What do you think are going to be the major advances or innovations in technology during 2019? In 2018 artificial intelligence (Ai) was one of the big stories, as were self-driving cars. I notice that as we start 2019, we have already gone beyond self-driving as cars with legs and flying cars are already set to launch at the various motor shows. Robotics was also hotly debated in 2018 as was cyber security, due to the number of hacks that happened. We also witnessed online retailers killing off the shops in the high streets, with Amazon being a leader in the destruction.
But that was 2018. Is tech going to be much different this year?
One of the areas where we can expect to see quite a lot of activity and forward movement is blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. 2018 may have been a rocky year for bitcoin and other altcoins, but we are seeing less volatility in the market, which has its benefits. I also believe we will see some major changes in the use of blockchain and crypto in banking, with more new digital-only neobanks appearing.
2018 may be remembered as the year that Facebook skidded on a banana skin and fell flat on its back. All social media use is coming under more scrutiny, largely because we have over-indulged in its use and now it is time to go on a ‘social media diet’. It is likely that apps will appear that will track the time we spend on various SM channels and will reward us for spending less time online; perhaps with some tokens.
There will be more regulations. These won’t just be aimed at the cryptocurrency sector, they will also cover privacy, due to last year’s discovery that Facebook had basically sold its members’ data to the highest bidder. Europe already has the General Data Protection Regulation in place, and America is likely to follow with something similar.
There will be more self-driving cars and the possibility of legislation to deal with what this technology brings. The Tesla 3 will probably see more competition, and possibly by the end of the year, the introduction of self-driving-only lanes on some roads.
There will be more advances in robotics and more debates around facial recognition technology, especially regarding its potential to be open to abuse. Augmented reality is also likely to make a breakout in 2019, and somewhere in the world, technology needs to emerge that deals with the amount of waste we all generate. There will be plenty of other innovations as well, but without a crystal ball it’s hard to predict them all!