This is my second year at attempting to predict the technologies that will impact our lives. I was pleasantly pleased that most of my 2016 predictions did work out and continue to grow strong in 2017 as well. Here is what I predicted for last year (as a quick refresher): virtual reality, wearables, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, mobile payments. The last prediction really caught fire in India when Prime Minister Modi announced demonetisation.
My predictions for 2017 are:
Self-driving (autonomous) vehicles
What was once only seen in sci-fi movies and in the hands of super heroes is turning out to be reality. Tesla already has cars in the U.S. that are on the roads, Uber has launched self-driving cars as a test in some cities. Mercedes has trucks that drive themselves on the roads. The technology is seeing tonnes of R&D being channelled towards this and I can see that 2017 will see more of this being perfected, despite the pessimists questioning ‘who will be blamed’ if an autonomous vehicle has an accident. It’s still early days and I am sure all of these issues will be ironed out in the years to come.
Robot assistants
Close on the heels of AI is now a breed of robotic assistants. Roomba launched their robotic cleaner a few years ago, but now with the availability of so much more computing power, more such assistants are being contemplated and being put to use. The latest one is the robotic chef arm, which can make more than 2,000 dishes. I, personally, am waiting for it to learn how to make perfect dosas! These will be available to buy in 2017 but will (as all new technology) be quite expensive, but soon they will become affordable and will have a multitude of new uses.
Self checkout stores
All of us have been to stores where we need to buy things and wait in line to have them billed. Thanks to Amazon Go, this might soon be a thing of the past. They are launching their first store in Seattle this year, where you just walk in, pick up anything you want and just walk out — literally, go ! Amazon will detect what you’ve bought, link it to your credit card on the Amazon account, check for validity and bill you as you leave.
This will bring more people back to stores, since it provides the convenience of e-commerce, but with the touch and feel of actually being in a store.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The term ‘Internet of Things’ was coined by Peter T. Lewis in a 1985 speech he gave at a U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and it has been talked about ever since. But I feel that 2017 will be the year when it will finally become mainstream.
IoT is the use of the Internet to connect all your everyday objects. Smart refrigerators, cars, keys, homes, and a trillion other things that we use and are currently stand-alone items can become connected and be more efficient and controlled remotely.
These can also relay relevant information back to users or even manufacturers, who can possibly fix issues with devices even without sending a repairman to you.
Hackers
2017 will be the year when the number of Internet users worldwide crosses the three-billion mark.
This by itself will have a deep-reaching impact globally, and I look forward to a lot of cool technology coming out. But then with all this network connectivity and technology comes the opportunity for the ‘bad guys’ to play havoc with technology.
The hacking of one billion Yahoo accounts, in my opinion, was only the beginning of what could go on to become a global crisis. Countries hack into each other’s systems, personal information is no longer personal, and banks are constantly under threat.
I feel this year we will see the rise of a new evil in the form of hackers, who may end up holding all of us to ransom. The war against terror may be nothing compared to what is looming large in the virtual world.
I would like to end by saying that Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Home will not come to life, take over the world and kill all of us humans like in Edge of Tomorrow or Enthiran 2 (I shall reserve that for sometime in the future). So you can enjoy the plethora of new technology that is coming your way and have a wonderful year ahead.
Girish Ramdas is co-founder and CEO of Magzter
