The next technological revolution is here!

We are on the verge of a technological revolution that will radically change the way we live, work, and relate one to another. The scale, scope and speed of change will be unprecedented, hard to comprehend and fully understand as we are literally inventing the tools to navigate in this new era while we sail through the fog of its emergence…?

To be sure, AI will play a key role, but we must zoom out and not let a tree hide the forest. We are? staring at an array of technologies all innovative and revolutionary in their own rights, mutually feeding from each other, on converging paths and this, folks, is a technological revolution in the making.

We have seen novel technologies emerging at an ever increasing rate in the last decades…3D printing was hype in 2012, IoT hit its peak of inflated expectation in 2014, Machine Learning in 2016, Deep Learning in 2017, Blockchain in 2019, the metaverse in 2021,? quantum computing in 2022 and GenAI/chatGPT in 2023…?

This is plenty of cues of what's coming, and already applications are flourishing all around us from self-driving cars to 3D printed buildings, from software used to discover new materials to gene editing, the speed of? progress is impressive and exponential.

So what is different now? Well consider this.?Uber, created in 2009 with a rapid growth after 2012, was built on cell phones with internet access - a technology of the late 90’s early 2k - and unjammed/commercial GPS made available early 2000. AI so hot right now was a technology fixture in 1997 when IBM Deep Blue won chess games against the reigning world champion Kasparov.??

Not sure? The First Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the mid-18th century, was powered by the introduction of steam power, the wider use of water wheels, and the mechanization of textile production which were developed in the year prior. This changed the world as people knew it in profound ways and was? accompanied by deep societal, governmental/regulatory, and economic changes.?

We are once again at a point of convergence, technologies all transformative in their own rights have started to collide, mingle and fuse together. They are ingredients that relentless creative cooks use to shape our future.

To successfully take the corner of this technological revolution it won’t be enough to have a high-level understanding of the current thing, we must both contemplate these technologies together, understand them deeper and look at what is happening where they intersect.?

Let's take a look at these technologies, what they are and what they can do.?

5G & Next Generation of Radio Access Network

5G is about much more than improving communication, it’s internet native, and it’s built to be the fundamental enabler of the expansion of other technologies due to three key factors: speed, latency and high capacity and concurrency. We are contemplating 10s of gigabytes per second, milliseconds latency, and a significantly large number of devices connected seamlessly on public or private radio networks.?

5G is enabling deployment of sensors and devices literally everywhere (IoT) which in turn enables collection of vast amount of data used to model the physical world (digital twins), but by enabling seamless connectivity and mobility and all at the same time starting to mingle with AI and robotics it also allows automated systems to react to changes in near real time and soon to perform remote surgeries .

Blockchain technology

Blockchain is a decentralized, immutable, and peer-to-peer network enabled database technology. Transactions are stored in the database cryptographic blocks all linked with each other and impossible to decode. The data is chronologically consistent because you cannot delete or modify the chain without consensus from the network.?

Smart contracts and dApps are Blockchain's unique features that uniquely differentiate it from being a only data storage solution and establish blockchain as the foundation of Web3, and when it intersects with IoT (a.k.a BIoT) for instance it will transform healthcare for patients and providers .

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Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence has been on everybody's mind lately since ChatGPT took the world by storm in late November 2022. However it has been around for decades and went through a couple of hype moments followed by AI winters.?

But this time it's different, with advances in computing, access to vast amount of data and relentless research and development of new technics, AI is not only extremely good at analyzing data, finding patterns, recognizing images, etc… but is striving at the prediction game becoming really good at predicting weather, generation of text, short movies, etc.. even accelerating robotic training .?

"AI" will have an outsized effect on the world as we know it as it makes its way in all the connected "things'' , like robots, part of our professional and personal life…

Internet of Things & Everything - IoT & IoE

The IoT revolution, and now the IoE a.k.a Internet of Everything,? is increasingly becoming the bridge between the physical and digital worlds. Enabled by the progress of radio networks (e.g 5G), processors and energy storage solutions billions and soon trillion of devices and sensors are getting connected to the internet, extensions of our worlds and soon of ourselves simply by looking at the progress of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) now able to “read” words we think .?

IoT is already making home appliances, farming machines and retail warehouses smarter to list a few, and whilst being an essential enabler of AI (Artificial Intelligence) development when IoT, AI and surely blockchain intersect they support initiatives like Mobility As A Service launch by the EU.???

Augmented & Virtual reality - AR & VR

Augmented reality is leveraging advances in mobile computing (cpu performance, energy consumption and miniaturization) and radio networks (5G, WiFi) to augment the real world with digital experience and capability overlays.?

Various hardware form factors, such as smart glasses or phones, and use cases continue to be explored in healthcare, industrial maintenance, army, retail, etc..? and blending with AI and IoT, AR as already set foot in the retail industry to enrich our chopping experiences .

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Virtual Reality invites its user in fully virtual worlds and experiences. By its very nature virtual reality can offer virtual representations and experiences of the real world fed by data gathered through digital twining, but it can also be a completely calculated departure from the real world, like Robblox or Minecraft, or anything in between.

Fusing VR with Web3/Blockchain, AI and advanced computing capability, and extrapolating on what Second Life, created in 2003, showed us about businesses, brands, entirely new self could be in alternate realities the experience appeal and economic potential is undeniable.??

Robotics

The robotics industry has been put on steroids by technological progress in computing, sensors (analog-to-digital), AI, connectivity, etc.. Resulting in a blossoming number of applications for robotic solutions. From swarms of drones entertaining you with fireworks, robots exploring Mars or operating warehouses, to my autonomous vacuum cleaner the list is endless.?

Though we are far away from having realized the potential of robotics, robots are very real and already here. Some might in a not so distant future build buildings on Mars according to NASA , other turbo charged by IoT, connectivity and AI are revolutionizing agriculture .??

3D printing

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, in its oldest most current form is a process that creates a physical object from a digital design by laying down thin layers of material.

The material can be liquid metal, cement but we are already witnessing the emergence of 3D bioprinting that uses biological materials.

3D printing is becoming mainstream and with that affordable .. You can now 3D print your house,? industrial parts, large metal components , or chocolate treats …and if your teeth suffer from excessive intake of said chocolate, 3D printed dental implants are now used in dentistry.

Quantum computing

Quantum computing is the field of computer science that uses quantum mechanics to solve complex computational problems faster than classical computers.

Quantum computing is young, we are early in its hype cycle, and there are still a number of challenges that need to be addressed in order to scale and democratize quantum computing but research is progressing rapidly and there are early indications that it will have a significant impact.

Quantum computers are already available at some colleges for students to learn and understand this new paradigm, and with As A Service being already the default path to diffuse new technology (e.g AI/ChatGPT) we can expect access to Quantum Computing capabilities to become mainstream fairly quickly with a massive impact on cybersecurity.

Gene editing

Gene editing is a set of technologies and processes that give biotechnology scientists the ability to alter an organism's DNA. It enables genetic material, DNA sequences, to be "patched" like software unlocking development of new treatments and cures.

Though CRISPR-Cas9 the molecular tool , the scalpel , used by scientists to patch DNA was invented in 2012, the biotech field is being turbocharged by the advances of AI, computing and robotics leading to high hopes, deep fears and critical ethical considerations.

We have recently witnessed the first 2 gene-edited pig kidney transplantation into a person , and a gene-editing clinical trial aiming to restore vision for certain types of blindness is in progress .

Wrapping up

Though I believe I have covered the most significant technologies my intent is not to be 100% exhaustive but merely, like an impressionist painting composed with colorful touch of paints and blurry up close, to have the right picture forming when you step back.

A picture where technology rate of innovation and development is exponential, with advances across multiple fronts that are enabling, transforming and acting as slingshot for each others, putting us on the brink of a technological revolution that will change our society in the deepest way as well as demanding of us to abandon the paradigms of the previous technological area and develop new ones.

There is much more to explore with each of these technologies as they continue to evolve, fuse together and solve problems in new ways, and they will be topics of future posts.

Until then thank you for reading, reach out with your?comments, thoughts and asks this is very much welcome !