Chris McCausland: A Vision for the Future – A fascinating look at how technology is changing the lives of people with disabilities | television

WAsh machines freed women to have soul-crushing jobs that consumed their free time. Social media gave the world one revolution – before it destabilized democracies everywhere else. Artificial intelligence has now arrived, and its main function seems to be to replace screenwriters. It’s easy to fall into technological pessimism, but the new documentary A Vision of the Future (Sunday 23 November, 8pm, BBC Two) has a different angle. For people with disabilities, technology has already brought about life-changing developments. We haven’t seen anything yet.

It is presented by comedian and Strictly winner Chris McCausland who is blind. Some of the most surprising scenes happen early on, showing how he uses his phone — basically, an eye with a mouth. “What is this shirt?” He asks, holding up a dress. “A gray t-shirt with a Deftones graphic logo,” his phone obliges. It can also tell him if the shirt needs ironing. But what fascinates McCausland is where this is all headed, so he heads to the US to see what’s being developed in the homes of our technology masters.

He swings by a Meta facility to try out some smart glasses. In my opinion, he might as well be inside the White Worm’s lair, or wandering off to buy macarons in Dracula’s castle. But that’s partly because I don’t have an immediate need for such technology, and the mission of the documentary is to highlight the possibility, not jump on the risks. It’s not as if Zuckerberg is in person in the lab, petting a cat and twirling on an egg chair.

I like to shake my point. McCausland admits that the buttonless glass screen seemed like the most unlikely device imaginable, but his phone became the most intuitive gadget he’d ever used. He’s also excited about the induction spec – I don’t think that’s the actual name of it – which is always on and gives a live video explanation, telling you what you’re looking at. Like a phone, but more importantly, it’s wearable. “The one thing blind people never have is free hands,” he points out.

At MIT, a nanotechnologist tells him how molecular devices can repair cells inside our bodies. He is trying an electronic walking aid, a device that is attached to the leg, giving the wearer extra strength. It appears to be the knee brace that Bruce Wayne uses in The Dark Knight Rises to kick a brick wall when he learns he has no cartilage in his knee. What’s even more poignant, quite literally, is that he’s taking a ride in a self-driving car. It’s the first time McCausland has taken a car trip on his own.

Driverless cars will arrive in the UK next spring. (It’s a long trip.) It’s what I would call an instinctive “no.” But “it’s not much different than trusting a driver I don’t know,” McCausland says. They’re unusual: they’re mounted with rotating radars, and they perform calculations involving the speed of light to create a 3D model of the environment in real time. They may also have had Norse doors. The fact that the steering wheel moves on its own is McCausland’s favorite thing about it, which is charming. Certainly, tranquility is the next best thing technologists can seek, after equal access to a life of dignity and independence. In my defense, it’s not just that I don’t trust technology. The thing is, I don’t trust profit-driven big tech companies to act in the public interest, or under any accountability.

There is a parallel pleasure in the documentary, which is the transatlantic cultural difference. Remember, these are not just Americans. These are the San Franciscan Futurists. The unintentional comedy is amplified by McCausland’s dry addition. A very British guy, even when he’s interviewing a nanotech specialist about blood-borne computers that could potentially restore his sight, he looks like he’d hand you thirty notes in English right now if you could just teleport him to a bar instead.

Even the technology is unmistakably American. “Can I hear the plane?” McCausland demands to try Zuckerberg’s glasses. “Yes, the plane is visible in the clear blue sky,” answers the serious spectacle. Later, the presenter looked disapprovingly at his camera crew. “Do they seem like they know what they’re doing?” Provokes. “Judging by their equipment, yes, they are professionals.” Go for the missing device in the joke. Computers may be increasingly capable of playing God, but cynicism is a step further. Even with Batman’s leg brace.