10 Incredibly Bad Technology Predictions
Even those who shape the future of technology often see it incorrectly. Here are 10 of the worst technology predictions ever.
November 7, 2017
If there’s a lesson to be learned about predicting the future of technology, it’s this: The best and the brightest often get it wrong.Consider, for example, this group: Thomas Edison, Lord Kelvin, Steve Ballmer, Robert Metcalfe, and Albert Augustus Pope. Despite backgrounds of amazing achievement and even brilliance, all share the dubious distinction of making some of the worst technological predictions in history.Had they been right, history would be radically different. Today, there would be no airplanes, moon landings, home computers, iPhones, or Internet.Fortunately, they were wrong. And that should tell us something: Even those who shape the future can’t always get a handle on it.Here, we’ve collected some of the forecasts that were most publically, painfully, incorrect. From Edison to Kelvin to Ballmer, click through for 10 of the worst technological predictions in history.
Read More From Design News:
12 People Who Engineered Change Without a College Degree
10 of History's Greatest American Pickup Trucks
12 Vehicle Infotainment Systems That Distract Drivers
The EV Trend Is Now Irreversible
Toyota, Denso Team Up on EV Technology
GM to Produce 20 New Electric Cars by 2023
Senior technical editor Chuck Murray has been writing about technology for 33 years. He joined Design News in 1987, and has covered electronics, automation, fluid power, and auto.
Right to Repair Hardware Showdown: iFixit Takes You Inside Apple's iPhone 8 |
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like