Tech companies rang in the start of the new year by unveiling some of their ambitious plans for the coming months. Startups and multinational companies alike are beginning to feel the ripple effects of innovation in the industry, with technology becoming more intertwined in everyday lives each year.
As 2018 progresses, here are 5 future technologies you can expect to reach the public in the next couple of years.
- The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things has long been talked about amongst tech insiders as the next big innovation in home technology. In recent years, IoT has begun carve a niche for itself in everyday life with the growing adoption of systems like Google’s Home and Amazon’s Alexa. These devices will continue to integrate more aspects of the home into one harmonious system by utilizing the internet, allowing a user to control anything from the air conditioning to their security via voice command and a small personal assistant.
Apple has announced its plans to roll out the HomePod this year and Samsung is reportedly working on their Bixby technology in order to compete with the success of the Google and Amazon systems. You can expect that one of these devices will be simplifying life in your home and the homes around you by 2020.
- Automation
While large-scale innovation in automation has traditionally been limited to the production side of society, the technology will have far reaching implications for consumers by 2020. Amazon’s automated grocery store, eliminating the need for cashiers, has been one of the first major tech triumphs of the year.
The store has proven itself successful as an efficient alternative for shoppers in its first location. The current cost of this technology, however, puts it out of the reach of pretty much any other storefront. As the technology continues to develop, consumers can expect that pressure sensors and cameras that automate pay and alleviate long lines in stores will be coming to groceries and pharmacies near you in the next couple of years.
- Cryptocurrency
After Bitcoin’s meteoric price jump in 2017, major tech players have begun to take cryptocurrencies seriously. Along with major Initial Coin Offerings that have hit major news outlets like Etherium, smaller companies are developing Stablecoins that provide attempt to provide all the pros of cryptocurrency transactions without the price fluctuations that have plagued the system.
As these coins begin to work themselves out and exchanges even out the fluctuations in prices, expect these assets to be mainstream methods of payment by 2020.
- Blockchain
Blockchain, the decentralized ledger that holds together cryptocurrencies, has applications reaching far beyond financial transactions. Companies have applied the technology to everything, from simplifying tracking and access to information in academia to interesting and amusing games that use complex algorithms to create unique experiences
- Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence, which once may have seemed like something out of a Sci-Fi novel, is seeing the light and applications of the technology are already being worked on. In particular, with the rise of the Internet of Things, Information Technology and Cybersecurity firms have begun to adopt artificial neural networks in order to monitor and prevent DDoS attacks.
In addition to its security applications, companies like Amazon and Google have begun to apply the technology to regular consumers in order to simplify shopping and searching experiences on the platforms. With all the current progress of AI technology, it is reasonable to expect that by the year 2020 the innovation will be deeply entrenched in both business and consumer activities
RAMP Technologies India
Facebook accused of bullying by MPs
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MPs have accused Facebook of "bullying" the Guardian newspaper when it informed the company about a major data breach.
Chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer was asked why Facebook had threatened to sue the newspaper over its story about the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
He was also asked why it did not immediately inform users that their data had been used without consent.
"It was a mistake that we didn't inform people at the time," he said.
On the issue of bullying, he said: "I am sorry that journalists think we are preventing them getting the truth out."
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There were a series of questions put to Mr Schroepfer to which he replied: "I don't know."
He admitted that the company had not known until recently that a current Facebook employee had been the business partner of Aleksandr Kogan, the Cambridge academic who designed the app that harvested user data on behalf of Cambridge Analytica.
He also revealed that no-one at Facebook had read the terms and conditions that Dr Kogan had put on the app he had designed, which went on to harvest information from millions of users.
At one point, MPs voiced their frustration with his replies. "You are the chief technology officer, why don't you know?" he was asked.
User controls
Mr Schroepfer was also grilled on the wider issue of political advertising.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's chairman Damian Collins accused Facebook of having tools on its platform that "work for the advertiser more than they work for the consumer".
Mr Schroepfer promised to make political advertising far more transparent in the future but admitted that there was currently no way for people to opt out of it entirely.
"You can mute an ad from a specific advertiser, and there are a set of controls of your basic interests and preferences that you can change or remove."
"That puts a lot of work on the user," replied Mr Collins.
His questions to Mr Schroepfer were tough from the outset.
"What is the next car you will buy, what is the square footage of your house?" asked Mr Collins in his opening question.
"I don't know," replied Mr Schroepfer.
"But these are things that Facebook knows about us, isn't it?" pressed Mr Collins.
Mr Schroepfer said he thought it "unlikely" that Facebook had that level of data about his life.
"It knows I like coffee and there are certain things that I am interested in like technology, travel and cats," he said.
Mr Collins asked whether the Internet Research Agency, a Russian-based troll farm that churned out fake news during the US presidential campaign, had used Facebook's targeting tools.
"I don't know specifically," said Mr Schroepfer.
"It is a terrible idea that a nation state is using our product to interfere in a democratic election by masquerading as citizens of the US. We were slow to understand the impact of this," he said.
MPs had wanted Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to appear before them, but he declined.
Snapchat releases new Spectacles 2.0
Almost a year-and-a-half after the first version's launch, Snapchat has unveiled Spectacles 2.0.
The camera-enabled eyewear have new features, new colours, and a new price.
The BBC's North American technology reporter Dave Lee visited the tech firm's Los Angeles headquarters for a look.