New ideas seem to be endless and always in action, discovering more each day that can take years of developing. It’s fair to say there are mixed views on every new creation, however, most people are still using them eventually despite their initial thoughts.
Here are 5, out of many, technology predictions our future is going to see:
Chatbots - Most of you reading this will have seen or used chatbots (live chats) when wanting to solve a problem or ask a question. Predictions suggest that 80% of businesses will use chatbots by/in 2020 and those who don’t will start to fall behind the competition. Amongst the other industries using chatbots, eCommerce uses it the most. Streamlining the sales process and helping customer queries. Chatbots can include automation FAQ help, but the upcoming development will lead to product recommendations, searching, ordering and tracking of products.
Live chats are used by companies that help customers resolve any issues when needed, but some people don’t have 24/7 availability or the employees to do so. This is where chatbots are increasing, using artificial intelligence and automation to set them up for tasks regarding customer service. It allows your business to reduce customer service costs by 30% and increase income by 40%!
It is said that in 2020 there will be voice recognition chatbot technology seen as smart speakers have exploded on the market, it seems to be a big hit. There will be banking bots, call centre bots and even data analysis bots all expecting to grow on the market as over 80% of businesses adapt to them.
Artificial intelligence - This refers to computers having the capability to perform tasks like humans. It can develop at a very fast speed and be very precise. It is said that AI is going to emerge so far that machines will take over most human tasks.
Some people have their doubts and concerns about jobs decreasing and so on, but most AI as of now is about saving time and creating a hassle-free experience for customers shopping online. It has been said that it will increase the number of jobs rather than experience a loss. AI for some industries such as hospitals and services will be made to work alongside human professionals, simply making their job much easier and more efficient. It means that the AI can take control of particular aspects of the job, leaving the doctors more time to complete more important tasks; almost like an assistant.
From 2020, more of us will use AI for our home lives such as: arranging calendars, planning journeys, ordering food etc. These are tasks that can take up our time and efforts that we don’t want, therefore why wouldn’t you appreciate some technology sorting it for you?
AI can combine physical work and thinking work: planning, creating ideas and making decisions. Soon they will be developed so far to have a better understanding of their human users, making them more realistic and helpful to those who once doubted it.
Virtual Reality - Virtual reality has been seen as one of the biggest technology developments over the last five years and is still growing to date. From images to games using VR headsets to get everyone excited, there is a plan to take things much further.
Some of the future for VR in education is planning to transform the learning experience, making it more engaging and exciting for the classroom. VR is also used for looking around places with no need to travel there yourself. Let’s say you’re going to apply for a university but want to see what it is like first, with not the most time on your hands. VR can show you around the campus and it will also be impressive to pupils that the University is forward-thinking and implanting VR in their institution.
It is also said that VR will more be used more for patient care in hospitals, taking emotional pain away by using VR as a distraction and relief. It has already been proven quite effective and with the rise in mental health awareness, VR will be used to calm down those who suffer and also be a ‘sense of freedom’ for those with anxiety or depression.
Hopefully in the future VR will take video chats to another level when talking to family across the world, creating a more real-life experience.
Increase in remote work - This topic of conversation had risen rapidly over the last couple of years. People outweigh the pros and cons of working remotely, trying to see if it could be better. What used to seem like a definite ‘no’ option, more people have discovered better positives to doing remote work and the numbers are already increasing.
The first thing you think, especially as an employer, is trust. How do I know they are doing work? Wouldn’t it be much harder for me to communicate and give them tasks? Well, the answer could be yes, but that is about making sure you have the right employee when hiring and the right tools on your technology to make it work well.
The main reason why remote working has become more of a possibility is because of everyone’s lifestyle, schedules and preferences. If you struggle to get to an office and spend a lot of money having to travel or you have kids, a lot of people would rather work from home. If you have your own good space, most people find it easier to close off and have a better thought process when alone in their own comforts.
Most people say that you get less done in an office, taken up by hours on end meetings or phone calls; even chats throughout the day. All of these distractions, even if you’re not a part of them, can affect your mind frame for completing work.
You can use platforms such as Basecamp and Slack (which we use at StackUp Digital) to communicate and keep everything together in separate or group conversations. This is a great way, unlike emails, to keep track of what everyone is getting up to as well as discussing anything that you would have done in the office anyways.
Employees spend a lot of time getting to the office when they could have an extra hour or so in bed, which is better for mental and physical health. It is said that most business owners who have offices could save a lot more money not having one and letting more people work remotely if their business can do so.
5G Network - This connectivity is the most awaited network and will drive the growth of wireless technology excessively, even though for some it is already here. With the increase of global mobile data traffic increasing, 4g will no longer be able to keep up. The journey from 1g to 4g was big until plans for 5g started to take place. We have already developed from just being able to take voice calls to then web browsing on 3g and high data speed on 4g.
When in urban areas, you will get a more stable and fast connection alongside other experiences such as father AI and AR. It is also said that 5g is less expensive for companies compared to gigabytes and 4g.
Conclusion - There are so many exciting things to look forward to as we create more history around technology, some may be a success and others may fail and slowly become forgotten about after having a popular phase. It is also much better to understand more of the benefits in depth rather than assuming these changes will be bad. Just because you’ve seen a statement on the news showing some concern or people on Twitter are completely making you feel differently towards the future, you might end up using these technologies after 2020!
