Telenor Group, one of the world’s major mobile operators has just published its thoughts on the tech trends for the year.
Social Media, Terms & Conditions, and AI
In 2017, electric car manufacturers such as Tesla took center stage especially with the unveiling of the Roadster and Semi. This year, other tech are expected to start trending, including social media newsfeeds. It is expected that relevant news on Facebook will continue to drop, and this will be replaced by ads and professional content. This is due to the fact that Facebook users are posting less nowadays. Also, Telenor has stated that Facebook users will be more aware of the rise in fake news on their feeds.
A surprising act which has made the list is the increase in likelihood of people reading online Terms & Conditions. This will happen once the EU updates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to the changes that are to come, users of any digital service will become the owners of the data that they produce when using a service. Therefore, private users will have more control over their data, and companies will be forced to improve their Terms & Conditions according to the new act. This will only affect users in the EU, but companies such as Google and Apple may just introduce new Terms & Conditions for all their customers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning has been trending for years, and it will be no different in 2018. However, Deep Learning is expected to move to new markets outside of large tech companies. The technology will be implemented in a wide-range of industries including health, telco, and transport.
Blockchain, AR, 5G Trials and Smart Payments
2017 was a very good year for blockchain startups, in terms of growth and recognition. However, most people associate blockchain solely with Bitcoin and this is not the case. The blockchain serves as a sort of public ledger which is resistant to modifications and is trustless, thus making it decentralized. This year, the industry is expected to deliver more products and solutions towards the adoption of the blockchain by the masses.
Augmented Reality (AR) is also expected to trend once again this year. The most widely known use of AR happens to be in Pokemon GO. However, developers are expected to release more AR based mobile apps this year, moving beyond Pokemons. Also, the general population may soon have a chance to take a sneak peek of 5G technology. The Winter Olympics in South Korea is expected to use 5G in real-life use cases. For example, drones may be linked to the 5G network to film the sporting events from the skies. This year, more devices will be able to become payment devices, extending from smartphones. AI and IoT will play a role, generating sound financial decisions and manage risk. Of course, security of payment devices will be improved to provide a secure environment to conduct transactions.
What Do You think?
As interesting as it sounds, will this really what we will be expecting from this year? Is there anything you think that’s possible in 2018? Let’s discuss more in the comment section. It sure is an interesting topic and we’d love to hear it from you as well.
