AI: From Science Fiction to Reality

Most people love science fiction. Whether it be Doctor Who or Star Trek, science fiction has become a big part of our culture and we’ve all wanted the tech that’s featured in the shows or movies but that’s the thing – it’s fiction. Though soon technologies from science fiction may become real and some of them already are real and are being used today. In 1977, Doctor WHo introduced K9, a robotic dog that was smart enough to beat its master in a game of chess – 20 years later a computer did just that. In 1962, the Jetsons made phone calls that were accompanied by an image on a television and in 2018, Facebook Portal was created for video calling and in 1979, the characters in the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy used a ‘Babel Fish’, a fish that was placed into the ear and translated unknown languages, and in 2019, Google Assistant Interpreter Mode can translate in real time up to 27 languages.

Other SciFi movies and shows depict AI taking over the world and ruling us humans. 1984’s Terminator featured an AI that became self aware and went rogue, creating weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, to try to wipe out humanity – in 2016, Google Translate uses AI to translate language pairs without explicit training and ended up creating its own intermediate language to aid translation and in 2019, ATLAS, or Advanced Targeting And Lethality Automated System made by the U.S. Army that can identify and target threats – everything but pull the trigger. 

SciFi also influenced technology that we have today. Star Trek influenced the creation of many things such as Bluetooth headsets, cellphones, voice assistants, and even automatic sliding doors.

Find out other mind blowing SciFi technologies that are becoming real and more easily accessible here.