Meet The Guy Predicting Our Future
The year was 1999. I was a freshman in High School. I was awkward, not super popular, and didn’t really have a clear path. I clung to my favorite band Our Lady Peace like a piece of driftwood in the ocean. The pre-chorus guitar rift in their song One Man Army off of their exceptional 1999 album Happiness… Is Not A Fish That You can Catch led me to buy my first guitar. I had to play that song or else. 1 year later led to another release. OLP released a concept album based on the futuristic concepts, inventions and predictions of Ray Kurzweil. The man has been inventing this since he was kid. He invented a machine that wrote music:
At this point in my life, this is where everything changed. In 2000, OLP released their album Spiritual Machines. The songs were all inspired by this book titled The Age of Spiritual Machines. Since I was such a devoted fan of the band, I had to have this book. I went to my local mall and had to have it specially ordered since they didn’t have it. I read it 10 times. Why did I go to such the trouble? The moment I heard the intro to one of the songs:
The year is 2029. The machines will convince us that they are conscious, that they have their own agenda worthy of our respect. They’ll embody human qualities, they’ll claim to be human, and we’ll believe them. – Ray Kurzweil
The book was and still is incredible. Kurzweil later released The Singularity Is Here which is a more updated version of this, but this the book that kickstarted my love of reading and writing. What really hooked me with this book is the predictions Kurzweil makes in it and in his previous book The Age of Intelligent Machines. What you get is surprisingly accurate.
The Age of Intelligent Machines
Early 2000s
Prediction: Translating telephones allow people to speak to each other in different languages.
Accuracy: Close! The mid-2010’s.
Prediction: Machines designed to transcribe speech into computer text allow deaf people to understand spoken words.
Accuracy: True. Kurzweil invented this technology.
Prediction: “Cybernetic chauffeurs” can drive cars for humans and can be retrofitted into existing cars. They work by communicating with other vehicles and with sensors embedded along the roads.
Accuracy: Multiple companies are working on self-driving cars as we speak, but it hasn’t yet hit the mainstream.
Early 21st century
Prediction: The classroom is dominated by computers. Intelligent courseware that can tailor itself to each student by recognizing their strengths and weaknesses. Media technology allows students to manipulate and interact with virtual depictions of the systems and personalities they are studying.
Accuracy: Computers have largely replaced teaching in the early 21st century. I’ve learned more by researching on the Internet after graduating High School than I did in my entire grade school experience.
Prediction: A small number of highly skilled people dominate the entire production sector. Tailoring of products for individuals is common.
Accuracy: Fewer people doing more work? 3D printing at home and the like.
2010
Prediction: PCs are capable of answering queries by accessing information wirelessly via the Internet.
Accuracy: Kurzweil was off by a several years, but way ahead of his time. Wireless Internet? Got it. Accessing information wirelessly? Again, yes.
The Age of Spiritual Machines
2009
Prediction: Most books will be read on screens rather than paper.
Accuracy: Bookstores are becoming a thing of the past. Books are read on tablets, laptops and PC’s. I wish this one wasn’t true, but this one is sadly on point.
Prediction: Most text will be created using speech recognition technology.
Accuracy: Not really. Sure, there is a wide array of speech-to-text technology, but most of us still like to type.
Prediction: People use personal computers the size of rings, pins, credit cards and books.
Accuracy: Wearables started to become into the mainstream around this time. It’s 2015, and a lot of the tech I have is the size of a book or smaller.
Prediction: Personal worn computers provide monitoring of body functions, automated identity and directions for navigation.
Accuracy: Again, workout apps that map out your daily routine and update you happened around this time.
Prediction: Cables are disappearing. Computer peripheries use wireless communication.
Accuracy: Hit or miss. There is technology wireless technology to charge your devices, but we still cling on to the direct current. Wireless communication, however, is spot on. Using a desktop computer that is plugged into a modem is dated.
Prediction: People can talk to their computer to give commands.
Accuracy: Siri came out in 2011. Pretty close.
Prediction: Computer displays built into eyeglasses for augmented reality are used.
Accuracy: I guess you could say that Google Glass is an example of this. It happened a few years after 2009, but pretty close.
Prediction: Computers can recognize their owner’s face from a picture or video.
Accuracy: Yep. Fingerprint scanners, too!
Prediction: A $1,000 computer can perform a trillion calculations per second.
Accuracy: In september 2006, Nvidia, a maker of graphics cards for PCs, introduced a new line of graphics processors that are capable that are capable of the 3 trillion CPS. 3 times as fast. 3 years early.
Kurzweil goes far into the future where in 2049, “food is commonly “assembled” by nano-machines. This food is externally indistinguishable from “natural” food, but it can be made more wholesome since production can be controlled at the molecular level. This technology decouples food production from climate conditions and the availability of natural resources.” Since it’s not 2049, I can’t say whether this will happen, but it sounds realistic to think that it may happen sooner as the population of the planet keeps expanding.
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.