How Far Are We From Star Trek?

I wonder if Gene Roddenberry realized that when he created a little science fiction TV show, described as “A wagon train to the stars”, he had any idea that he would be setting a technological bar for humanity for decades. There are many in the scientific community who openly claim that Star Trek is what influenced them to go into their specific field. So the question that should be posed to all scientists is, how far are we from Star Trek?

Now for the sake of argument, let’s not hold to the specific timeline portrayed by the series. According to the various series we’ll get Warp drive long before we get replicators or holodecks and if that order is reversed in reality, I’m okay with it. When I ask how far we are from Star Trek, let’s assume I mean all the technology depicted in the series, regardless of what series it is from. All scientific development should be celebrated.

To make things easy, let’s knockout a few technologies from Star Trek that we do have. We have Pads like in Next Generation, such as iPads and most handheld tablets. We have vocal computer interfaces, like Siri and GPS. Most flip-phones were modeled on the handheld communicators from the original series. Those are all commonly used technologies that were originally only in existence in the world of Trek. Small achievements, but definitely steps in the right direction towards creating a world like that of the Federation.

But what are some technologies that are close to Trek but haven’t quite gotten there yet? Space exploration is the obvious one. While we do not have access to anything like Warp drive, we have made attempts to make it off the planet. It’s been almost forty years since we landed on the moon. Just last year we landed an unmanned exploratory vessel on Mars and there is a strong effort to make a serious attempt at a manned mission to Mars some time in the next few decades.  There are even companies that are attempting to commercialize the concept of space flight. Once space flight has become commonplace, much like airline travel is now, it will not be long until we figure out a way to master faster than light flight (Einstein’s rules of relativity be damned).

The technology that seems like it has the most potential towards being like it is in Star Trek is the replicator. In recent months there has been a bit of a news controversy over a individual who was able to use a 3D printer to make a functioning fire arm. While the idea of access to easy firearms slightly terrifies me, I cannot deny the technological ingenuity. While 3D printers are only capable of reproducing things in plastic, it only requires more tinkering and technological advancements before we could conceivably have a Federation style replicator. Every Nerds’ dream of ordering “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” and having a teacup materialize in front of them could soon be real.

Even such impossible to conceive of technology like transporters could be a reality. Scientists have experimented with transporting microscopic particles across great distances with varying levels of success. Much like with the replicator it is mostly a question of scale and information. At our current level of technology we do not have a computer capable of keeping all the information required to reproduce a human being. But just twenty years ago we didn’t have computers that could store a full Hollywood film. And now such streaming technology is commonplace.  So again it seems like a question of time.

The one area where we seem farthest from Star Trek is culturally. In the world of Star Trek, Earth is a utopia that has eliminated poverty and disease. All citizens of the federation are taken care of. There are no more corporate or governmental interests and technological developments are done for the benefit of all. Sadly, as we see in our society, people are not ready or willing to join together to help each other. Our society places too much emphasis on the individual.

At the end of the day we all must face the fact that Star Trek is a work of fiction. It is a brilliant source of entertainment and a optimistic vision of the future. But just because it is a vision of the future that many people enjoy, does not in anyway guarantee the future will be anything like that. That being said though, I think Star Trek set a good goal for humanity to strive towards and if we can just get a little close towards replicating life in the Federation, I think humanity will be okay.