In recent days, social media (mainly TikTok and X-Twitter) have gone viral over a short clip about "The year 2024, imagined in 1987." Older viewers quickly recognized it as a sample from the BBC's Tomorrow's World, which aired for almost 40 years, reporting all kinds of technological advances. Fortunately, the BBC Archive on YouTube has a copy of the original, and today we can enjoy it without format restrictions…
Predicting the future is something that, from a certain point of view, has lost its appeal for computing and technology in general. Things change too quickly, hype comes and goes, companies desperately search for the "next big hit," and any long-term idea ends up biting the dust.
However, anticipating new developments was the vital essence of many publications and television shows. One of those shows was Tomorrow's World, which we've already mentioned on previous occasions. The short video you'll see below belongs to the 1987 season, and social media only shared a part, but here is the complete version, courtesy of the BBC Archive on YouTube:
"The Person of Tomorrow": Technological Predictions in 1987
The video begins with a brief analysis of the predictions Tomorrow's World made in 1965, especially "Tomorrow's Girl" with paper clothes, plastic protectors, and earrings turned into radios. The disposable profile of that clothing didn't revolutionize fashion, but it found a place in settings like hospitals, and as for the earrings, everything bowed to the feet of the Walkman. "Tomorrow's Girl" certainly dressed in synthetic materials in the present of '87, though much more advanced, comfortable, and appealing to the eye.
Meanwhile, "The Person of Tomorrow" wears clothing with special chemical treatments that absorb heat and release it automatically, maintaining a stable temperature. Holograms have replaced photographs, and a combination of smart cards and biometrics has eliminated the use of traditional keys. A biosensor under the tongue analyzes health status and reports any change to the tie, which changes its color.
But that's not all: "The Person of Tomorrow" takes their office anywhere. Their watch has satellite access to obtain information from the entire world, and a portable printer transfers that data to a physical medium. Obviously, there are also moments of leisure for "The Person of Tomorrow," and their "3D TV" allows them to disconnect for a while while traveling on public transport.
So, the most important failures of this prediction are temperature-controlled clothing and the hypothetical popularity of the portable printer, but we do have cards with integrated chips and wireless support, biometric security on computers and smartphones, smartwatches, and headsets that work as monitors or reproduce complete virtual environments. Honestly? We've seen worse predictions…
Source: BBC Archive on YouTube
