One of the most famous songs of all time by Sam Cook goes, “It’s been a long time coming but a change is gonna come.” That’s never been truer than now as we enter a new decade in 2021. After all, just think about how different life is today as compared to 2010. From smartphones and automated technologies to the new age of constant connectivity that we live in, the way we live and work has been totally revolutionized. And far from slowing down, this pace of progress is constantly speeding up. So there’s no better time than now to take a guess at what our future will hold. Here’s a look at some of the technology trends that are likely to change the world as we know it:
- More than Human
Just like the flip phone evolved into the smartphone, humanity itself is on the verge of an upgrade. If the rapid rise of wearable technology is anything to go by, we’re on track already, and it’s safe to say a further merging of this sort is around the corner. While the wearable technology we currently use, whether it’s a hearing aid or a fitness tracker, focuses on helping our health and efficiency, tech trends point to the future creation of the “augmented human”. And with researchers working on producing gadgets like haptic gloves which simulate touch and BMI devices, bio-digital convergence is going to be the way of the future.
- An Internet of Things
Can you turn your lights off with a clap? Do you have an automated inventory monitoring system at work? Does your building have motion sensors built into its CCTV cameras? If the answer to these questions is yes, you’re already familiar with the internet of things. And we probably don’t need to convince you about the rate at which people are logging on to the internet. But it’s not just people. In recent years, more and more objects have been getting internet connectivity as well. This means that by 2030, we could well be on our way to a newly digitized living system. We see this as a huge boon, especially for the health and agriculture sectors as it’s sure to improve efficiency and reduce workload, leading to faster results. In a developing country like India, the internet of things has a lot of scopes, with top IT companies in Ahmedabad and other tech hotspots attempting to integrate and improve their tech solutions to be more future-ready.
- Get a Life! All the Machines Are
Sure, some machines are about to get their own WiFi but others are getting a literal lifeline. That’s because technology and biology are on the verge of colliding in new spectacular ways. Biologists are working on creating lifelike cells from a handful of materials like proteins and chemical energy. And if these succeed, even more, complex structures are on the horizon. We can’t help but imagine a world where larger collectives of synthetic cells are possible and living machines become our new reality. So if you’ve ever wondered if planet earth can be run by cyborgs, you may not have to wonder for long.
- Digital Diagnostics
There’s a lot that can be improved by a makeover, and the health sector is just one of them. That’s what technology is about to provide for many overstretched doctors and nurses, whose heavy workloads will soon be eased by smartphone labs. In fact, smartphones that can diagnose patients are just the start. Digital technology is sure to transform the fields of medicine and healthcare, not just to increase efficiency and sustainability, but by improving the relationship between medical professionals and their patients. These digital solutions will also provide for less expensive, quicker and more accurate diagnoses and disease management. That’s what makes the development of this field so important. VR technology being used to train surgeons, genome sequencing support, multipurpose medical tricorders – all these technology interventions will make the dreams of many health professionals come true.
- Under the Sea
It’s not just people’s health that will benefit in the coming years – we’re all likely to have more space to live and grow soon, too. Tech bloggers are noting the future of housing may be underground, with future-ready cities like Singapore and New York already in the early stages of development of these new plans. Moving below ground even as early as 2030 may just be our way ahead. We can only imagine how such kind of development could be beneficial in restructuring the cost of living in Ahmedabad and other Indian cities as well someday, considering the availability of more real estate that this affords.
- The Voice
Alexa, tell us how technology is changing the world? Well, by now there’s nothing new about voice interfaces. Many of us have them on our phones and laptop, as well as on home assistants such as the Amazon Echo and Google Nest. But playing music or answering questions is not all they can be used for. Businesses, especially, are making good use of the improvements in natural language processing, and are using this type of technology to talk to their customers. So it’s highly possible that most of our customer service helplines may begin to take the automated route in the near future.
- Feelings Check
Whether you find it creepy or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is learning to understand our emotions. Just by looking at our faces, new technology is able to read our expressions and determine whether we’re happy, angry, depressed, surprised, or something else entirely. Someday soon, it may even be able to tell whether you’re faking that smile at your colleague’s office party or if you’re really being genuine. There’s a lot of potential for this field, especially for recruiting professionals to determine the quality of new candidates.
With every passing year, the tech landscape is changing so fast and more of the world is being revolutionized. Some trends have already been in vogue, if at a very basic level, while others are yet to take off from their launchpads. Sure, we may not be living on Mars or traveling to the future just yet, but there’s no doubt the coming decade will bring many exciting technological advances following these trends that we’ve got to keep an eye out for!
