The Future of Tomorrow
It is an undeniable fact that the future is now and if not now then tomorrow, or sometime from today in the very least. Regardless of where you draw the boundaries between the past, present and the future or where you regard the future to morph into the present, there is no denying that the future is happening or in the very least will soon be happening.
The future is not about making predictions on what will happen and wagering money on how accurate a prediction is or was not, rather it is about determining the possibilities, probabilities and likelihoods of tomorrow or the next year or of the next 30 years, so as to strategically grow your business to ensure a trajectory for exceptional growth and returns, or in the worst case scenario, ensuring survival where growth is an impossibility.
The Future Today Institute has released it’s 2019 Tech Trend Report that list all trends on the horizon which will undoubtably impact, influence and change various industries and markets including, but not limited too, government, law, media, education and society, serving as a forewarning to all to be aware of and plan business strategies accordingly to ensure best possible growth trajectories and avoid the worst case scenarios identified as possibilities if all goes wrong.
#1 PRIVACY IS DEAD
A recurring fact is that Privacy is extinct, fondly remembered but not consciously missed. We knowingly and more often than not, unknowingly, generate vast amounts of personal data continuously through various different tech applications, whether through the acceptance of the nondigestible cookies on the website we are browsing or through the face recognition systems used when parking or driving our cars. Large corporates pounce on this vast production of data, proceeding to mine, refine, productized and monetized the data for their own personal gain under the guise of improving customer service and experience. This raises challenges to not only the basic human right of privacy but also in regard to how the data should be stored and safeguarded, not only from non authorised access but also against encoding of biases and best practises when allegedly rendering the data anonymous.
#2 VOICE IS WHERE IT’S AT
As content creators are increasingly focusing more on spoken interfaces, commercialization of Voice Search Optimizations (VSO’s) is the resultant outcome of same and predictions are being made that people will be spending more time talking to their smart devices than typing on them in the year 2020. This holds huge potential as a new, emerging market in which there is yet to be big developments and in which the initial conquers, still to be identified, will reap substantial returns and market share, while at the same time causing a huge disruption to the business side of search.
#3 THE RISE & CONTROL BY THE TECH GIANTS
Further it is said that the big 9 as opposed to the big 5 will increasingly become responsible for and in control of research tools, data and funding, the degree of government involvement and engagement and consumer preference apps. The Big 9, consisting of the G-MAFIA in the US being, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, IBM and Facebook, together with the tech heavy weights in China, known as BAT: Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, will also be influential in respect of mergers and acquisitions, tech start-ups and the funding of the next generation of tech developers. This all in all means that more and more companies, particularly in the west will have to choose AI frameworks and cloud providers provided by the big 9, a choice which will not be easily changeable going forward.
Secured login’s and passwords will soon be a trend of the past, replaced by Personal Data Records (PDR’s) which can be regarded as a ledger of all the personal data we generate through the use of various types of technology and related technical applications, including but not limited, to the internet and cell-phone usage and will include other sources of information such as school and work histories, legal records, medical records, financial records, health records, dating and romantic history and lastly but certainly not finally, shopping history. The Big 9 will use the PDR created by the AI they designed and gave life too, to determine what information will and will not be displayed to you, based on personal interests and preferences as mined, refined and deciphered by the Big 9 for their own market advantage. Although it is hoped that you would be the owner of your own PDR’s which would be inheritable by your next of kin, the Big 9 will act as the custodians of same, undoubtably at a unmentioned, undefined price.
#4 SLOW MOVING REGULATION
Additionally, new regulatory rules, policies and frameworks aimed at providing regulation and structure to the ever developing industries of science and technology will increasingly be proposed , however the application and enforceability of the the proposed regulations poses a significant challenge given the fast pace of scientific and technological developments and the slow promulgation of legislation and related regulatory frameworks. A challenge that will have to be overcome if any order or direction is to be provided to new sciences and technologies and the impact that it has, will have and could have on the civilisation as we know it.
#5 CONSOLIDATION
Lastly, consolidation as an overall theme remains important as it leads to the concentration of resources in a certain industries, which in turn acts as an accelerator for development and strategy which is great for business, especially where it occurs in the same area or industry. Consolidation across the big tech corporations, news and entertainment media, robotics, home automation and biotech industries will continue to be an important futures trend to monitor and keep an eye on in the years coming.
As is demonstrated by the 2019 Tech Trends, when considering the future and how best to approach it, one should not only look and plan for the future in isolation but should consider it holistically to fully understand what impact the possibilities, probabilities and likelihoods of the future will have on your industry. In accordance to this understanding and comprehending that an industry does not operate in isolation, but in a web of interrelated markets and industries, each undoubtably impacted and affected by the future.
If this interests you, make sure to find out what lurks in the world of law and join us for renowned futurist and business strategist, Anton Musgrave in our upcoming Masterclass – Future Lawyers.