Will The Future Look More Like Star Trek Or Harry Potter?

Prolific science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke wrote that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." As technology advances, what once was deemed "fantasy" begins to materialize in the world around us. Movies inspire us to have fun with the idea that any sufficiently capable magic is indistinguishable from technology – on-screen magic makes things like teleportation, omnipotent medicine and the creation of objects out of thin air all seem real. In many ways we already live in a future predicted by yesterday's science fiction, with interactive touch devices connected to a vast world of information. These universal machines can support experiences of ever-greater richness and complexity.