There's no doubting the fact that the age we live in promises to bring rapid technological change. If you think that tech is getting crazy today, just wait and see what is coming! The future promises continued advancements of artificial intelligence, massive improvements in cloud-based computing, new developments in the internet of things, conversational platforms and more.
Now I'd like to discuss some of the big moves coming in 2019 which promise to change the field of consumer tech permanently.
Firstly, blockchain-based identity and privacy systems are predicted to massively disrupt centralized traditional based methods going forward.
With the growing prevalence of data breaches and the massively interconnected world we live in, new ways to verify identity and protect privacy will be game changers. Blockchain is a natural for this role because the whole point of it is to provide robust, incorruptible — yet encrypted — recordkeeping that anyone can easily verify. Companies like Evernym are already starting to do it.
A few applications in which blockchain can be used include increased security when shopping. Evidence of this fact can be found in Shopin, a startup that has developed a "universal shopper profile" that is undergirded by blockchain.
Unlike Google which scrutinizes purchase histories, stores them and shares the data with other big names in tech, Shopin restricts its information collection and shares it only with those entities that you (the consumer) grant it to share.
In a new era of Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (and other similar online data privacy legislation on the way), blockchain is poised to take its place at center stage in today's economy. It’s likely that this change will be top-down: People won't be demanding blockchain, so businesses will have to lead the charge in transitioning to this system.
Bottom line, get ready for blockchain disruption in 2019!
Another interesting tech which may propel the field of AI forward is the use of 'dueling AIs' which will battle it out in the pursuit of knowledge.
It's a simple idea: Want to make your AI smarter? Have it battle it out with another AI. In this case, the arena is digital images: One AI attempts to create a realistic image, and another AI attempts to decide whether the image is real or artificial.
Of course, this is just one domain in which AIs can "duel." Any domain can be modeled by computers: voices, video or whatever you might want to work with. The concept is called "generative adversarial networks" (GANs).
Imagine how that will advance online verification, such as today's CAPTCHA technology, which requires real people to identify objects in grainy photos. With enough dueling, systems can sharpen their wits enough to easily break that sort of gatekeeper software. That will mean a new reality for secure browsing online (another reason why blockchain may be necessary).
It is predicted that rapid and independent "self-improvement" of AIs through dueling may lead to breakthroughs in medicine, technology, transportation or other important areas of life. Proof of this new method lies in the fact that tech giants like Amazon and Alibaba are already diving into research in this area.
The fact of the matter is that the future is going to be an interesting place and we should be prepared for unimaginable changes going forward!
Let me know what you think about these new technologies. Thanks for reading!
Source:
Three Breakthroughs That Will Disrupt The Tech World In 2019 - Forbes