INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image caption
Blade Runner was set in November 2019
Harrison Ford plays the main character Rick Deckard
It's November 2019 and Los Angeles is in a state of urban decay
The population has dwindled, and humans face a new threat from manufactured biological robots gone rogueBack in 1982, this is how Blade
Runner director Ridley Scott imagined the world would be.Thirty-seven years after the film was released, how accurate were its predictions
about how technology would play a bigger role in our lives?Here are some of the things the film got right, and others where it was way off
Robots are much smarterSet in November 2019, the original film follows Rick Deckard, whose job as a police "blade runner" is to hunt and
kill bio-engineered androids known as replicants.So-called Nexus 6 replicants are described as "virtually identical to a human" and "at
least equal in intelligence to the genetic engineers who created them".Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Zhora Salome is a human-like replicant in Blade Runner.
When a group arrives on Earth to try to extend their
four-year lifespan, Deckard is summoned to eliminate them.Today's mechanical robots do not look as lifelike as Zhora, Pris, Roy and
Leon.Even when they take human form - like Hanson Robotics' Sophia - you are more likely to experience pre-scripted jokes and a clunky
conversation, rather than the self-aware reflections on mortality and talk of "tears in the rain" found in the movie.Media playback is
unsupported on your deviceMedia captionSophia is one of the world's most famous robotsBut AI is getting smarter
Just this week, Google's sister-company DeepMind said it had created the first "agents" that had reached the top league of Starcraft 2, one
of the most popular esport video games.Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Daryl Hannah as
replicant Pris in Blade runner
And "basic pleasure models" like Pris have been foreshadowed by a nascent sex-bot industry
The real-world robotic sex dolls may lack an inner-life, but they are becoming more interactive, and there are even sex doll brothels in
Video calling is mainstreamImage copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Deckard talks to Rachael on
a video phone in Blade Runner
Deckard's video call to replicant Rachael is an example of where today's tech has overtaken
that shown in the film.Video calling actually started as early as the 1920s, when the boss of telecoms giant AT-T spoke to former US
president Herbert Hoover using a TV signal and phone line.But it was not until Skype launched in 2003 that it started to become commonplace
Today, video calls are made in a variety of ways, including Apple's FaceTime, Google's Duo and Facebook's WhatsApp - all of which are
capable of delivering a higher-resolution image to smartphones than the bulky booth could display in the film.And unlike Blade Runner, it
does not cost $1.25 ($4.30 in today's money) to make a short call
Homes are also getting smarterVirtual assistants feature prominently in the film.As Deckard returns home, he's asked for his "voice print
identification" as he steps into the lift."Deckard 97" he replies while punching the same numbers into a keypad
"Thank you", a female voice responds.Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Deckard enters a
lift in his home
In the real world, Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant can identify us by our voice patterns and tailor
their behaviour accordingly
Eldon Tyrell, founder of the Tyrell Corporation which makes replicants, also uses a virtual assistant.Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley
Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Eldon Tyrell pictured at home with his virtual assistant
But his
preference for candlelight rather than internet-connected bulbs at home would make it impossible to enjoy the kind of automated lighting
routines offered by today's smart home systems.Switching to security, Deckard uses a smart key to open his front door
Norwegian Tor Sørnes invented the first recordable keycard door lock in the 1970s
Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Deckard uses a key card to enter his home
Today, these cards are used by hotels around the world
But the latest wave of smart locks are more likely to require a wireless signal from your mobile or a biometric reading to control entry.4
Lie detectors are still usedImage copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
The Voight-Kampff lie
detector machine in Blade Runner
Central to the film's plot is the Voight-Kampff machine, which is used by blade runners to
separate humans from robots, using questions designed to provoke an emotional response.It's an elaborate machine which measures bodily
functions, such as contractions of the eye's iris.While it looks very different to the first polygraph machine of 1921, UK police forces
still use them, particularly to investigate sex offences.However, their reliability has been disputed
A lie detector test is not admissible in the UK as evidence.US company Converus uses similar iris technology to detect lies.5
The planet is changingImage copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Los Angeles in November 2019 as
imagined in Blade Runner
Dim lights and dark skies portray Los Angeles in 2019 as a city that has been damaged by industrial
pollution, forcing many to flee."There's no housing shortage around here," genetic designer JF Sebastian tells replicant Pris as she visits
"Plenty of room for everyone."In reality, Los Angeles gets ever more crowded by the year.But fears about climate change have prompted
California to try to lead the way in cutting carbon emissions.6
Blade Runner ignores the Instagram generationPhotographs play a central role in the film, both as evidence and as a way for Rachael to
convince herself she is human.Deckard analyses several physical Polaroid pictures for clues on how to find other replicants.Image
copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Deckard flicks through a set of Polaroid photographs
In reality, Polaroid cameras still exist, but they are now more of a novelty than the smartphones we regularly use to take snaps.It
is more likely we would see today's Deckard trawling through the replicants' Instagram or Facebook accounts for clues
Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
A photo that replicant Rachael believes is a younger
version of herself with her mother
And Rachael's sole photograph with her mother might be replaced by several selfies
Today computational photography is becoming the norm, helping our phones take incredible low-light pictures, and automatically blur the
background of our portrait shots.But the Esper machine, which Deckard uses to find clues by zooming in on different things within photos,
remains ahead of its time.Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
The Esper machine in Blade
Runner
It enables him to see objects and people from different angles, and items which were not previously visible.AI
researchers are working on software that can create interactive 3D views from a single 2D source image, but it's likely to be many more
years to come before Photoshop gets the feature.Atari is another big brand in the film
The video game pioneer was huge in arcades and homes in the 1970s and 1980s.Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage
caption
Atari was a huge brand in the 1980s
And while it has since ceded ground to PlayStations, Xboxes
and Switches, there are plans to breathe fresh life into the brand.A new Atari VCS throwback console attracted more than $2m (£1.54m) in
pre-orders last year - but doubts have been raised as to whether it will ship by early 2020 as planned.7
Flying cars aren't mainstream yetMany films have depicted flying cars in the future
And while lots of progress has been made on the concept of flying cars , both in Japan and the United States, there are none on the roads
(or in the sky) yet.Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Flying cars in Blade Runner
The inside of Blade Runner's flying cars are full of gadgets, and look similar to the cockpit of a plane.But it's notable that
those inside are not strapped in - the film was made before California introduced mandatory seat belt laws.Image copyrightLadd
Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Rick Deckard (left) sits with officer Gaff in a flying car
Most hairdryers still look like hairdryersIn one scene, replicant Zhora dries her hair in what looks like an upside-down goldfish bowl: it
Image copyrightLadd Company/Ridley Scott/Warner BrosImage caption
Zhora dries her hair in seconds in the film
While ionic technology and ceramic heating elements help today's hairdryers to do a faster job, even a £300 Dyson model takes minutes
rather than seconds to finish.TheIndianSubcontinent Radio 3 explores Blade Runner's legacy and impact in a new series
Listen online from Monday 4 November.
