Arthur C. Clarke Accurately Predicted The Rise Of Google, Skype, E-mail -- In 1976

Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke shared his thoughts about the Internet and e-mail, search engines and smartwatches, all in one interview.

It was some 40 years ago.

The year was 1976, and Clarke sat down to chat about his vision for the future at a conference on futurism and technology organized by AT&T and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Internet as we know it was years away, home computers were extremely rudimentary, and the development of handheld cellphone technology was still very much in its nascent stages. Yet, Clarke, with total confidence, was somehow able to accurately predict the rise of such technological advances like the iPhone, Skype and Google.

Not everything Clarke prophesied has come to pass -- for instance, said that people of the future would only travel for pleasure and not for business. But a good many of his visions were extraordinarily spot-on.

This week, AT&T released archival footage of Clarke’s 1976 interview. Here are some of his most prescient predictions:

Arthur C. Clarke Accurately Predicted The Rise Of Google, Skype, E-mail -- In 1976