Hehe - padded rooms are greatly underappreciated :)
My understanding is that once acceptance is gained for ideas within the inner realm of thought and emotion - the outer has a chance to change to bring about the manifestation of that idea - so maybe TV shows like Star Trek and Star Wars have a significant involvement in our apparently rapid acceleration..
Then again, we have to consider - how exactly did we come to be on this planet with minimal recollection of the ride here? Maybe we are actually just catching up with where we once were millennia ago - except this time we have an almighty hangover and aren't exactly sure where 'home' is. :)

Regardless, though, of the details of the story - It is important to understand that any concept we can manifest in technology, we must first manifest within ourselves - so removing our own inner 'dictator' and 'censor' is an important stage in bringing about the liberation we need.