Technological innovations are transformative. Just think how the industrial revolutions forever changed how the world operates, or the impressive progress of the cyber age which started in the 1990s. One thing has been apparent over the last 50 years – the rate of innovation has increased exponentially.
Propelled by existing development platforms which are cheaper, easier to scale, and widely available, technological leapfrogs are going to occur at an even rapid pace, boosting economies forward.
So, what would be the tech-enabled disruptions that we need to keep an eye out in the decade? Below are five such transformations to look forward to.
Social matrix
Think about the timeframe of televisions reaching homes (13 years to reach the first 50 million households) or even the internet’s momentum (3 years to reach the first 50 million subscribers). Facebook and Twitter reached this milestone in less than a year. Socially enabled applications are on their way to become ubiquitous, not only allowing the sharing of information but also enabling changes in our economic and social texture. Key sectors to watch out for would be retail, education, manufacturing, health care, finance, media, the government, and social enterprises.
The internet of all things
Don’t think that humans are the only ones who will communicate with each other via advanced technologies. The network of an artificial cognitive society is on the rise. Don’t believe me? Just think, your android phone is synced with your email accounts, which is common across your laptops and tablets. You can run our TV using your iPad, and your coffee machine retails your favorite latte mix. Very soon, devices will be connected to their manufactures as they are shipped out of the factory and monitored over a life-cycle, giving continuous feedback on their usage and status. The Matrix might still be a movie, but machine world will gain significant momentum over the next decade.
Advanced analytics and big data
Big data created a lot of hype in 2013, with data science gaining prominence. Companies have proliferated investing in data architecture. Top universities are offering specialised courses in analytics, while demand for analysts has shot up. The reason is simple; in a networked world, where both humans and machines are extensively connected and all interaction being recorded digitally, the need to analyse that data would always be there. In the coming decade, we will see processes become automated, customers segmented to their exact behavioral norms, and data processing occurring at unbelievable speeds. You might think the world Asimov envisaged in his Foundation series, regarding the prediction of human civilization, can become possible if we play our cards right.
Artificial intelligence and automation of knowledge work
Heard that HVT (high volume trades), if not monitored carefully, often disrupts the world capital markets? We have already seen industries shifting to emerging economies and the rise of factory automation processes. The next wave of the automation of intellectual work is being made possible by big data analytics, machine learning, and natural user interfaces (even your phone can pick up your voice to call your desired contact). Medical diagnosis has the potential to evolve where machines make automated decisions, sports (yes, cricket AND football) will have automatic result declaration and customer servicing will actually be from robots with nice voices like that of Siri (of iPhone).
Integrated digital and physical experiences
People already claim Dystopia is near, all we do is interact via social media in our phones, even while in groups of people are sitting next to each other. Well, brace yourself; the next would be here soon – where you put a helmet over your head and move on to an avatar-like society in digital space (again, Matrix alert!). In essence, our online presences have started substituting our physical world experiences. We now shop online, watch movies in 3D, and our entertainment constitutes of a huge repertoire of digital experiences. When is the last time we had a nice picnic with our family amidst nature? Our life-texture has changed, and over the next decade we might soon be cheering for virtual football leagues and fantasy leagues as opposed to real ones.