Technology Trends That Will Shape the 2020s
Technology has done a lot to shape the world we live in since the start of the 21st Century. We have grown accustomed to retail app developers creating experiences that allow us to buy anything from home and we now have voice assistants and home automation technologies that would have seemed like features in a science fiction movie.
While many of these technologies have become commonplace, we are at the start of a new decade and we can see a range of tech trends that are set to change our lives over the next ten years. The following are the tech trends that are expected to have a major impact during the 2020s.
Multi-experience Apps
The desktop PC was the primary means through which people accessed the internet at the start of the century. In 2020, we now have smartphones, voice assistants, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and connected wearables. With multi-experience development, you will have apps that work seamlessly across these many platforms. From wearable tech to AR to the chat app on your smartphone, brands will create experiences that work together across every digital touchpoint.
Human Augmentation
With human augmentation, you use technology to improve the performance of a human. In some cases, the tech might be used to improve physical performance, and in others, it may be able to improve cognitive performance. As an early use, we are already starting to see some industries using AR helmets to improve worker performance.
Hyperautomation
Hyperautomation evolves the automation we all know by taking it from the task level and elevating it to the process level. With hyperautomation, you can put several automation tools together and use Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning to automate multi-step processes and to augment the work of humans. Instead of having different automation tools that have to be activated by a person, hyperautomation allows an AI to run several tools without the need for human intervention. This allows the system to work smarter and to take on a wider range of tasks.
Democratization of Technology & Data
In a high-tech world, people and businesses need access to technology and data. The democratization of technology is the expansion of access and ability to use technology without the need for extensive training. Similarly, the democratization of data gives entities and individuals greater access to tools and services that make data compilation easier and more comprehensive.
One example of tech democratization from the past is the internet. In the early days, it could only be used by a very few people who had access to the technology and the knowledge to use it. Now the internet is accessible to most people and you don’t need specialized knowledge to learn how to use it. In regards to data democratization, an example is the energy sector leveraging AI for data collection. Even just a few years ago, using AI in any sector was difficult and unlikely. Now, AI has proliferated everything from the energy industry to retail in order to collect data that enhances the effectiveness and usability of these services.
In the 2020s, this will expand to technologies that currently require the skills of a professional. This will include things like data analytics, app development and machine learning.
Practical Blockchain
Most people already have an understanding of blockchain as it applies to cryptocurrency. While this is one potential use, it can be used for a wide range of applications. In the financial industry, blockchain can be used to verify transactions. It can also be used for identity verification in digital contracts or as a means to facilitate digital voting.
The Autonomous in Everyday Life
We are already starting to see automation moving into our everyday lives. In the 2020s, this trend is going to accelerate and we can expect an increasing number of autonomous things in uncontrolled spaces. In the coming decade, we should expect to encounter things like autonomous vehicles and robotic workers in common spaces where they would not have been in the past.
These are just a few of the technology trends that will be big over the next decade. Of course, you also have to account for what we can’t see from the year 2020. As the decade moves on, there are sure to be advances that we couldn’t possibly predict today, and some of them are sure to change the ways we live, work, do business and socialize.
Guest writer bio:
Rae Steinbach is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing (of course).
