Technologies That Will Mark 2018

Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, the advance of the blockchain and voice interaction are some of the keys of the new year.

If there is a trend that will mark the technological agenda during 2018, this will undoubtedly be artificial intelligence. After the revolutions of the PC, Internet and mobile devices, we are on the verge of a fourth wave of innovation marked by the explosion of artificial intelligence. Although since the middle of the last century we have been investigating how to give intelligence to things, now we are really beginning to see the possibilities of a technology that has already become a strategic pillar for technological giants such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft , Facebook or IBM. In a short time, artificial intelligence will be omnipresent in applications and services. "It will be the most disruptive technology in the next decade due to the greater computing capacity, the advances in neural networks and the almost unlimited amount of data," they say in the Gartner consultancy.

Artificial intelligence is the key to the hyperconnected world that has been called the Internet of Things (IoT). According to Gartner, currently there are about 8,400 million connected objects, a figure that will reach 20,400 million in 2020. For example, sensorization promises a huge productive jump in the industry, which also begins to benefit from other advances such as additive manufacturing or the use of the blockchain for, for example, the traceability of the pieces. The blockchain, which allows transactions of any kind in a reliable and secure way, without the need for an intermediary, will also continue to be explored by the financial sector.

Artificial intelligence can also benefit in its development from the advances in quantum computing, which will allow the development of extremely fast computers capable of performing calculations, simulations and analyzes that are now not viable.

'MACHINE LEARNING'
Within artificial intelligence, one of the priority fields is what is known as machine learning, that is, the development of algorithms that learn from experience. Machine learning is the basis, for example, of chatbots, software programs based on artificial intelligence capable of emulating people to hold conversations with humans. Gartner predicts that by 2020, these chatbots will be used in 85% of the customer service interactions.

Artificial intelligence is also behind virtual assistants, a strategic area for all Internet giants, competing with attendees such as Siri (Apple), Alexa (Amazon), Google Assistant (Google), Cortana (Microsoft) or Bixby (Samsung). ). The possibility of interacting with the voice with these assistants raises an interesting question. Will the touch screen still be the main interface of the technological devices in the future or will it be more usual to interact with the voice?

VIRTUAL AND INCREASED REALITY
Within these new ways of interacting with technology, the advances offered by immersive experiences, such as virtual and augmented reality, also occupy a prominent place. Expectations are high and there is still a long way to go, but the technology industry is redoubling its commitment in this area. Although virtual reality has been explored more from a play point of view, augmented reality promises interesting applications in the professional field. IDC forecasts that global spending on these technologies will almost double next year to 17.8 billion dollars.

Another topical issue will be cybersecurity, a priority on the companies' agenda, especially since the Wannacry attack.

In consumption, manufacturers will maintain their commitment to turn their devices into even smarter terminals thanks to artificial intelligence. In 2017 Huawei has presented the first neuronal processor and everything points to this being the trend that will mark the rest of companies. In addition, more advances in biometrics will be seen, such as the fingerprint reader anywhere on the screen or important improvements in facial recognition.

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