Back in 1974, the magazine Saturday Review brought together twenty of the era's experts to predict what the world would be like 50 years into the future. Now that 2024 is here, we can see how those predictions stand up. Several notable thinkers saw that the world would have interconnected computers, a system that would allow us to watch TV, read books, keep up with the news, shop, pay bills, work remotely, and even make video calls. One assumed that we would print out the news to read like we would a newspaper. None mentioned the astonishing miniaturization of computers. Still, pretty good predictions. Several also predicted the use of alternative energy sources, including an electric vehicle that would walk on legs so that roads would not be necessary.
Neil Armstrong had walked on the moon only five years earlier. He predicted extensive travel to the lunar surface, with people working in factories there. Wernher von Braun envisioned space flight with lavish first class airline service, which wildly missed the devolution of airline travel. One visionary thought a woman might be a US president by 2024, while another said maybe by 2074. Read up on how the best and brightest of 1974 saw the future and how right or wrong they were at The New Stack. -via Kottke
