As we step into the new decade, technology revolution is expected to be led by artificial intelligence. However, given its ability to impact consumers’ behaviour using data, experts feel stakeholders will need to work on building trust in a post-Cambridge Analytica world.
In a discussion with The Hindu on ‘Tech in 2020’s’, Jagish Mitra, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Growth at Tech Mahindra, said the decade would see a lot more mix of technology and behaviour. “It [technology] will start impacting people’s behaviour much stronger. We saw some glimpses of that in the last decade, where people said you could define how people should vote, how people should buy.”
He added that people’s behaviour will start to get “manipulated” using technology, “in a good sense or a bad sense. It all depends on how we choose to do it... whether it’s the garments you wear, or the chair you sit on, or the house you sit in, [it] will still capture [data] and make it a lot more experiential for you. And therefore impact your behaviour,” he said, adding that issues like trust will need to be addressed.
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Sangeeta Gupta, senior V-P and Chief Strategy Officer at industry body Nasscom agreed. “I think we need to build an environment of trust...the whole Cambridge Analytica, other data issues, have created a lot of distrust between technology companies, citizens and the government. I think that there needs to be more positive conversations on how to drive trust in tech in the 2020s.”
Ms. Gupta added, “If that basic value is not existing, we’ll always be trying to over regulate or under regulate or do things differently, but I would think trust is something that will be very, very critical as a core value the technology and its stakeholders need to drive in this decade.”
In terms of technology, Ms. Gupta said that this decade will be about intersection of technology with domains. For example, technology with healthcare. “There’s also convergence. It’s no more AI alone, but AI with quantum, with blockchain, with cybersecurity. Plus with 5G coming in, there will be a lot more change that takes place...potentially if the last decade was about enterprise innovation, this decade can be about more people oriented or citizen first innovation.”
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From an enterprise point of view, Dharmender Kapoor, CEO, Birlasoft, believes that this decade will see entire business models being re-imagined with data playing a crucial role. “Technology is a given. Digital technology is already available and more superior technology will come, but businesses will have to work more efficiently on the data. Data is the new oil, but right now it is crude oil. We need more sophisticated data for artificial intelligence. Also, there is a need to look at data beyond your boundaries. I can predict within my business to a certain accuracy, but what if I can do more than that… behaviour of my competitor, behaviour of market, what if there is a flood? What if the economy goes down?”
According to Saurabh Moody, founder of analytics firm Alpha.ai, voice is the future. “Imagine you’ve got no interface, no buttons, nothing. It will be exactly like talking to a human... and this will also give you a flavour of decision making. When this particular system has been used by so many people across the world, it will bring you collective intelligence...and enable more personalisation.”