Bell Labs was responsible for much of the underlying technology, and these applications had been foreseen. But they were undoubtedly deluded about their ability to deliver those applications.
Re:“Just walk out” technology by Amazon
by TheOtherHobbes on Tuesday March 10, 2020 @11:32AM
(#22536292)
"Branding"
I get why they spent money on vaporware advertising.
But I don't get why there's no modern equivalent. No one seems to be making equivalent statements about technology that's 20-30 years away from today.
There are vague hints that AI and QC will somehow be awesome, but they're very light on specifics.
It's interesting how we got from the forward-looking 90s to the backward-looking 20s.
To be fair, many of those came to fruition over AT&T's network, until you hit your monthly data and FAX cap
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will
I was always confused as to why they'd spend money on vaporware advertising, since I don't think they were responsible for doing any of the things.