Whether technology is making our lives infinitely better or leading us to doom and gloom is anybody’s guess, for it is all within the realm of opinion. The fact, however, remains that technology continues to impact our lives in meaningful ways, and tech innovations remain critical for businesses. Here are some of the tech trends likely to continue gaining traction in 2022 and beyond.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
You may think that your voice assistant at home is simply carrying out perfunctory tasks like helping you order groceries or answering your random query about the weather, but it is actually a lot smarter than that. The data being quietly collected is often used to predict consumer behaviour and understand preferences. Ever wonder how you were searching for a television to buy and a few days later out of nowhere a great deal showed up? It isn’t serendipity. It is AI in action. Welcome to Big Data.
There are other applications to AI too such as making processes more efficient, and it is being increasingly incorporated across industries such as Food and Beverages (F&B) and Retail.
Internet of Things (IoT)
In essence, IoT refers to a network of devices connected to the internet. Such devices can interact with one another (e.g., data transfer). There are several uses for IoT. From the aforementioned usage in smart home devices to business applications such as centrally monitoring activity in multiple remote locations, the possibilities are endless. A report in The Economist suggests that 1 trillion internet-connected devices may be online by 2035.
Tesla cars are a classic example of IoT in the automobile space. It not only enables the company to tailor its services based on customer needs but also helps in real-time to prevent untoward incidents and emergency assistance. Other sectors are fast catching up as well. In the aviation industry, for example, General Electric (GE) now installs IoT sensors in its aircraft engines. This helps monitor the health of individual components, thus improving maintenance schedules leading not just to improved efficiency and reduced downtime but critically, passenger safety.
Global spending on IoT is expected to reach 1.1 trillion USD in the next couple of years itself.
In news that would be heartening for many in the tech space, citizens approve of technological advancements too. In a recent poll by Blackbox, an overwhelming majority of Singaporeans (88%) across age groups expressed that “better technology will help save us in the future.”
Job automation
A report by the World Economic Forum suggests that by 2025, 85 million jobs are likely to be displaced due to increased automation in tasks and enhancement in technology. All those clickbait articles titled ‘Will a robot take your job?’ had a shred of truth in them after all.
However, the reality is that this may not be as scary as it appears. The same report suggests that an additional 97 million roles might emerge that require an integration between human intelligence and AI. So, the loss of jobs will not be something to address but the evolving nature of work.
A likely plus point of such a collaboration of intelligences will be the resulting boost in productivity, a concern that is being much-talked about of late.
Blockchain
While often used in the context of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, the unparalleled security that blockchain provides has many tech enthusiasts understandably excited, and businesses/industries are seeing the value of such a fool-proof way of storing data as well. To understand Blockchain simply, it is data that one can only add to – not modify or delete in any way.
Data is considered the most valuable asset today, and as adoption of blockchain technologies increases across sectors, there will inevitably be a rise in demand for hiring blockchain developers, which is a highly specialised skillset. Another example of how technology is likely to increase many jobs even as it replaces some.
Metaverse
The metaverse is a buzzword, in the literal sense of the term. The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission reported that the actual term, metaverse, appeared in regulatory filings a total of 1,100+ times. So corporate executives are certainly feeling the need to constantly mention it while highlighting how their businesses are meta-ready. Why not? Microsoft recently paid USD 75 billion dollars for acquiring Activision Blizzard, a gaming company that provides building blocks for the metaverse. From a more holistic point of view, private equity companies, venture capitalists (VCs) and corporations invested USD 120 billion in metaverse-related investments in the period of January to May 2022.
While the investment circle is lighting up, people are not completely buying into the hype of the metaverse just yet. People participation and adoption is critical, and only time will tell whether this will hold up.
Our recent polling suggests that despite the metaverse being a much-discussed topic, only 42% Singaporeans feel “positive” about it. This could indicate either scepticism about its possible misuse, or be attributed to the lack of awareness about the metaverse’s offerings, with 34% choosing the ‘don’t know’ option. Younger Singaporeans, however, seem more open to the idea with over 1 in 2 (53%) optimistic about this trend.
Building a digital world
The digital world essentially refers to everything that incorporates technology and is connected to the internet at all times. There will be those cheering for it, and there will be the naysayers, but the truth is that it is an inevitable reality of the times we live in today, and businesses can take solace in the fact that people largely feel positive about the digital world, and the positives seem to outweigh the negatives for many. How companies and governments leverage these sentiments to make lives of consumers and citizens better is up to them.
To understand how your business can effectively leverage these tech trends to better serve your customers, get in touch with us at connect@blackbox.com.sg
Author: Blackbox Research Team
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