Steven Spielberg’s 2002 sci-fi thriller “Minority Report,” in which Tom Cruise is the captain of a state-of-the-art “Precrime” law enforcement division, is still a touchstone for new tech: Self-driving cars are (kind of) here, but we’re still waiting on flying cars, jetpacks and more innovations like the ones Spielberg’s futurist think tank dreamed up.
Here are some of the tech predictions the movie, which was based on the 1956 short story by legendary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, got right and some of the things it failed to foresee about the future.
Gesture-based touchscreen interface
We’ve got touch screens, but nothing quite like the interface Tom Cruise uses to quickly scrub through images from the precogs’ visions of murder. CNN adopted something similar on Election Night 2008, when it debuted its shiny new touch screen, along with remote correspondents reporting via a 3D hologram that was quickly compared to Princess Leia’s “Help me, Obi-Wan” message. And you can use your very own Peregrine gloves for VR.
Robotic surveillance
The swarming spiders in the movie — which ID people with eye scans — are incredibly cool, but also incredibly invasive. Digital surveillance around the globe has increased over the years, boosting facial recognition as a 21st-century law enforcement tool, with some government and police agents actually using iris-scanning tech, The practice raises ethical concerns about invasion of privacy, just as Singapore’s “dystopian” 2021 rollout of surveillance robots did.
Jetpacks
Why doesn’t everybody have their own jetpack yet? As Discover Magazine noted in 2018, they’re just too dangerous. And would you really trust the average human to use them safely? Within the film, it seems that only Precrime agents get them, so that’s likely also the case in the fictitious future as well.
Sick sticks
In a slick move during a memorable chase scene, fugitive Anderton uses one of the Precrime agents’ sick sticks to take him out: The device causes the unfortunate target to vomit profusely. Real-world versions, including something called an LED incapacitator, which has been nicknamed “the puke light,” are still in development.
Self driving cars
We don’t yet have flying cars or vertical magnet freeways, but several attempts have been made to create a self-driving car. Some, like Tesla’s driverless cars, have been known to spontaneously combust, so they’re not roadworthy yet.
Targeted 3D ads
Is our future going to consist of ads yelling things like, “John Anderton! You could use a Guinness right about now!”? We might not have 3D personalized billboards screaming at us, but today ads are so targeted that people joke you’ll see an ad for a product if you even think of buying something.
Eye replacement surgery
Today you can get cornea transplants, but you might have to wait until 2054 for a complete eye replacement. But since the invasive eye scans in the movie aren’t being used on the same scale in the real world, looks like you can keep your own eyes for now.
Print photos
Anderton is convinced that Leo Crow (Mike Binder) is the man who abducted his son Sean when he finds a trove of photos of children, including ones of Leo with Sean. Colin Farrell’s character was rightly suspicious of the planted pics, but we’re also doubtful that print photos will still be as much of a thing in 2054. In 2022, most people — even police looking for victims or suspects — carry those photos on their phones.
Facial distortion shots
Sorry, folks who want to temporarily change their appearance, but you’ll have to rely on regular old masks and makeup until this shot hits the market. Maybe the Impossible Mission Force can hook you up.
RadioShack
When Anderton brings precog Agatha (Samantha Morton) to Rufus Riley (Jason Antoon) to download one of her visions, the video specialist is reluctant to cooperate and suggests, “Take her to RadioShack.” The electronics chain declared bankruptcy in 2015 and today exists mostly online. But hey, you can buy RadioShack crypto!
No cure for the common cold
Alas, you can still catch colds in 2054, as both Precrime boss Lamar Burgess (Max von Sydow) and sketchy eye surgeon (Peter Stormare) have the bug.