The Top 10 Technology Trends Of The 4th Industrial Revolution – Forbes

We have never lived in a world of faster and more wide-reaching technology innovations. Our jobs, businesses, and how we operate as societies are being transformed by technology, plus the current global pandemic is only fast-tracking the digital transformation . With this post, I want to delve into the top 10 tech trends that are driving the particular 4th Commercial Revolution, and that will define the next decade.

1 .       Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

What it is: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning refer to the ability associated with machines in order to learn plus act intelligently—meaning they can make decisions, carry out tasks and even predict future outcomes based on what they learn from the data.  

I believe AI will transform our world and exactly how we live in it. It’s already used in our everyday lives from Google searches to powering Amazon’s product recommendations and the personalized suggestions you get from Netflix and Spotify as well as in the security process for fraudulent credit card use. AI plus machine learning are also the foundation of which many other technology trends are built. AI gives machines the ability to carry out a wide range of human-like processes, such as seeing (facial recognition), writing (chatbots), and speaking (Alexa). AI will infiltrate even more of our life as the ability for machines to act intelligently gets better and much better.

2.       The Internet of Things (IoT)

What: The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the particular increasing number of everyday devices and objects that are connected to the internet and gather and transmit data.

While the first smart device many associated with us were exposed to was a smartphone, we now have smartwatches, TVs, refrigerators, and will soon have smart everything—these days, everything is getting smarter. Today there are 20 billion smart products, but it is expected to grow to at least 200 billion dollars connected gadgets soon. These smart devices are responsible for an explosion of data and are rapidly changing our world as well as the way we live in this. The capability of machines to connect in order to and share information with each other is the key part of the IoT.

3.       Big Data

What it will be: In simple terms, “big data” relates to the particular exponential explosion in the amount of information being generated in the increasingly digital age.

Our world is full of data, more than ever before. The a lot more data a person have, the easier it is to gain new insights and even predict exactly what will happen in the particular future. By analyzing masses of data with intelligent algorithms, it’s possible to spot patterns and relationships that were previously unknown. And when you can understand the relationships between information points, you are able to better forecast future results and make smarter choices about what to do next. Augmented information that can extract insights automatically will give companies unprecedented ideas from their data.

4.       Blockchains

Exactly what it is usually: A blockchain or distributed ledger is definitely, in simplistic terms, a kind associated with highly secure database, the way of storing info.

In today’s modern world, storing, authenticating, plus protecting information presents serious challenges for many organizations. Blockchain technologies, a form of open, distributed ledger, promises a practical and super safe solution to this problem. As a result, blockchain is an increasingly attractive tool for industries such as banking and insurance. It will change how banks operate plus how all of us keep our own possessions.

5.       Cloud & Edge Computing

What it is: Cloud computing means keeping and processing data on other people’s computers in a data center via the network that gives companies the ability to store massive amounts of data and process it in nearly real-time. Edge computing refers to the running of data on devices such as smartphones.

Cloud service providers like Amazon, Search engines, and Microsoft allow businesses to host all vital IT infrastructure in their cloud rather than within an organization’s digital walls reducing overhead costs to maintain and run individual systems, software plus data. Advantage sits at the other end of the scale—rather compared to far away in remote data centers, edge processing happens up-close-and-personal on the frontline of business operations. Rather than send every piece of information collected by cameras, scanners, handheld terminals or sensors to the cloud to be processed, edge devices perform some or even all associated with the processing themselves, at the source where the data can be collected.

6.       Robots & Cobots

What this is: Today’s robots can be defined as intelligent devices that can understand and respond to their own environment plus perform routine or complex tasks autonomously.

In this data-driven age, it’s the cleverness and capability to act autonomously that will defines robots and separates them from other machines. The particular rise of collaborative automated programs, or cobots, is the latest generation of robotic systems designed to work alongside humans as automatic colleagues. Cobots enhance the particular work that humans do and interact safely and easily along with the human workforce—extra robotic muscle in the workplace.

7.       Autonomous Vehicles

What it is: An autonomous vehicle—be it a car, truck, ship, or some other vehicle—is one that can sense what’s going on around it plus operate without human involvement.

Every major car manufacturer is investing heavily in self-driving technology, and self-driving vehicles could change the face associated with our cities. They potentially will reduce pollution, drastically improve the particular daily commute, and more.

8.       The 5G Network

What: 5G is the fifth generation of cellular network technology, which, together with additional network improvements, will offer us much faster and more stable wireless networking, as well as the ability to connect more and more products and enabling richer, more varied streams of information.

Networking technology is the backbone in our online society plus a smarter world. As bandwidth and coverage have increased, a lot more has become possible through email in order to web browsing, location-based services, and streaming video plus games. We send a constant stream of real-time data back and forth between ourselves, the apps and gadgets we make use of, and the particular cloud solutions which power them. The 5G system can give us not only greater speeds but will also be able to cope with connecting far more devices within a geographical area.

9.       Genomics & Gene Editing

What this is: Genomics is a good interdisciplinary field of biology that focuses on the understanding and manipulation associated with DNA plus genomes of living organisms. Gene editing is a group of technologies that enables genetic engineering in order to change the DNA and genetic structure of living organisms.

Increasingly powerful computers and sophisticated software tools now available were instrumental in helping all of us understand the human being genome since it was first accurately sequenced in 2003. Today, biotechnology has advanced to the particular point where it’s viable to alter the DNA encoded within a cell and influence the characteristics that its descendants will have after it reproduces by cell division.

10.   Quantum Processing

What it is: Quantum computing harnesses the peculiar phenomenon observed to take place when operating at the subatomic level, which includes quantum entanglement, portion tunneling, plus the ability of mess particles to simultaneously exist in more than one state.

Quantum computing will certainly completely redefine what a computer is and could give us processing power that is millions or trillions times more powerful than supercomputers today. Although conventional binary computing is certainly likely in order to be all we may need for numerous tasks we all execute upon computers in the near future, incomprehensibly quick segment computing is likely to have a variety of applications inside fields for example artificial intelligence and decoding complex structures such because genomic details.

Read more about these key technology trends – including practical examples from a wide range of industries – in my new book, Tech Trends in Practice: The particular 25 Technologies That Are Driving The 4th Industrial Revolution .

The 7 Biggest Technology Trends In 2020 Everyone Must Get Ready For Now – Forbes

We are amidst the 4 ^th Industrial Revolution, and technology is evolving faster than ever. Companies and individuals that don’t keep up with some of the major tech trends run the risk of being left behind. Understanding the key trends will allow people plus businesses to prepare and grasp the opportunities. As a business and technology futurist, it will be my job to look ahead and identify the most important trends. In this article, I share with you the particular seven most imminent styles everyone should get ready for in 2020.

AI-as-a-service

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most transformative tech evolutions of our times. As I highlighted in my book ‘Artificial Intelligence in Practice’, the majority of companies have started to explore how they can use AI to improve the customer experience and in order to streamline their business operations. This will continue in 2020, and while people will increasingly become used to working alongside AIs, designing plus deploying our own AI-based systems will remain an expensive proposition for most businesses.

For this reason, much of the AI applications will continue to be done through providers of as-a-service platforms, which allow us to simply feed in our own data and pay for the algorithms or compute resources as we use them.

Currently, these platforms, provided by the likes of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, tend in order to be somewhat broad within scope, with (often expensive) custom-engineering required to apply them to the specific tasks an organization may require. During 2020, we will see wider adoption and a growing pool of companies that are usually likely to start offering more tailored applications and services for particular or specialized tasks. This will mean no company will have any excuses left not to use AI.

5G data networks

The 5th generation of mobile internet connectivity is going to give us super-fast download and upload speeds as well because more stable connections. While 5G mobile data networks became available for the first time in 2019, they were mostly still expensive plus limited in order to functioning in confined areas or major cities. 2020 is likely to be the year when 5G really starts to be able to fly, with more affordable data plans as well as greatly improved coverage, meaning that everyone can join in the fun.

Super-fast data networks will not only give us the ability to stream movies and music at higher quality when we’re on the particular move. The greatly increased speeds mean that mobile systems will become more usable even than the wired networks running into our homes in addition to businesses. Companies must consider the business implications of having super-fast and even stable web access anywhere. The improved bandwidth will enable machines, robots, together with autonomous vehicles to collect and transfer more information than ever before, leading to advances in typically the area associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) and additionally smart machinery .

Autonomous Driving

Whilst we still aren’t at the stage where we can expect to routinely travel within, or even see, autonomous vehicles inside 2020, they will undoubtedly continue for you to generate a significant amount of excitement.

Tesla chief Elon Musk has said he expects his company to create a truly “complete” independent vehicle by this year, and the number regarding vehicles capable of operating with the lesser degree of autonomy – such as automated braking and lane-changing – will become an increasingly common sight. In addition to this, other in-car systems not directly connected to driving, such as security not to mention entertainment functions – will become progressively automated and also reliant on data capture and analytics. Google’s sister-company Waymo has just completed a trial of autonomous taxis throughout California, where it transported more than 6200 people around the 1st month .

It won’t just be cars, involving course – trucking as well as shipping are becoming more independent, and breakthroughs in this space are likely to help continue to hit the headlines throughout 2020.

With the maturing of autonomous driving technology, we will also significantly hear about this measures that will end up being taken by regulators, legislators, and authorities. Changes to laws, existing infrastructure, and social attitudes are all likely to be required before independent driving becomes a practical reality for most of us. During 2020, it’s likely we will start to see the debate around autonomous driving spread outside connected with the tech world, as more and more people come round to the idea that will the question is not “if, ” but “when, ” it will become a reality.

Personalized and predictive medicine

Technology is currently transforming healthcare at an unprecedented rate. Our ability to catch data from wearable devices such since smartwatches may give all of us the capability to more and more predict plus treat health issues in people even before these people experience any symptoms.  

When it comes to treatment, we will see much more personalized approaches. This is also referred in order to as precision medicine which allows doctors to be able to more precisely prescribe medicines and apply treatments, thanks to a data-driven understanding with how effective they are probably to get for a specific patient.

Although not a new idea, thanks for you to recent discoveries in technologies, especially in the fields of genomics and AI, it is giving us some sort of greater understanding of how different people’s bodies are better or worse equipped to help fight off specific diseases, and also how they are likely to react to different types of medication or therapy.

Throughout 2020 we will have new applications of predictive healthcare in addition to the introduction of more personalized and even effective treatments to ensure better outcomes for individual patients.

Computer Vision

In computer terms, “vision” involves systems that are able to identify items, places, objects or people through visual images – those collected by a camera or even sensor. It’s this technological innovation that allows your smartphone camera in order to recognize which part for the image it’s capturing is a good face, together with powers engineering like Google Image Search.

As we move through 2020, we’re going to see computer vision equipped tools and additionally technology rolled out for an ever-increasing number of uses. It’s fundamental to often the way independent cars can “see” not to mention navigate their way around danger. Production lines will certainly employ pc vision cameras to watch with regard to defective products or equipment failures, and also security cameras will be capable to alert us to be able to anything out of the ordinary, without requiring 24/7 monitoring.

Computer vision will be also enabling face recognition, which we are going to hear a lot about on 2020. We have already seen how useful the technology is inside controlling access to our own smartphones in the case of Apple’s FaceID and exactly how Dubai airport uses this to provide a smoother customer journey. However , while the make use of cases might grow during 2020, we will also have more debates about limiting the employ of this particular technology because of its potential for you to erode privacy and enable ‘Big Brother’-like state control.

Extended Reality

Extended Reality (XR) is a catch-all term of which covers several new as well as emerging technologies being used to help create a lot more immersive digital experiences. More specifically, it refers to virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. Virtual reality (VR) provides a fully digitally immersive experience where you enter your computer-generated world using headsets that blend out the real world. Augmented reality (AR) overlays electronic objects onto the real world via smartphone screens or displays (think Snapchat filters). Mixed reality (MR) is an extension about AR, the fact that means users can interact with digital objects placed for the real world (think playing some holographic piano that you have placed into your room through an AR headset).

These systems have been around for a few years now but have largely already been confined to the world of entertainment – along with Oculus Rift and Vive headsets providing the current state-of-the-art in videogames, and mobile phone features such as camera filters and Pokemon Go-style games offering the majority of visible examples of KVADRATMETER.

From 2020 expect all in that to change, as businesses get in order to grips together with the wealth of exciting possibilities offered by both current forms of XR. Virtual plus augmented fact will end up progressively more prevalent regarding training in addition to simulation, while well like offering new ways to connect to customers.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a fabulous technology trend that I have covered extensively this year, and even yet you’re still most likely to get blank looks if you mention it through non-tech-savvy organization. 2020 could finally be the year whenever that changes, though. Blockchain is essentially a digital ledger used to record transactions but secured due to its encrypted together with decentralized nature. During 2019 some commentators began to argue that your technology was over-hyped and perhaps not seeing that useful when first thought. Nevertheless , continued investment simply by the likes of FedEx, IBM, Walmart and Mastercard during 2019 is very likely to start to show real-world results, and if they manage to prove the case, can quickly lead to an increase in adoption by smaller players.

And if things are likely to plan, 2020 will certainly also see the launch from Facebook’s own blockchain-based crypto currently Libra, which is usually gonna produce quite a stir.

If you would like to be able to keep track of these technologies, simply follow me on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, or head to my website for many more in-depth articles upon these topics.