Chips with Everything
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Our obsession with sci-fi technology: Chips with Everything podcast

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In July 2018 a Dutch company showcased what it calls the first ever flying car already fit for purpose, at the Farnborough Airshow. But do we need flying cars in our lives?

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Any time technology throws up a new problem for society, you’re guaranteed to see someone say, “We were promised flying cars. Instead we got this.”

But flying cars are here. In July 2018 a Dutch company called Pal-V showcased what it calls the first ever flying car already fit for purpose, at the Farnborough Airshow in south-east England.

But do we need flying cars in our lives? We already have aeroplanes and helicopters – why add more traffic to our skies?

And should we thank the likes of Back to the Future or Futurama for inspiring today’s technologists? Or should we blame science fiction for distracting us with expensive and unnecessary gadgets when we should be focusing our attention and resources on solving real problems?

This week, Jordan Erica Webber chats to Marco van den Bosch of Pal-V and sci-fi writer Kameron Hurley.

The then Dutch transport minister Camiel Eurlings (2-L) and engineer John Bakker sit inside the Pal-V vehicle following a test flight in 2009.
Photograph: Marcel Antonisse/AFP/Getty Images
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