The world of technology is ever-changing, and it’s an exciting time to be a part of that world as we continue to bring new innovations to life.
From virtual reality and artificial intelligence to drones and self-driving cars, there are so many incredible things being developed right now.
It seems like almost every day, something new comes out that makes you think, “Wow, can they do this now?
But with all of these developments comes some concern about the future of technology.
Many people fear what this will mean for humanity, but having carefully examined both sides of the argument, I remain optimistic about how things are going.
Here are five reasons I’m excited about the future of technology:
1. Virtual Reality Will Become a New Way to Travel
Multiple travel locations and travel in virtual reality are both part of the future of travel.
Virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are possibilities that could complement physical travel.
Virtual reality and its derivatives are pseudo-travel, and one would ultimately want to see the locations up close.
However, virtual reality will likely allow us to share our experiences with friends and family in a way that brings these travel destinations to life in a way no slideshow ever could.
2. Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Way We Live and Work
Indeed, the advancement of AI has the potential to disrupt labor markets, although it will never replace the love and care of our families and friends.
Four years ago, the world was stunned when Go world champion Ke Jie lost his fight. He lost the battle against an AI algorithm openly named AlpaGo.
He heralded an era in which machines have exceeded our human capabilities to understand and process the information around us.
Although machine learning has been around for a few decades, our computing power couldn’t handle the enormous amounts of data back then.
The third industrial revolution used electronics and information technology to automate the labor-intensive tasks of the previous industrial revolution.
The current industrial revolution, better known as Industry 4.0, has the potential to widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
It will eventually blur the line between what is natural and what is artificial.
The Four AI Eras
Internet AI
This AI wave is pretty pervasive in our society today. It comes in the form of recommendation algorithms that secretly know what we’re looking for.
It could be something we want to buy or watch. For example, we may not have the faintest idea why some seemingly random videos keep popping up on our main Youtube page.
Under the hood is a complicated algorithm that evaluates variables including our watch time, the videos we’ve clicked on, etc.
It gathers all this data so it can predict our future behavior. The more we use the website/application, the more accurate the prediction will be.
Business AI
It leveraged the tagged data from the previous era. Suffice it to say that these labeled data points are mappings between some inputs and some outputs.
For example, we could assign symptoms A, B, and C to a disease. This mapping will allow our machine learning model to diagnose a disease even on datasets it hasn’t seen before.
It uses the huge amount of tagged data from the previous era to make sense of and look for hidden connections between the data.
The main difference between a machine and a human is that there is no limit to the amount of past knowledge or data that an algorithm can draw from.
Therefore, the ability of machines to diagnose a disease, detect fraud, or write bad loans will one day surpass human capabilities.
Perception AI
Some of us may have noticed that we’ve started to give AI its own ears and eyes. Back then, we couldn’t understand video, audio, or even pictures on our hard drives.
To our computers, they’re just a bunch of zeros and ones, somehow similar to the other files in our system’s manifestation of Perceptual AI.
Smart speakers, smart lampposts, and even smart cities are some of the applications of perceptual AI.
We’ve also started to see cashless supermarkets all around us. However, experts have also raised concerns about the massive collection of personal data.
Honestly, there is no panacea for this problem. We have to weigh up the good and the bad and decide if we need to prioritize convenience and security/privacy.
Autonomous AI
This is an era that uses all existing knowledge about AI. It’s an AI that can not only understand what’s happening around it but also react to it.
Self-driving cars are equipped with sensors and cameras that help them slow down when another car or pedestrian is nearby.
This type of autonomous vehicle raises further ethical concerns in the event of an unavoidable accident.
Will the car hit the pedestrians to save the driver or vice versa? We know that the more data we have, the better the AI algorithm becomes.
Although the autonomous vehicle is still in its infancy, it may not yet be as capable as a human driver. Since it collects more data, it will be a safer alternative.
3. Drones Are Going to Become an Integral Part of Our Lives
It is not just socializing that we are practicing from a distance. Today, every sector is expected to perform its operations with minimal personal contact, and this will be the new normal.
This is where Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) come in. Drones, both military and commercial, have transformed the way we observe and move across the Earth.
UAVs will be employed during the next ten years to increase output while lowering production costs and saving lives in the process.
The following are some ways that drones are altering the world:
-Home Security:Drones with tethers are being employed to keep an eye on our houses.
-Telecommunications:In places of natural disasters where phones or internet services are unavailable, connectivity can be achieved through the use of drones. Weather forecasting: fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones, which can measure wind speed, humidity, and barometric pressure, are being studied by scientists to predict weather patterns.
-Delivery:packages, groceries, and medicine are delivered quickly and safely using drones.
-Animal welfare:DJI drones are used worldwide to check the general stability of several species and ensure their existence for years to come.
-Film and TV:While the drones used to capture film in film and TV productions are safe but expensive, they are still a fraction of the cost of owning and maintaining a helicopter or airplane.
-Personal transportation:Companies like Uber are likely keen to get unmanned passenger drones in the air because they no longer have to pay drivers.
-Agility:From sensors to monitor crop health to drones that spray and plant seeds, technology is transforming agriculture.
-Construction:From creating 3D aerial renderings for future construction projects to verifying the safety of current construction projects, drones have arrived in the construction business, and it’s not about to change.
4. Self-driving Cars Will Soon Be a Normal Sight
The self-driving car revolution is gaining momentum and will change our daily lives in large and small ways.
In recent weeks, announcements from tech companies, governments, and automakers have accelerated the inevitable transition to safer, more sustainable, and more efficient transportation systems.
While this transition may take longer than industry leaders hope, its ultimate impact on society is hard to overstate.
First of all, lives are saved. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2013, there were around 1.25 million road deaths worldwide.
Self-driving cars will eliminate human error and distraction, a major cause of these accidents. Now you also have more free time (albeit in the car).
According to the US Census, the average American commutes more than 26 minutes each way, or 500 days per lifetime commuting.
In an autonomous car, this time can be used for work or leisure. Finally, consumers save money as autonomous ride-sharing fleets reduce transportation costs.
But When will we be able to reap the benefits of self-driving cars?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims we’re two years away from sleeping in our cars. Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise Automation, owned by General Motors, announced this week that GM has built the world’s first production car designed to run without a driver based on the Chevrolet Bolt.
However, even Vogt admits that GM is waiting for improvements in self-driving software and legislation to make its vision a reality.
Today, 99.9% of all vehicles on the road do not have the technology to allow full autonomy. Self-driving cars will not be a significant feature of our roads until 2020.
But we estimate that by 2040, 95% of new vehicle sales, or 96.3 million cars, will be fully autonomous—a $3.6 trillion opportunity.
A final thought for those of us who love to drive and dread the thought of an autonomous car: you will get your chance to drive, but it will become a hobby, like horseback riding.
And you’ll have plenty of time to get ready for your ride en route to the track in your self-driving car.
5. The Internet of Things Will Change How We Live and Work
Every transaction or click we make is recorded and tracked, from browsing the web and posting on social media to purchasing consumer products and tracking assets and inventory.
For example, the barcode scanner that checks you when you buy a pair of pants captures information about the product, such as color, size, and style.
It also tracks your actions, especially if you give the clerk your zip code or use a loyalty card or mobile coupon.
All of this collected information is called data, which is traditionally stored in a database on a computer.
The possibilities are endless.
This groundbreaking capability opens the door to a multitude of possibilities, say SAS and McKinsey, which predict:
-Driverless trucks will transport products across the country safely and quickly, avoiding traffic delays and accidents.
Farming equipment uses soil sensors and data collected from distant satellites and current crop conditions to adjust the way it is farmed on specific properties.
– Sprinkler systems analyze weather forecasts, equipment sensors, and historical water usage data to appropriately water lawns.
-Security systems heat and cool homes and offices automatically, based on a person’s proximity, past preferences, and current weather conditions.
Conclusion
If we could hop in a time machine, travel 30 years into the future, and look back at today from that vantage point, we would realize that most of the greatest products that will define the lives of citizens in 2052 were invented after 2022.
The future will look at their holodecks and wearable virtual reality contact lenses and downloadable avatars and AI interfaces and say, “oh, they didn’t have the internet back then, or whatever they’re going to call it.
So, the truth: now, today, 2022 is the best time to start. There has never been a better day in all of world history to invent.
There has never been a better time than now with more opportunities, more openings, lower barriers, higher reward-to-risk ratios, better returns, and greater upside potential.
Now, this minute is the moment that people will look back on in the future and say, “Oh, what a time to have been alive and well then!
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