We are in the middle of the 4th industrial revolution and technology is evolving faster than ever. Here are the seven most imminent trends that everyone should be preparing for in 2023.
AI as a service
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most transformative technological developments of our time. As outlined in Bernard Marr's book, Artificial Intelligence in Practice, most companies have begun to explore ways to use AI to improve the customer experience and streamline their business operations. This will continue into 2023, and as people become more and more accustomed to working with AI, designing and deploying our own AI-based systems will remain an expensive proposition for most companies.
For this reason, a large part of AI applications will continue to be delivered "as a service" via platform providers, which simply allows us to input our own data and pay for the algorithms or computational resources when using them.
Currently, these platforms, provided by companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft, tend to be quite broad in scope, with custom (often expensive) engineering required to apply them to the specific tasks that an organization may require. In 2023, we will see wider adoption and a growing number of vendors likely to begin offering applications and services more tailored to specific or specialized tasks. No company will have more excuses for not using AI.
5G data networks
The 5th generation of mobile Internet connectivity will enable ultra-fast download and upload speeds, as well as more stable connections. Although 5G mobile data networks became available for the first time in 2019, for the most part they were still expensive and could only work in confined spaces or large cities. 2023 is likely to be the year when 5G will really start to grow, with more affordable data plans and greatly improved coverage, which means everyone will be able to benefit.
Ultra-fast data networks will not only give us the ability to watch streaming movies and listen to music, with superior quality, even when we're on the move. Significantly increased speeds will make mobile networks more usable than cable networks operating in our homes and businesses. Businesses need to consider the business implications of ultra-fast, stable, anywhere Internet access. Increased bandwidth will allow machines, robots, and autonomous vehicles to collect and transfer more data than ever before, leading to advances on the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart machines.
Autonomous driving
Even if we are not yet at the stage where we can expect to travel regularly in autonomous vehicles, or even see their appearance, in 2023, they will undoubtedly continue to generate great enthusiasm.
Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, said he expects his company to create a truly "complete" autonomous vehicle by the end of the year, and vehicles capable of operating with a lesser degree of autonomy - such as automated braking and lane changing - will become commonplace. In addition, other in-vehicle systems not directly related to driving, such as safety and entertainment functions, will become increasingly automated and dependent on data capture and analysis. Google's sister company, Waymo, has just completed a trial of autonomous cabs in California.
Of course, it won't just be about cars, road and marine transportation will also become increasingly autonomous, and breakthroughs in this area will likely continue to make headlines throughout 2023.
With the development of autonomous driving technology, we will also hear more and more about what regulators, legislators and authorities are doing. Changes to laws, existing infrastructure and social attitudes will likely be required before autonomous driving becomes a practical reality for most of us. In 2023, the debate about autonomous driving is likely to spread beyond the world of technology, with more and more people questioning the idea that the question is not "if" but "when" it will become a reality.
Personalized and predictive medicine
Technology is transforming health care at an unprecedented pace. Our ability to collect data from portable devices such as smartwatches will increasingly allow us to predict and treat health problems in people before they show symptoms.
In terms of treatment, we will see much more personalized approaches. We're also talking about precision medicine, which will allow doctors to prescribe drugs and apply treatments more precisely, thanks to a database that will help to see their likely effectiveness for a specific patient.
Thanks to recent technological advances, particularly in the fields of genomics and AI, this idea is not new, but it allows us to better understand how the bodies of different people are more or less equipped to fight specific diseases, and whether they are likely to respond to different types of drugs or treatments.
Throughout 2023, we will see new applications of predictive healthcare and the introduction of more personalized and effective treatments to ensure better outcomes for each patient.
Computer vision
In computer terms, "vision" involves systems capable of identifying elements, places, objects or people from visual images - those collected by a camera or sensor. It is this technology that allows your smartphone's camera to recognize which part of the image it captures is a face and feeds into a technology such as Google Image Search.
In 2023, we will see tools and technology with computer vision being deployed for an increasing number of uses. This is fundamental to how autonomous cars will be able to "see" and control danger. Production lines will use computer vision cameras to detect faulty products or equipment failures, and security cameras will be able to alert us to anything out of the ordinary, without the need for 24/7 surveillance.
Computer vision also allows for facial recognition, something we will be hearing a lot about in 2020. We've already seen how well the technology can control access to our smartphones in the case of Apple's Face ID and how Dubai airport is using it to offer customers a more peaceful journey. However, as usage cases increase in 2023, we will also see more and more debate about limiting the use of this technology because of the potential privacy risks and the possibility of state control similar to "Big Brother".
The Extended Reality
Extended Reality, or XR, is an umbrella term that covers several new and emerging technologies used to create more immersive digital experiences. More specifically, it refers to virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. Virtual Reality (VR) offers an immersive, all-digital experience in which you enter a computer-generated world, using headsets that blend in with the real world. Augmented Reality (AR) superimposes digital objects on the real world via smartphone screens (think Snapchat filters). Mixed Reality (MR) is an extension of AR, which means that users can interact with digital objects placed in the real world (imagine playing a holographic piano that you have placed in your room via AR headphones).
These technologies have been around for a few years now, but they are largely confined to the entertainment world - with Oculus Rift and Live headsets currently providing the latest in gaming technology, and smartphone features such as camera filters and Pokemon Go style games, are the most visible examples of the AR.
Starting in 2023, all of this is expected to change as companies grasp the exciting opportunities offered by today's two forms of extended reality (XR). Virtual reality and augmented reality will be increasingly used for training and simulation, while offering new ways to interact with customers.
Blockchain technology
The blockchain is a technological trend in the storage and transmission of information without a control device. The blockchain is essentially a digital register used to record transactions, but secure due to its encrypted and decentralized nature. In 2019, some commentators began to say that this technology was being over-promoted and perhaps less useful than expected. However, continued investments by FedEx, IBM, Walmart and Mastercard in 2019 should begin to show concrete results and, if they can prove their case, could quickly lead to increased adoption by smaller players.
And if things go well, 2023 will also see the launch of Libra, Facebook's blockchain-based cryptography that will make a lot of noise.
