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While cloning was still in the newspapers and on people’s minds, movies like Multiplicity and, in this case, The 6th Day, took advantage with themes of human cloning in the near future. But what is interesting is that this Arnold Schwarzenegger movie also has a lot of other technology predictions as well, and some of them even came true. It is always fascinating when everyday entertainment leads to a feeling of life imitating art. Here are some of the best examples where this can be seen.
Self-Driving Cars
The 6th Day was like many other movies that also had this prediction. Minority Report, Demolition Man, Total Recall, and countless other futuristic films that gave us what we wished would exist. At the time of this writing, we have the technology and the means for vehicles to be equipped with this ability. However, it continues to be dangerous as a computer cannot ever be as careful and aware as a human being who knows better than to trust that other drivers will follow the rules of the road.
Close to the beginning of the film, we can see Michael Rapaport’s character using a car that is driving itself using voice commands. What makes this scene more believable than other movies is that it uses the brand name OnStar, something that was frequently in vehicles for the time period this film was made. There is also indication that the car was not completely self-driven, as the car uses voice commands to ask the driver for verification that the car was switching off from “automatic drive”. This added a new layer of realism that was seen in early Tesla vehicles that could only drive on the throughway and not on back roads. A touch-screen is also seen, something that was not common in vehicles during the year 2000 when the movie was made.
Digital Money
As in Back to the Future Part II, money is paid for with a fingerprint (or a thumbprint, in this case) rather than having to take out a credit card or cash to pay the cab driver. In The 6th Day, we can see Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character Adam putting his thumb on a touch screen, paying $447.16 for his ride. He also is seen putting his thumb on a touch screen, another nod to a future prediction, since such devices were not mainstream yet. Nowadays, even Burger King has a touch-screen cashier, rather than allowing a human cashier to get paid and pay their rent. But hey, at least I can use Apple Pay to get a cheeseburger.
Using a thumbprint to pay for goods and services directly, however, has not yet become a reality. This is a shame, as it would seriously reduce theft, or even worse, your teenage daughter from going on a shopping spree with your credit card. Since the “money” would be part of your thumb, you would have to be by her side if she wants to go shopping and spend $5,250 on the new iWatch Ultra Max Selfie Edition.
Wireless Video Calls
Although virtually every futuristic movie predicted the video phone (I’m looking in your direction, Blade Runner) The 6th Day stood out by having a wireless video call. During the film, Adam is in a taxi cab and uses a panel in front of him to call his colleague. Since the cab is moving, we can conclude that no wires were used to make the video call. Pretty neat, huh? In fact, people make video calls in their vehicle all the time nowadays while driving, which I am sure has no correlation to the sharp rise in traffic accidents since the smartphone became popular.
Now with wireless video calls, we can check in on our kids and know they are safe. We are also able to check our Tinder dates and make sure that they are actually who they seem to be in their profile picture, and not a one-eyed axe-wielding serial killer that you saw on BuzzFeed the day before.
Ordering Groceries on Demand
Don’t want to get off the couch and go to the grocery store? The future is now a reality, as you can just press a button on your smartphone and someone will bring it to you. We saw this prediction near the beginning of the movie when Adam decides to order more milk by touching the front of his refrigerator. And since the surface is also a touch-screen device that can make calls, as well as a calendar and reminders, it’s basically a smartphone. Using a touchpad on your fridge to instantly order groceries must be great, especially if you are a little kid and decide to order a palette of Oreo cookies while your mom is not home.
Digital Girlfriends / Boyfriends
This is the crème de la crème of future wishes, and although we have convincing AI texting bots, we are yet to fully embrace a complete virtual mate that looks and feels like the real thing. We have “stimulating” 360º videos that are damn close. Combined with photorealistic AI videos being available on demand, one would hope that the gap is closing, and dealing with domestic screaming-matches will be a thing of the past.
The idea is so good that we have even seen it in other movies like Blade Runner 2049. In fact, both movies have virtual girlfriends that are see-through holograms projected in someone’s home. So overall, The 6th Day has all kinds of future predictions on some level, even if a holographic mate who can pull your zipper down isn’t quite here yet.