Post Pandemic Technology Trends

Virtual Reality

VR is a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact with an artificial 3D environment. This usually involves some headgear like Oculus, which Facebook acquired in 2014. There are companies like UK-based Igloo Vision, finding ways to make VR more immersive. You can share the experience with a 360-degree projection.

With VR, there’s no need to book a trip to an island for the beach. It’s an option to experience the beach without being on the beach or taking tours around different museums in any country. You can also join VR communities and meet virtually for various meetups, classes, and live shows and experience it with someone from a completely different part of the world.

Augmented Reality

AR is an interactive experience with the real world, so unlike VR, augmented reality does not take you somewhere else but adds interactive elements to the real world. In recent years, one of the most notable AR games is Pokemon Go, which allowed anyone with a smartphone to become a Pokemon trainer.

The possibilities are more than just a game, though. The military is already using this technology, but this could also be helpful for everyday life. Imagine walking down a street with historic buildings, and all you have to do is open your smartphone to learn that history.

There are many ways to connect, including the most basic form, just talking on the phone. Outside of connection, there are devices, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, that allow you to use your voice to control different aspects of your home; lighting, locks, WiFi, music, updating calendars, getting the weather, etc. To continue with our e-commerce segment, we can expect more voice browsing and voice commerce with these devices.

There is an aspect of voice communication that can be a bit troublesome. In recent years, we have seen a rise in deepfakes. A deepfake is an image, audio, and video synthesis technology that generates persuasive counterfeits using machine learning algorithms. According to Lvxiao Chen’s of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law, “It is achieved by Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), where a generative model outputs images based on existing images, and a discriminatory model identifies whether the generated images are fake or not.

The generative model thus improves itself, producing even more convincing graphics.” In the past, it took a skilled digital designer to create a CGI; however, as technology advances, such tools have become more accessible, making it easier for the average consumer to create a deepfake, thus leading to possible misuse. Adding technology to recreate a person’s voice can lead to many issues, especially for someone with a high profile, like a celebrity or a politician.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

When we think of AI, we may immediately think of robots with a physical form doing human tasks, but AI is something we’ve already been experiencing. According to Jerry Overton of DXC Technology, “As an umbrella term, AI can include neural networks, deep learning, natural language processing, and machine learning, in which systems can “learn” for themselves. Examples of machine learning are the ever-improving algorithms underlying predictive analysis and recommendation engines.” An example of this is Netflix. When you watch a specific genre, Netflix will suggest similar content. As you continue to watch different genres, Netflix learns your preferences and offers a different range that may interest you.

Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has changed how we’ve had to do things, we can now see this trend expanding into different sectors shortly, such as healthcare, travel, manufacturing, and insurance.

Quantum Computing

Quantum computing could be quite useful soon as more tech companies attain it. Right now, it’s limited to Google, Microsoft, and IBM, but imagine what it could do when it’s commercially available. Here is a short explanation of what it is from Forbes,

“...quantum computers don’t rely on bits; they use “qubits.” And qubits, thanks to the marvels of quantum mechanics, aren’t limited to being either on or off. They could be both at the same time or exist somewhere in between. That’s because quantum computing harnesses the peculiar phenomena that take place at a sub-atomic level – in particular, the ability of quantum particles to exist in multiple states at the same time (known as “superposition”).”

Very fast computers can solve anything. Such a technology like this could strengthen cybersecurity, accelerate artificial intelligence, model traffic flows to improve cities, make more accurate weather predictions, and even develop new medicines. When quantum computing becomes available to the masses, there will be so many possibilities that we may not even be considering.

5G

5G is something we’ve heard about quite a bit throughout the Covid-19 pandemic without even knowing what it is and what it can do. 5G is a next-generation wireless technology that’s supposed to change the way we live and work. Much of the hype around 5G has to do with increased wireless speed, but there’s much more potential for this technology that has countries competing to be the first to implement it fully. 5G will have greater bandwidth allowing more connected devices and less spotty service. It will enable more connected devices as well. CNN used the examples of smart toothbrushes and self-driving cars. “5G will also reduce latency — the time it takes for a cell phone (or other connected devices) to make a request from a server and get a response — to virtually zero. And it will make communication with cloud platforms (think Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure) faster and easier.”

5G is expected to be at least 10x faster than 4G LTE, and new systems can be created within healthcare and travel, and personal use, but it may take years to be widely implemented. Also, with improvements in different fields and the possibilities of AI comes possible issues with security since crucial technologies are expected to use it.