In addition to exploring these key tech trends, we’ll also peek around the corner to see what’s coming next in this space.
1. The Democratization of AI
Few innovations have seen as much growth and interest as AI has in the past few years.
Adoption today is 2.5x higher than brangwetan.id it was in 2017 — about 50% of organizations have adopted AI for at least one business function.
AI adoption in enterprises has leveled off recently.
AI technology is breaking into finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and dozens of other industries.
And, it’s not a technology reserved for big enterprises anymore.
With open-source AI solutions and lower cost and complexity of systems, the democratization of AI is in full swing.
The prime example is OpenAI, an AI research company.
Search volume for “OpenAI” shot up at the end of 2022.
It’s currently worth $29 billion.
And, the company expects to hit $1 billion in revenue in 2024.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT surprised the world when it was released in November 2022.
The chatbot’s ability to take natural-language prompts and generate conversational text for a wide variety of outcomes made people rethink what was possible with AI.
More than 100 million people used ChatGPT within the first two months of its release.
The release of ChatGPT brought about unprecedented interest.
Following ChatGPT, Google launched its own AI chatbot named Bard.
Microsoft also released a Bing chatbot that utilizes OpenAI’s technology.
Even Meta is joining the AI race and plans to release its Large Language Model Meta AI to professionals in government, academia, and research.
This type of natural-language technology has the potential to revolutionize business operations.
For instance, customer service reps could use it to respond to customer inquiries in seconds.
Companies could use it to create personalized marketing and educational content without needing to hire copywriters.
Developers could use it to write complex code and business leaders can use it to analyze data.
Enterprises are incorporating AI in other ways, as well.
A 2022 survey from PwC showed AI is proving most useful in improving productivity, decision-making, and customer service.
One example of an AI-powered automation platform is Eleos Health. The company offers an AI platform for therapists.
Their CareOps Automation solution is a voice AI platform. It listens in the background of therapy sessions and automatically digitizes all therapy conversations, identifies potential interventions, and produces session summaries instantly.
Search volume for “AI automation” has increased by over 400% since 2019.
The company announced a $20 million Series A funding round in 2022 that brought their total funding amount to $28 million.
The AI-powered solution from Eleos Health covers the entire therapy care workflow.
In another example, manufacturing and warehouse operations are finding new and innovative uses for AI.
Warehouse inventory management can be automated through AI’s image-recognition capabilities. The systems can also send alerts when inventory is low and prompt human intervention, as well as account for production or supply chain delays.
In manufacturing plants, AI platforms are part of the “smart factory” trend and these systems can enable predictive maintenance, minimize waste, and improve worker safety.
2. Innovation and Investment in Cleantech Grows
An impressive $1.1 trillion was invested into the low-carbon energy transition in 2022.
Global investment in clean energy is still climbing.
This global investment set a new record and was a 31% increase over 2021.
It was also the first year in which investments in clean energy equaled that of investments in fossil fuels.
In fact, clean technology has gained so much momentum that more than 25% of all VC dollars now flow to cleantech companies.
Industry experts suggest that more funding and interest is on the way due, in part, to the Inflation Reduction Act.
The law includes loans, grants, and tax incentives aimed at encouraging the private sector to devote more dollars and time to cleantech.
3. Tech for Early Disease Detection Advances
While it’s exciting to talk about tech developments like quantum computing and AI, one technology that’s likely to benefit humanity the most is early disease detection.
That’s because the earlier a disease is detected, the more likely the patient is to survive.
For example, if ovarian cancer is caught while it’s still localized, the five-year survival rate is 93%.
A similar increase in life expectancy is seen for patients with melanoma. There’s a 99% five-year survival rate for localized cancer, but only a 32% survival rate after the cancer has spread.
4. Quantum Computing Moves Toward Real-World Application
Quantum computing has been a topic of discussion since the 1980s. Fast forward to 2024 and the world is finally close to achieving real-world applications for this type of computing.
While the traditional computers we know today operate on binary code (either 0 or 1), quantum computers use qubits, which allows a piece of data to exist in two states at the same time (both 0 and 1).
All of this technology boils down to an increased speed of computation. Complex calculations done by today’s computers might take millions of years, but they can be solved in minutes with quantum computing.
Technological and financial issues have plagued the industry, but momentum has been building in recent months.
In fact, $35.5 billion was invested in the technology across public and private sectors in 2022.
5. Cyber Threats Grow More Advanced
From attacks on random consumers to government-sponsored cyber warfare, cybercrime is a persistent and growing threat.
A 2022 global survey from Hiscox showed 43% of companies reported a cyber attack in 2021 and 48% reported at least one in 2022.
The most frightening statistic from that report was the fact that 20% of attacked organizations said the cost of the damage threatened their solvency.
The impact of cyberattacks is growing across the board.
Some predictions show that a single data breach was expected to cost an average of $5 million in 2023.
IBM’s research says it’s even higher: $9.44 million.
In fact, virtual crime has become so prevalent the $155 billion cybersecurity industry is expected to swell to $376 billion by 2029.
Deepfake attacks are one of the most sophisticated ways hackers are gaining access to businesses.