Toni Dimaano Culture 10.25.2022 09:Oct AM EDT

5 Times Science Fiction Predicted Modern Technology

Many of the world's inventions came to be a few years after scientists and inventors saw them in works of fiction.

In a time of rapid technology change, advancements in the industry have allowed humans to access equipment that were only imagined decades ago.

Looking back, scientific discoveries and technological developments as we know them might have seemed unfathomable due to humans' lack of knowledge and resources.

But, what if those before us knew more than they revealed? With that, here are five times science fiction predicted modern technology:

1. George Orwell's '1984' And Mass Surveillance

According to BBC, Orwell's 1949 novel "1984" predicted many aspects of modern day technology, but one of the biggest predictions it had must be the rise of surveillance cameras.

Oftentimes, the CCTV camera technology is compared to the dystopian state surveillance that monitors the public, which was controlled by someone called "Big Brother.

This book is written about the censorship and propaganda of an oppressive government in a futuristic society, something truly ahead of its time.

2. Martin Caidin's 'Cyborg' and Bionic Limbs

The 1972 Caidan novel "Cyborg" seems to have predicted medical miracles as the story follows the character of Steve Austin, who loses a limb and vision in one eye in an accident.

The novel written 40 years before the first bionic arm transplant features a group of scientists who provided Austin with new mechanical legs and a removable eye with a camera, Business Insider writes.

This transplant made the main character a cyborg or a mixture of a man and machine, which was a foreign idea to scientists at the time.

3. Hugo Gernsback's 'Ralph 124C 41+' And Solar Power

Written 60 years before the first solar-powered calculators were introduced, Gernsback's 1911 novel "Ralph 124C 41+" tells a story of an adventurer visiting solar power installations.

While this novel is not quite as exciting as other science fiction books, it predicted equally important innovations in terms of modern technology like TVs, tape recorders, and space travels.

Additionally, Micron writes that "Ralph 124C 14+" also featured a video conferencing device called "telephot" that allowed people to speak and see each other on the phone.

4. Arthur C. Clarke's '2001: A Space Odyssey' And AI Tablets

This 1968 sci-fi novel is filled with themes like the perils of artificial intelligence, where there are electronic books called "newspad" that people read news on much like the modern day tablets.

Clarke also envisioned the voice-operated computer HAL 9000, which features a similar voice-activated virtual assistant system to current artificial intelligence assistants there are.

5. William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' And Cyberspace

BBC claims that the 1984 novel "Neuromancer" easily influenced the current landscape of the world with 4G networks, internet, hacking, and virtual reality.

The novel features the story of a futuristic criminal, a burnt out hacker who steals information from cyberspace whose ability gets restored by a miracle cure.

As the long standing debate about whether these books of fiction predicted the future, it is important to note that our society's greatest minds were once readers before doers.

Science fiction often allows humans to think creatively, inspiring generations of thinkers, creators, and inventors to continuously innovate for the future.