The scientific progress made by humanity in the last century has been staggering. Science and technology is a central part of our culture and academic figures are some of the most respected in society. With the acceleration of technological advancement, it increasingly feels like we are ‘living in the future’.
In this article, we will explore five pieces of science fiction technology. We will assess whether they are realistic, and how close scientists are to achieving them.
Human Enhancement Technology
Human enhancement refers to the use of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science to ‘improve’ humans. Whilst this may sound quite abstract, many of these technologies are within reach.
One such example of this is a ‘neural interface’. This would allow the human brain to directly communicate with computers.
Doctors already use a form of neural interface as a Parkinson’s treatment. The procedure, known as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), sees a device placed under the skin and two electrodes connected to the inside of the brain. The device then sends high frequency stimulation to the brain which reduces the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
This may just scratch the surface of what is possible.
Facebook is working on a 100-words-per-minute brain-typing interface. By placing electrodes on the surface of brains, they hope to enable users to ‘think’ words onto a page, rather than needing a keyboard. Whilst still in early stages, they represent the exciting potential of neural interfaces.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink is another avenue of neural interfacing. Earlier this year, he caught media attention – in his usual dramatic fashion – after unveiling a pig, Gertrude, with a chip in her brain that relayed information about neural activity to a nearby computer. The coin-sized chip, Musk hopes, is a step in the path to what he calls ‘superhuman cognition’, the ultimate melding of humans and technology.
As is common with Musk’s press announcements, there has been a level of hype that may not have been deserved. The technology itself is impressive but Musk frequently talks about the potential to download memories or human mind-reading. Both of these prospects are highly unlikely, given our current understanding of the human brain.
Using Neuralink for research purposes is a more hopeful path. Being able to scan real-time brain activity will give us a better understanding of brain activity and possibly brain disorders.
Storing data in crystals
This idea has been used in science-fiction for years. Star Wars used ‘data crystals’ to store information, whilst the cult hit Stargate SG-1 uses ‘crystal-tech’ as a basis for advanced civilisation technologies.
As our world becomes more and more data driven, new ways of storing data will emerge.
One such method is storing data on crystals. In 2018, a research team in Australia used a laser to encode data onto a nano-sized salt crystal. The laser changed the fluorescence of the crystals, turning them ‘on’ or ‘off’.
The crystals are tiny, being 100s of times smaller than that visible with the human eye. Several bits can also be stored on a single crystal, which means they could provide a much higher storage density.
The lasers used are low energy, making them more commercially viable, potentially.
Sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Films like The Terminator and The Matrix show some bleak examples of what AI could do to humanity if we’re not careful. Whilst these may be slightly dramatic, the potential AI could change our lives shouldn’t be understated.
AI is on the rise. Of the 9100 patents received by IBM inventors in 2018, a massive 1600 were AI-related.
Self-driving cars will likely be one of the soonest innovations. Whilst fully autonomous vehicles may be a little further off, AI could potentially assist drivers in areas where human error can lead to fatal accidents. For example, AI could provide emergency assistance if the driver is incapacitated or monitoring blind spots on larger vehicles.
Another area AI could soon enter our lives is in the classroom. The proposed devices could provide personalised education to specific students, based on their past performance. They could even be used to read facial expressions to better understand where students are struggling. Whilst they are unlikely to replace teachers altogether, they may act as assistants, aiding the delivery of content in a more effective way.
Scientific discovery could also be aided by AI.
In 2015, an AI system at Tufts University, Massachusetts solved the mystery behind a specific flatworm’s regenerative ability. Scientists still had to feed it the data, however it still developed its own abstract theory completely independently. This shows that future AI may not just help in cleaning data but could also help scientists interpret it and come to conclusions about what it means.
Room temperature superconductivity
A less flashy science-fiction concept, but perhaps the one of the most consequential, superconductivity is an elusive property that is held by some materials.
When electricity is transferred through wires, some of the power output is lost in the form of heat energy due to resistance in the wires.
Superconducting materials display no electrical resistance and ‘perfect conductivity’.
We have achieved superconductivity in the past but only at extremely low temperatures. These ‘low-temperature superconductors’ are used in MRI machines to generate extremely strong magnetic fields. They are generally kept cold by liquid nitrogen supplies. Non-superconducting materials simply would not be able to transfer enough energy to generate the required strength magnetic fields for such devices.
Whether we can even achieve high temperature superconductivity has been called into question in the past. Superconductivity at temperatures higher than 30 Kelvin (-243 °C) was written off until 1986, when two scientists, Bednorz and Muller discovered superconductivity at 35K (-238 °C).
Currently the highest temperature superconductor is a ceramic material, able to provide superconductivity at -138 °C (first shown in 1993).
Research continues, around the world, to find a room temperature superconductor. Such a technology would allow powerlines to transmit electricity much more efficiently – cutting the environmental cost of power grids significantly.
Furthermore, the ability of superconductors to generate strong magnetic fields could be used to develop ‘maglev’ trains – where superconducting magnets suspend a train above a concrete guideway. Using magnetic forces, the trains are pushed along with almost zero friction.
The US Department of Energy claims maglev trains could reach up to 375 MPH.
Laser guns
Laser guns have been a staple of science fiction for almost 70 years and for better or for worse, world militaries seem intent on producing and deploying them.
The scientific basis is that by using brief pulses of light, a focused beam could heat up a small area of a target until it is damaged.
Militaries are hoping to use them in anti-missile defence systems. Whilst current technologies rely on shooting missiles down, lasers require no ‘ammunition’ and will not be so easily overwhelmed by a large number of missiles. The technology has been stuck in the research phase for many years now.
That being said, the US successfully destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle in May 2020 using a prototype laser. Furthermore, the Chinese military has already begun developing countermeasures to reduce the damage caused by lasers, including specialised coatings for their missiles that deflect the beams away.
Conclusion
Science fiction rarely tends to predict the future of technology well. Unforeseen technologies and applications crop up constantly and all have the potential to change the world. Undoubtedly, the future will evolve in a way that no one quite saw coming and it is up to the human race as a whole to use that technology to build a better future.