Tesla's 100-year-old predictions: AI, robots, and even visible thoughts await us in 2035

Nikola Tesla's visionary predictions from nearly a century ago are increasingly aligning with modern technological advancements, making his past statements sound almost prophetic. In a 1926 interview, Tesla described small devices capable of real-time image and sound transmission across distances, small enough to fit in a waistcoat pocket. This foresight directly mirrors today's smartphones, a concept far beyond the telegraph and wired telephones of his era.

Further demonstrating his prescience, Tesla warned in 1935 about future generations finding environmental pollution unacceptable. He believed people would eventually find living near polluted waters as unthinkable as his own generation found living without clean drinking water. This sentiment foreshadowed the rise of environmentalism, leading to the establishment of agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 and making environmental protection a key global issue.

Tesla also anticipated the significant rise of automation in the 21st century, predicting that robots would take over many jobs previously done by humans. Current developments in artificial intelligence, autonomous factories, and humanoid robots from companies like Tesla and Figure AI show how close his predictions have become to reality. His ideas on wireless energy transfer are also being explored through various experimental technologies.

Beyond technological predictions, Tesla believed knowledge would eventually surpass military might, with future conflicts centering on ignorance rather than battlefields. He even speculated on technology's potential to foster global unity and reduce international conflict. Perhaps most intriguingly, Tesla theorized in 1933 about the possibility of displaying human thoughts on screens, suggesting that brain activity could be translated into observable images for study. While still in the realm of science fiction, contemporary brain-computer interface research by companies like Neuralink and Meta is already making strides in converting brain signals into text and commands.

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Science will one day be able to turn the activities of the human brain into images that can be analyzed and studied. In other words, thoughts could become visible and readable.