Bill Gates is, undoubtedly, one of the most brilliant minds when it comes to modern technological advancements. His status as one of Microsoft’s co-founders is a testament to his abilities.
As such, from the earliest times of the advent of Microsoft onto the worldwide stage, Gates has been among the pioneers in technology. It only stands to reason that his visions too would have some sense of certainty.
To that effect, a 1995 video of a keynote speech given by Gates has resurfaced. The video showcases the foresight of the multi-billionaire.
In the keynote speech, Bill Gates took to the stage to explain what he expects to see in the future. Now, in 2024, almost three decades later, viewers have been trying to see how much Gates’ vision really did come true. And, not surprisingly, his predictions have turned out to be scarily accurate.
Bill Gates Predicted The Majority Of Today’s Technologies
If the title of the speech, “The Road Ahead”, is anything to go by, viewers can expect what is coming. It is a video demonstration of a police investigation. It showcases “futuristic tech” such as a “wallet PC”. This device lets the officers make payments without having to touch anything, call someone with video, as well as see their location on a map using GPS.
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If it sounds familiar, then that’s because it is! Our modern smartphones have every single one of those capabilities and more. Gates’ definition of this portable device can easily be used for our smartphones:
“Capable of really replacing everything that you carry with you and more. So getting messages, seeing the latest news, seeing different locations, keeping track of your schedule, keeping hundreds of pictures of your children stored there, all of those things are easily possible with this kind of technology.”
Bill Gates then describes in detail what the wallet PCs will look like and what the device can do. The contactless payment system is common today and is known as Google Pay or Apple Pay. He also describes them as having a “flat panel display”. This display would let users not just see the caller’s face but also read information. GMeet, Zoom, or any kind of voice calling app is the same.
One of the final things he mentions is a map that users can call up anytime anywhere on the device. Surprisingly, according to Bill Gates, it could also show “traffic conditions”. Google Maps is exactly like that, right?
In the end, Bill Gates says that it would take thousands of companies to collaborate and reach the future he envisions. In a way, that came true as well. Of course, all his predictions are all the more impressive given the state of technology in 1995 when mobile phones were state of the art.
What do you think? Are Bill’s predictions pretty accurate? Let us know in the comments!
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Sources
- “The Road Ahead – Bill Gates Comdex Keynote 1995.” Youtube. Alan Zisman.