New Delhi, Jan. 11 -- We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters" - Peter Thiel This may seem like an odd time to question the ingenuity of the technology sector. With news of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and machine-learning swirling around, the technology space looks like a bright spot in a dull economy. Mega venture funds and frothy startup valuations seem to bear out this optimism. Yet, fifty years ago we imagined a very different future. Stanley Kubrick's classic 2001: A Space Odyssey released during the heyday of the space programme assumed that by the early part of this millennium, space travel would be routine; machines would be terrifyingly intelligent; and computers and humans would have intelligent conversat...