Still remember the 2002 article that said we'd all be using VR headsets by 2010

I just found my old Wired Magazine issue with that prediction while cleaning out a closet, and now I'm wondering if the same guy who wrote that also thought we'd have flying cars by 2020.

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona50214d ago

Oh man, I actually remember that WIRED issue! I heard recently on a tech podcast that the writer was this guy named Ray Kurzweil or someone similar who was ALWAYS way too optimistic about timelines. He predicted we'd have AI that could pass the Turing test by 2029 and I'm pretty sure even that's still iffy. The VR thing was hilarious because the headsets back then were these clunky things that weighed like ten pounds and cost more than a used car. I think the REAL mistake was assuming people would want to wear something on their face all day, which we're only JUST now getting comfortable with. And yeah, flying cars were DEFINITELY on that same list of predictions that were basically just wishful thinking.

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torres.drew10d ago

That bit about the clunky headsets reminded me of my cousin who actually bought one of those early VR dev kits back in 2013, thought he was gonna be the next big thing in gaming. He spent like three grand on it and then realized you needed a computer beefier than a NASA workstation just to run anything smooth, so it mostly collected dust in his garage. Point is, people were betting the farm on tech that wasn't even close to being ready for prime time, and Kurzweil was just the loudest voice in that echo chamber.