inches taller in the next century. You're so tall. So tall. And believe
01:58it or not, he was spot on. The mean height rose from between 66 and 67 inches to 69 inches from
02:051900 to 2000. Perhaps Watkins should have ditched his engineering pursuits and become
02:16a certified anthropologist. Excuse me, I was walking behind you and you dropped your wallet.
02:24Number 8. Wireless earbuds. Fahrenheit 451. Many authors have conjured up incredible worlds,
02:31but few have seen their imaginations come to life like Ray Bradbury.
02:35So when you're a child, you begin to dream yourself into a shape. And then you run into
02:42the future and try to become that shape. In his 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451,
02:47Bradbury didn't just tell a story. He warned us about society's habits taking a darker turn.
02:52Why is it forbidden? Because it makes people unhappy.
02:59Do you really believe that? Oh, yes. Books disturb people. They make them antisocial.
03:04While some of his foresights were purely dramatic elements, others hit disturbingly close to home.
03:09Take the seashells he wrote about. Tiny devices isolating people from the world around them.
03:15Are they not very like the wireless earbuds almost everyone wears today?
03:19What's amazing about these, right? They have a standard model, right? Base model,
03:23fourth generation. But these are the noise-canceling ones. It's the first time
03:26that Apple has put noise-canceling in an open-ear earbud.
03:30And the psychological implications of these seashells that he feared? It's not far off,
03:35either. While we marvel at Bradbury's foresight, we can only hope the darker aspects of his
03:40prophecies remain confined to the pages of a book. Each of you will hide this book somewhere
03:44in this classroom. When I return, I will give you a demonstration of the search.
03:50To learn how to find, one must first know how to hide.
03:52Number 7. Holograms and video messages. Total Recall. Paul Verhoeven's 1990 sci-fi flick is
04:00proof that even the wildest sci-fi can hit close to home. In it, Arnold Schwarzenegger
04:05stars as Quaid, a construction worker who discovers his memory might be fake.
04:10What you're experiencing is a free-form delusion based on our memory tapes,
04:14but you're inventing it yourself as you go along.
04:16Well, if it is my delusion, who the hell invited you?
04:22His quest to uncover the truth leads him to Mars, where he battles conspiracies,
04:26mutants, and a corrupt corporation. Set in a futuristic world,
04:30the film makes striking predictions that have since become reality.
04:33If you want to live, don't hang up. What do you want?
04:36They've got your bug. They'll be busting down your door in about three minutes,
04:39unless you do exactly what I say.
04:41Quaid's use of holographic decoy to outsmart his enemies mirrors today's holographic tech.
04:51The video phones used by almost everyone feel like an early nod to modern video conferencing.
04:57Even Johnny Cab, the robot taxi driver, foreshadows self-driving vehicles.
05:01Who's to say what other sci-fi ideas will leap into reality next?
05:06How did I get in this taxi? The door open. You got in.
05:10Number six. Targeted ads, self-driving cars, smart homes, and gesture computing.
05:16Minority Report. Our world today may not have become the dystopian one shown in Minority Report,
05:21but some of its predictions feel increasingly relevant.
05:24In the six years we've been conducting our little experiment, there hasn't been a single murder.
05:30And now pre-crime can work for you.
05:33In this futuristic thriller, Tom Cruise plays the head of a pre-crime department,
05:37working with a team that can predict murders before they happen.
05:40There hasn't been a murder in six years. There's nothing wrong with the system.
05:43It is perfect, I agree. If there's a flaw, it's human.
05:48While the ability to foresee crimes remains in the sci-fi realm,
05:51many little details place viewers firmly in today's tech-driven world.
05:56John Anderton is constantly bombarded with personalized ads,
06:00cars drive themselves, and eye scans are a norm, all of which we experience today.
06:08These details, while futuristic at the time, are now quite real,
06:12which raises the question of how close we are to a more controlled and surveilled society.
06:17Sometimes in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark.
06:21Number 5. The Acela Express. John Alfred Watkins.
06:26Some of Watkins' predictions for the 20th and 21st centuries may not have come to fruition,
06:30but we ought to give him credit for nailing a few accurately.
06:33That's one of those bullet trains, right?
06:35Long before bullet trains became reality, Watkins envisioned them,
06:39which is pretty bold for someone who existed in an era where steam trains ruled the tracks.
06:44Fast forward to today, his prophetic visions mirror modern high-speed marvels like
06:48Acela Express, zipping along at 150 miles per hour.
06:52This is the United States of America's only high-speed train.
06:56Welcome aboard the Acela Express.
06:58Isn't it incredible how he also got the speed range spot on?
07:02To people in his time, his prophecies must have sounded like pure fiction or even bizarre.
07:06Yet, over 120 years later, and we're living it.
07:10Talk about a chilling glimpse into the future.
07:12You ever watch Thomas the Tank Engine?
07:14Here we go.
07:15Number 4. Digital color photography. John Alfred Watkins.
07:19Maybe time travelers do exist, and Watkins was one of them.
07:23How else do you explain some of his uncanny predictions?
07:26Anna, does your dad have a digital camera?
07:29All I wanna do...
07:32This civil engineer wasn't just bold with his foresight, he was downright prophetic.
07:36Take digital photography, for example.
07:38In Watkins' time, photography itself was a miracle to many.
07:42Yet he boldly predicted that color photography would one day become a reality.
07:46Not only that, he even nailed how they'd be taken from any distance
07:50and shared instantly all over the world.
07:52While it took years for this technology to get to this point,
07:55Watkins was remarkably close in his vision.
07:57Who knows what else from his predictions is on the horizon?
08:01Selfie!
08:02Number 3. Wireless devices and Wi-Fi. Nikola Tesla.
08:07Nikola Tesla was light years ahead of his time.
08:10It's paradoxical, yet true, that the more we learn,
08:14the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense.
08:17He practically dreamed up Wi-Fi before anyone knew what it was.
08:21In a 1926 interview with Collier's Magazine,
08:25Tesla described a world wireless system capable of transmitting images,
08:29data, and messages to handheld devices.
08:32Sound familiar?
08:33These texts are sent via data.
08:36So, behind the network's back.
08:40Which means?
08:41Unlimited free texting.
08:43Only on Blackberry.
08:49Yes.
08:51While the world wasn't ready for his genius back then,
08:54his ideas laid the foundation for modern wireless technology.
08:57So when you next connect to Wi-Fi,
08:59remember to give Tesla a nod for being the original signal booster.
09:03He also foresaw mobile phones, drones, and female empowerment,
09:07though his ideas were a bit vague.
09:13With all he achieved and predicted, it's no surprise some consider him the GOAT.
09:17Now, if only those flying cars would show up, too.
09:21Make it to the farm, we'll be alright!
09:23Number two.
09:24Movie streaming.
09:25Roger Ebert.
09:26When you hear the name Roger Ebert,
09:28you probably think of the world's most influential film critic.
09:31But he was so much more.
09:32Chevy Chase has made a lot of good movies, and God willing,
09:35he will make a lot more good movies in the future, with your help.
09:38Ebert didn't just help shape the way we critique films,
09:40he also predicted how we'd watch them.
09:43Unbelievable, isn't it?
09:44Well, in a 1987 interview,
09:46Ebert described what we now know as on-demand streaming.
09:50Welcome to Planet Streaming.
09:51Would you like to upgrade for an ad-free experience?
09:54Only $3.99 a month.
09:55Instead of visiting movie stores to rent or purchase videocassette tapes,
10:00he envisioned a future where you can watch whatever you want
10:03right on your screen in stunning high definition.
10:06Everything changed.
10:07Okay, I fell in love.
10:09Sounds just like the streaming platforms we enjoy today.
10:12Like Netflix.
10:13Pretty bold for someone who was living in a pre-streaming world, don't you think?
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10:33Number 1.
10:34Artificial intelligence, tablet computers, video calls, and much more.
10:392001 A Space Odyssey
10:41Stanley Kubrick's 60s sci-fi gem wasn't just a masterpiece,
10:46it was a crystal ball into the future.
10:48Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
10:51I'm sorry, Dave.
10:53I'm afraid I can't do that.
10:55It focuses on the mind-blowing journey into space,
10:58where astronauts Dave and Frank rely on HAL, an AI controlling their spacecraft.
11:03I've just picked up a fault in the AE-35 unit.
11:08It's going to go 100% failure within 72 hours.
11:12HAL's ability to process large amounts of data and interact with humans
11:16in a chilling way mirrors today's tech, like voice assistants and advanced AIs.
11:22Kubrick didn't just stop there.
11:23He also accurately depicts other elements of our world, like video calls.
11:28Just watch Dr. Floyd chatting with his daughter on a screen.
11:32Hello!
11:33Hello.
11:34How are you, squirt?
11:35And what about those tablet-like computers the astronauts use?
11:38They look strikingly familiar.
11:40Mind-blowing, right?
11:42Let's just hope the AI of today doesn't go rogue like HAL did.
11:52What other sci-fi books or films accurately predicted the future?
11:55Let us know in the comments section.
11:58Goodbye.
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