By Rajesh Mehta and Vasudha Badri Paul
With the clock ticking away furiously towards the year 2024, one can gauge the pulse of technology as the year winds down.
Generative AI: Automation on Steroids
Generative AI will take center stage as humans understand its potential for productivity, creativity, and insights as it catapults into applications- medicine, finance, marketing, and programming – the sky’s the limit. It’s an intelligent 24/7 co-pilot, at our beck and call to make us highly efficient. It can take over mundane tasks like scheduling, managing compliance, organising, and structuring tasks, and also creative ones like image and content generation.
AI regulations and ethics are still being pondered- prime components of responsible AI. Left alone, humankind is at risk from unregulated AI.
Virtual Reality: Is it Real or Virtual?
Virtual self, virtual reality, and immersive media are terms that are becoming mainstream. We use digital avatars that represent us online, speak to us, and interact with other virtual avatars. We are talking about adigital twin– a virtual representation of an object, system or process is built from data captured from the real-world counterpart.
In 2024, the digital world will become more realistic and a part of our human world.Improvements in GPU technology and software will blur the virtual and the real world with textures, lighting, and environments to invoke human emotions.
Also read: How to prevent deep fakes in the era of generative AI
Sustainability: Embracing a Circular Economy
Sustainable technology will continue its march in 2024 as countries and corporations continue on the path of net-zero commitments. Individuals will increasingly leverage technology to minimize environmental damage.
Electric cars, bikes, and public transport will continue to increase their global market share. Thecircular economywill become an increasingly important concept and durability, recyclability, and reusability are built directly into the design of products.
The world will increasingly championgreen cloud computing, where infrastructure and services reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Sustainability apps will assist us in living in increasing harmony with nature.
Quantum Computing: Speed of Calculation
Quantum computers can carry out vast numbers of calculations simultaneously by harnessing quantum physics-performing complex calculations at a much faster rate than classical computers. They utilise quantum bits (qubits) that can exist in multiple states simultaneously, rather than either 1 or 0, like traditional computer bits.
In 2024, we will start to see benefits with applications across various compute-heavy fields, including drug discovery, material science, meteorology, flow optimization,cybersecurity and so much more.
Quantum computing is also expected to progress towards addressing error correction and practical problem solving, in addition to speed of calculations.
Autonomous Vehicles: A Driverless Future
By eliminating the need for human drivers, autonomous vehicles have the potential to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion, and increase mobility for millions of people across the globe.
In 2024, autonomous vehicles will advance further in sensor technology, machine learning, and connectivity. These vehicles will be able to navigate complex environments and interact with other vehicles and infrastructure in real-time.
This on-demand transportation can be a boon by providing mobility to people who are currently underserved in today’s transportation systems.
Cybersecurity: Safety from Hackers
2024 will be a year in which cybersecurity will relate to artificial intelligence advancements and regulations.AI can provide continuous monitoring, which is essential for modern cybersecurity. AI can make inferences, recognise patterns and perform proactive actions on the user’s behalf and can also identify false positives.
On the other hand, powerful AI technology has potential dangers associated with improper usage. For example, the use of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to write malicious codehighlights the potential negative of AI to online security.
Global Leader Elections: Fake or Fact?
How will technology affect the U.S. 2024 presidential election and those in other regions, such as India?
Given that innovation is unstoppable, it is not surprising that technological innovation, in particular with respect to AI will push the election envelope in 2024. The potential of deep fakes, rogue nations using it to push their agendas, personal interest parties using dubious ads, politically oriented publications, and other venues to create confusion will make it hard for voters to distinguish between the real and fake. Factual, informed voting by the masses is at stake here.
Given that it is a prominent year in global leadership elections, it is expected that responsible and ethical use of technology will become a resounding mantra.What makes for imminent concern is the current lack of guardrails or disclosure requirements that protect voters from false news, modified information, or fake images.
As technology forges ahead, the promise and the perils of innovation march with it. We need to collectively take the higher road.
(The authors: Rajesh Mehta is an International Consultant in the field of Market Entry, Innovation and Public Policy &Vasudha Badri-Paul is a Senior Technology Marketing & Sales Executive in Silicon Valley. Views expressed are the authors’ own.)