In 1987 Apple Computer produced a concept video for a hypothetical product called the Knowledge Navigator.
Having a normal conversation with your computer as though you were conversing with a friend seems to be the most paleo-futuristic aspect of this video. The inefficiency of such a system certainly raises questions about the user interfaces of tomorrow.
(Inefficiency aside, there’s no doubt that I’d make my virtual butler wear a bowtie too.)
See also:
The Road Ahead: Future Homes (1995)
Picturephone as the perpetual technology of the future
AT&T “You Will” (1993)
Face-to-Face Telephones on the Way (New York Times, 1968)
