Technological innovation can totally transform the way a society lives.
For example, where do you think we would be today without the internet? With so many different forms of technology being developed, it’s hard to predict which technology will be the most important.
With that said, there are a few standouts that will certainly have a huge influence on the future. This article lists what are sure to be some of the biggest technology trends in 2021 and beyond.
Virtual Reality
While virtual reality headsets have been around for a while, we’re only starting to see what this technology can. Virtual reality offers an awesome gaming experience, there are other future uses for it as well.
For example, you might have noticed in the last year that online meetings are quite difficult due to a lack of non-verbal communication. In the future, it may be possible to have such meetings in a virtual reality setting.
This means it will be possible to have eye contact and other forms of non-verbal communication with your co-workers—many people working from home report that they feel a sense of fatigue from online meetings. Virtual reality could potentially reduce the amount of burnout you feel from meeting online.
Another exciting new use for virtual reality is using it to do virtual real estate viewings. Real estate agents will be able to create a virtual version of the property you’re interested in. You can then do a “walkthrough” of the property in the digital world.
This will enable people to check out properties that are on the other side of the world. Of course, this can’t replace viewing the place in person, but it could help you to cross a property off your list without wasting time visiting in person.
The Internet of Things
The internet of things involves giving internet access capability to various items in your home. For example, you might have an internet-capable fridge. This means that you could do things like post to Twitter from your fridge.
Of course, there are also many more practical uses for giving internet capabilities to household items. For example, if your fridge has the internet on it, it could be possible to see the fridge contents from another internet-connected device.
Imagine being able to pull out your phone in the grocery store to check whether you’re out of milk or not. The possibilities get really exciting when you consider how this kind of information could be automated.
For example, it may be possible to have an app that automatically detects your fridge’s contents and writes a shopping list based on that.
However, in terms of cybersecurity, the internet of things could cause problems. This is because hackers can use this technology in unforeseen ways. Let’s say a hacker gets access to the data gathered by your fridge.
This might seem harmless, but they could potentially use this new technology to determine when you’ve gone on vacation. They could then pass this information on to criminals, who may take the opportunity to rob your house.
As you can see, this new tech offers some exciting benefits, but it could also cause you some cybersecurity problems as well. Typically, hackers can access these kinds of devices because people use the default username and password.
When you use the internet of things, make sure you set up your security properly.
Self-Driving Vehicles
While there is a lot of doubt about this new technology, it seems likely that self-driving vehicles will be a common sight by the end of the decade. The technology already functions quite well, but it will take some time to ensure the cars are safe.
In theory, self-driving cars will be a lot safer than their human-driven counterparts. Once the software is worked out, an AI-driven car will make very few (if any) mistakes compared to a human.
Once it becomes clear how safe self-driving cars are, society will likely start to make the switch. It’s no exaggeration to say that the change could literally transform society.
For example, some people think we may move into a society where private ownership of a vehicle is less common. Cities will be full of autonomous vehicles and people will be able to flag them down for a ride.
Another thing to consider is that police chases might end up being a thing of the past. The AI powering self-driving cars could be programmed so that it pulls over for the police automatically.
Facial Recognition
In the next decade, it’s likely that we’ll see a lot of new technology-based on facial recognition. For example, you might see facial recognition scanners when you enter a shop. If the system detects you as a shoplifter, you might be rejected entry.
You might also see things like concert tickets being linked to your face rather than any kind of physical ticket. This would mean that you can’t sell your tickets for a profit and your ticket can’t be lost or stolen.
You might also be able to use facial recognition to find out a lot of information about someone using just a picture of their face. This could be problematic for people who have posted certain kinds of content to the internet.
This could fundamentally change the job application process as employers could look at your “digital footprint” by simply scanning in a picture of your face.
Given how intrusive facial recognition could potentially be, it’s likely that governments will have regulations about how this new tech can be used.
Faster Internet
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how important it is to invest in ICT infrastructure. When working or doing school from home, it helps a lot to have a fast and reliable internet connection.
People who haven’t had a reliable connection throughout the pandemic have missed out. It’s likely that governments around the world will not see the value investing in high-quality internet infrastructure.
If you live in an area with poor internet, you can expect to see it get better in the years to come.
Cloud Computing
Of course, you probably know about using the cloud for data storage and backups, but that’s only scratching the surface of what the cloud is able to do.
Some companies are now offering cloud services in which you run programs on a remote computer. The program is then streamed live to your own computer system.
Why not just run the program on your own computer? It’s simple, and the cloud-based computer could be an extremely powerful computer system that it isn’t viable for you to own.
This means that you could use a cloud-based computer to handle heavy tasks that you can’t accomplish with your current setup. For example, we’re already seeing cloud gaming services.
With cloud gaming, you don’t need to have a top-of-the-range gaming PC. You connect to the cloud PC using your modest setup, and then all of the graphical processing is done on the cloud.
In the future, you might see fewer people owning powerful computer systems. Instead, you’ll buy something more affordable and then subscribe to a cloud computing service to handle all of the heavy lifting.
With that said, this probably won’t kill the market for personal ownership of powerful computers. Many users will still want to fully take advantage of having a powerful machine.
Machine Learning
With all of the digital technology we’re using, we’re creating information faster than ever before. This makes handling the data quite difficult – there’s just too much of it out there to analyze.
This is where machine learning AI comes in. The only way to analyze the massive amounts of information generated by digital technology is to use digital technology.
Machine learning algorithms will be able to scan staggering amounts of data and pick out connections and trends in a way that a human never could. This might enable organizations to make better decisions about resource utilization.
It will even be possible to have AI systems that implement their ideas automatically with no need for human intervention.
It is expected that this kind of new tech will transform the job market. AI algorithms will replace many jobs and it’s unlikely that enough new jobs will be created to keep up with the demand.
Technology Trends Will Transform Society
All in all, you can expect to see these technology trends transforming the way you live your life in the years to come. While many of these innovations will make your life easier, they will also cause problems.
For example, the more we rely on internet technology, the more we expose ourselves to cybersecurity risks.
If you want to avoid feeling “left-behind” by all of this technological upheaval, make sure you stay informed. You can read some more of our blog posts to learn more about exciting new tech.
