Is this more influential than Star Wars : A New Hope ?

You have to imagine that in 1968, absolutely none of the technology shown was a thing. I remember seeing the call via videophone and thinking “No way will i ever want to see who I’m talking to!” It was totally foreign. Also cool to see the stuff they got wrong, pre-desktop and smart phone icons and apps.

But it’s more important than Star Wars, etc, bc it’s not a space opera. It’s just good, Hard science fiction, that makes you think.

Who sent the monolith(s)? Why? What did Humankind learn from it? And where is the human race guided in the long run?

I certainly hope it's more influential than Star Wars: A New Hope, but I'm not so sure ...

A better movie, absolutely. But has it captured the public's imagination the same way Star Wars has - I don't think so. I know I find 2001 more influential than Star Wars, but I can't say the same for the general population.