But the fans of the surreal artificial intelligence of 1960s cinema could never have imagined that, less than 70 years later, there would be a reality quite similar to the one described in the films. Keep reading to identify these similarities and relate them to our everyday lives.
Did 2001 anticipate Industry 4.0?
In “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Clarke describes a future in which humanity reaches a high level of technological development, with advanced artificial intelligence and interplanetary space as part of everyday life.
In the film, the HAL 9000 computer is an extremely advanced artificial intelligence, capable of processing complex information and making decisions based on it.
And although our everyday reality is not at such an advanced level, the futuristic vision of the film closely resembles the foundations of Industry 4.0, which seeks to integrate digital and physical technologies to optimize production processes and the relationship between humans and machines.
In addition, our everyday technologies already include virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, which can perform simple tasks such as answering questions, providing weather forecasts, playing music, and more.
The film’s connectivity, automation and data analysis in Industry 4.0
Today, automation is still a reality more commonly explored in industry, with robots and software used to automate tasks and increase production efficiency, as in many solutions developed by Enacom.
But both Clarke’s vision and Industry 4.0 highlight the importance of using data and analytics for decision-making, as well as the emphasis on connectivity and communication between systems.
Proof of this is that one of the main pillars of Industry 4.0 is the automation and digitalization of production processes. In “2001: A Space Odyssey,” this capability is exemplified by the HAL 9000 computer, an artificial intelligence system that controls the spaceship Discovery One.
In the film, the spaceship is equipped with monitoring and data collection systems, while in Industry 4.0 we use sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT) to collect real-time information on production lines, for example.
As for connectivity, in the film the spaceships are interconnected and able to communicate with each other, just as in Industry 4.0, where connectivity is essential to create a network of information that enables fluid communication between machines, products and people, creating a more efficient and flexible production chain.
HAL 9000 and Alexa are a few special effects apart
One of the main connections between the technology in the film and the technology we have access to every day is the presence of artificial intelligence in almost everything. But beyond that, communication is also an important aspect to observe.
In 2001, the crew of Discovery One communicates with Earth through video calls. Today, we have access to several communication platforms that allow us to make real-time video calls, just like in the film.
In addition, the film also shows the use of items such as advanced personal computers with touch-sensitive screens and biometric security systems, such as fingerprint identification, which for us stopped being out of reach a long time ago, since these technologies are present in many devices, such as smartphones, laptops and even security doors.
We can therefore say that, although many aspects described in the film now go unnoticed by us, it is undeniable that both Industry 4.0 and the film share the prospect of a technologically advanced future.
Automation, the digitalization of processes and the use of data and analytics are fundamental in both perspectives to achieve a high level of efficiency, and they are moving toward expanding the limits of human capability since the science fiction of the 1960s. But will Alexa ever become a HAL 9000? Spoiler alert: we hope not!