[sho_hn]

This was always the coolest capability of Star Trek's holodecks, not the projector technology. Super cool that we might just get there within the lifetime of someone who watched the show in the 80s.

My favorite Star Trek episode has always been "Identity Crisis". Not because it's one of the good ones, it's pretty clunky. But it contains a fantastic 5-7 minute long montage featuring Geordi La Forge interacting with computers (by touch, voice and on the holodeck) to solve a murder mystery, analyzing and live-manipulating 3D "holo footage" to discover a vital clue. Whoever imagined that sequence is the hero of my childhood and perhaps the reason I became a software engineer, doing an oddball mix of HMI and systems engineering.

There's so much in that sequence. The free mixing of different input modes, the complementary collaboration between a human and an AI system, carrying state with you from room to room. Analyzing and generating. Following instructions and making suggestions. Powerful inference, precision of control.

We're getting close now!