Beyond its value as entertainment, science fiction often anticipates future tech. 19th-century author Jules Verne “predicted” submarines and space travel in his fiction. And speaking of space travel, many contemporary applications and/or hardware were “predicted” by the television franchise Star Trek.

The original Star Trek series depicted a spaceship crew commanded by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Decades later, the Star Trek franchise split off into several spinoffs, including Star Trek Next Generation (captained by Jean Luc Piccard, or Patrick Stewart), Deep Space Nine, and Voyager.

Each of these series featured plotlines that were often moved forward with the aid of futuristic technology. And while mankind still hasn’t made “first contact” with alien species or discovered how to travel at warp speed, the technology of Star Trek has come to life. Here are 7 ways Star Trek predicted future tech:

Translators

Have you ever wondered how the Starfleet personnel can always understand the alien languages of species they’ve never encountered before? The communicators pinned to their chests also contain universal translators. This piece of science fiction has become science fact with technology like Google Translate, particularly the Live Translate feature on the Google Pixel. The Google Tensor processor can facilitate translating 17 languages—like Spanish, French, and Japanese—even without an internet connection. As portrayed in commercials for this product, it will certainly allow adventurous consumers to “explore strange new worlds” without any miscommunication.

3D Printing

One of the mainstay plot devices in the Star Trek series has been the transporter technology, which allows people or items to “beam” from one location to another. The transporter is really a type of 3D printer if you think about it— a trope continued with the advent of “replicators” in later spinoffs. Onboard replicators can make food or small mechanical parts out of biowaste and garbage, essentially reorganizing the material at a molecular level. A similar tech, 3D printing, is everywhere these days, allowing consumers to design and manufacture items they previously would’ve had to buy. Companies like Barilla are already using 3D print tech to make unique pasta shapes…sort of like the crew on the Enterprise using replicators to make dinner.

Smartphones

Star Trek fans are familiar with the tricorder, a small handheld device that can scan the environment, record data, and perform data analysis. The multi-functional nature of what is essentially a small handheld computer was the realm of science fiction in the original Star Trek series, and even in spinoffs like The Next Generation and Voyager. However, as the spin-offs were winding to a close in the late 90s and early 2000s, cell phone technology in the real world was already on the rise. Today, nearly everyone without exception has a personal smartphone device that carries an immense amount of computing power. Most individuals use smartphones to navigate every facet of life, from socializing to personal banking to health monitoring. 

Touchscreens

Touchscreens have become a mainstay of the Star Trek universe, as every single computer console and handheld pad is operated by a touchscreen. Today, touchscreens are everywhere from smartphones to laptops to navigational screens inside of our vehicles. Although the first touchscreens were invented in the 1960s, it wasn’t until the mid-90s that they began to become more prevalent on consumer-facing hardware, particularly in the area of personal computing and smartphones. Much of the variegated functionality we enjoy on our smartphone is facilitated by the nature of its touchscreen to run multiple applications at once, which can be opened and closed with the swipe of a finger.

Virtual Reality

One of the more interesting developments in the Star Trek franchise is the holodeck, a room that can run immersive 3-D computer programs infused with real-life sensory experiences. While we have yet to see the development of a full-scale holodeck, companies like Meta and Google have developed extremely immersive virtual reality. Hardware and software can allow people to enter alternate, virtual reality universes where people can interact with each other via avatars. Beyond entertainment, virtual reality will have major implications in education and job training—for example, providing students the opportunity to visit ancient historical sites like Rome, or doctors and training the opportunity to perform mock surgery.

Robotics in Healthcare

Speaking of the holodeck, one of the more engaging characters on the Star Trek Voyager spinoff was the holo-doctor, an emergency medical program that served as the ship’s full-time doctor. “The Doctor” (as he was called) seems to represent a culmination of medical trends we see today, such as robotic assistance during surgery. Some healthcare systems have even discussed the possibility of “robot doctors” in the future. One thing “The Doctor” must learn over the course of the show is how to improve his bedside manner…something that programmers will need to consider as robotics continues to disrupt the healthcare industry. 

AI + Machine Learning

Another memorable character on the Star Trek The Next Generation spinoff was Data, a fully functional automaton who was a senior officer on the bridge group. Data was a step above the intelligence of the robot maid on the Jetsons: he could learn and grow, and even exhibited an interest in becoming human through the development of emotional intelligence. Fast forward to today, and we see that AI and machine learning are driving many backend business processes in analytics and logistics. Consumer-facing applications are making art, music, and literature. And (for better or worse) Google whistleblowers have even suggested that some AI applications are eerily approaching a human-like semblance of sentience.

Conclusion

It’s really quite amazing that the human imagination can predict future tech, just by virtue of “problem-solving” the needs of a fictional plotline. Of course, there have always been adventurous and enterprising spirits ahead of their time, such as Leonardo DaVinci, who designed helicopters and airplanes.

What about you? Are you feeling content to stay where you are as we approach Q4 of 2024? Or are you thinking about “exploring strange new worlds” in 2025? Whether you’re a job seeker looking for a new ship or a captain (manager) looking for some new officers (account managers), I’ve got you covered. With nearly four decades in software sales recruiting, I have a large network of pre-vetted talent, managers, and hiring companies. Send me an email at mike@michaelblair.com and let’s connect!