The late visionary Arthur C. Clarke was a master of predictive fiction. In Clarke’s 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey — which he co-wrote with director Stanley Kubrick — we get a taste of the vast influence that computers will have in our lives over the coming decades.

The 1984 movie sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, was about — among other things — humans making contact with alien life. The year he chose for this breakthrough: 2010.