As the co-founder of Microsoft, it makes sense that Bill Gates is at the forefront of technology developments.
But a resurfaced video from 1995 is showing just how ahead of his time the billionaire was.
In the clip, Gates can be seen giving a keynote speech and predicting what sort of tech will be around in the future. For people viewing the video in 2022, it's clear that his predictions are accurate - scarily accurate.
Titled 'The Road Ahead', the speech includes a video demonstration of two police officers using "futuristic tech" including a "wallet PC" which allows them to make video calls, make contactless payments, and map their location via GPS.
Gates describes the wallet PC as: "Capable of really replacing everything that you carry with you and more. So getting messages, seeing the latest news, seeing different locations, keeping track of your schedule, keeping hundreds of pictures of your children stored there, all of those things are easily possible with this kind of technology."
To anyone listening from 2022, his description will sound pretty familiar. The only difference is that Gates' wallet PC is today known by another name - the smartphone.
His prediction is even more impressive when you consider that back in 1995, mobile telephones were still considered pretty advanced tech.
Gates goes on to delineate certain features of the wallet PC/smartphone with scary accuracy. First of all he describes contactless payment capabilities which are common practice nowadays thanks to Apple Pay and Google Pay.
He then moves on to describe a "flat panel display" that will allow "mobile workers of all types [to] collaborate together, call on expertise throughout the world, bring them up, and not just see their face but look at information." To anyone who has ever worked from home, this video chat software will sound spookily similar to Zoom, Teams, Skype and FaceTime.
As if that wasn't enough, he then explains that in the "future" you'll also be able to call up a map "that lets us see exactly where we [are]" as well as showing "traffic conditions."
"Whether you are seeking out a store, a restaurant or a hotel, you'll be able to get guided along the way in a very straightforward fashion," Gates adds. Which, of course, sounds an awful lot today like Google Maps!
