Kevin Lepton

5 Future Technologies to Plan For Pronto

Future Technology Comments Off

Feb 172017

Technology is a critical part of running a business and every entrepreneur should always be on the lookout for the latest technology trends to do well in the industry. And with new things coming out every so often, it’s best to know which ones will give you leverage over your competitors.

IoT

Today, you can do more a hundred things with a small device that you can carry in your pocket, from placing orders to your suppliers to presiding over a teleconference with your team from different parts of the globe. The Internet of Things or simply IoT is basically the idea of connecting any device or equipment with on and off switch to the internet. It helps in operations and logistics. IoT can also be used to make your personal life more convenient and simpler. That said, applying this technology to your business and personal activities offers a myriad of opportunities.

Blockchain

As a type of distribution ledger, blockchain shows great potential for your enterprise, whatever industry you belong to. It can be used for the distribution of music, verification of identity and for those in the shipping industry, for recording distribution of shipping containers. Since it is associated with cryptology and bitcoin, a blockchain is not easily tampered so it is secure. With this technology, business processes will be speedy and transparent. Moreover, business transactions can be streamlined, thus supply chain will be more efficient.

Automation and the Gig Economy

While automation is already being applied in most business, not all entrepreneurs are taking advantage of digitalizing the way they conduct their businesses. With automation, say in factories and plants, equipment operators just need to be trained to operate the machinery and production will be higher. It will also open other jobs for people. As for a gig economy, companies will benefit from getting skilled workers and specialists and pay them for the job, per se, no overtime pay or benefits.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

When Pokemon GO was released last year, it became a craze, although it also died down after a few months. Some video game developers have also started using VR and AR in their games and consumers are catching up. However, this year, there two technology trends are expected to be in the mainstream, with more businesses using AR and VR to improve customer experience. Different industry sectors will benefit from these two, such as, retail, construction, fashion and film, to name a few.

Artificial Intelligence

Most of us have heard about the concept of AI from the movies years ago and seemed to be impossible to happen for real. What we can imagine is a talking robot that is similar to us, humans. Today, there are two versions of AI, deep learning and machine learning. This year, we expect to see AI to be applied in our systems. Machine learning is more on learning using statistics and coming up with guidelines while deep learning leans more on educating oneself with the use of data. With big tech players like Amazon, Apple, Google and IBM in the game, there is no doubt AI will be a trend this year.

Reference

http://searchsap.techtarget.com/feature/SAP-futurists-name-five-future-technology-trends-to-plan-for-now

Future Medical Technology May Eliminate Disease

Future Medical Technology Comments Off

Jan 032017

Two months ago, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, together with his pediatrician wife, Priscilla Chan made a pledge of $3 billion dollars over the next ten years that will aim to treat, manage and cure all diseases by the end of the century. A project that is seen to pay off in 20 to 50 years, the couple already mentioned about their plans after their daughter was born.

It can be remembered that Zuckerberg announced that 99% of their Facebook shares will be donated to their new initiative which was around $45 billion at that time.

Other big names in the industry of technology have also expressed their plans and have already taken actions to help in the field of medical research and other aspects related to health.

Microsoft bigwig and philanthropist, Bill Gates together with his wife, Melinda, have been making their share years ago by funding public health projects all over the world through a charitable foundation they have started. These include polio and malaria prevention efforts. Gates was there during the announcement made by Zuckerberg with his wife and went up the stage to express his support.

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker made a donation amounting to $250 million, in the earlier part of this year, for the development of immune therapies for cancer.

Google, for its part, is also gathering genetic data to contribute to enhance human longevity as well as developing contact lenses designed for glucose monitoring on diabetic patients.

Fifteen years ago, the sequencing of the human genome was first accomplished for $3 billion but today, the costs are much less than it is projected that in 2022. Genome sequencing will be less expensive than blood testing and with computers able to process genome, it has become part of information technology.

What used to be an industry related to devices, electronics and inventions, technology has already conquered the field of medicine to find cure to diseases. With the use of advanced technologies such as sensors and the artificial intelligence system developed by IBM, more medical advances can be expected in the next ten years.

In the recent years, other technology giants have designed products for health monitoring. We now have the Apple Watch and the Fitbit to monitor sleep cycles, stress and energy levels as well as physical activities and send the data to mobile devices via mobile apps. Even the smartphones of today are able to monitor a person’s psychological and emotional status.

CEO of San Diego-based cancer drug and diagnostics company, Ignyta, Dr. Jonathan Lim sees the efforts of the Zuckerberg family as a gap filler. He said that the money will be funding basic science and prevention which do not really get much support as clinical efforts do.

The philanthropic foundation is known as the Chan Zuckerberg initiative which will create Biohub, a cooperative that will be responsible in developing a “cell atlas” of the human body as well as the establishment of an infectious disease initiative to develop diagnostic tests, new drugs and vaccines against Ebola, Zika and HIV.

Key Players Talk about the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence Comments Off

Oct 262016

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not simply a movie title or a concept. There have been recent breakthroughs in AI and machine learning that do not only include AI in mobile phones and drones but also other developments. These talks are soon to become reality as the biggest names in the industry are said to be working together in addressing issues that include safety, privacy and the connection between AI and human beings.

Big players like IBM, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and DeepMind, which was acquired by Google in 2014, are the ones vocal about the role of AI and what direction it is heading to. The consortium is known as Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society or simply, Partnership on AI. As it name connotes, it is the goal of these five technology companies to promote best practices and conduct research. The group also aims to publish the research under an open license and will cover fairness and inclusivity, transparency, privacy, interoperability, robustness, trustworthiness and reliability.

ai-human

What will basically happen is that the first five members will be communicating and working with each other as well as discussing the advancements in Artificial Intelligence while competition for coming up with the best products and services is ongoing among the players.

According to University of Montreal professor, Yoshua Bengio, AI offers companies and organization alike a plethora of opportunities and that the development of AI is fast and continuous. However, he also talked about the concerns on how the development process will stand. But he also mentioned that the coming together of these companies will ensure that these five players will be one in terms of goals and objectives that will bring about common good.

What to Expect

The group said that it has no plans to lobby government bodies. Instead, there will be equal representation of corporate and non-corporate members from all the five companies. Moreover, talks are already ongoing among the Partnership on AI and organizations such as the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. As for the potential of AI, it is said to benefit different aspects of life, such as education, entertainment, manufacturing, transport, home automation and healthcare.

The five pioneer corporate members have AI research teams and some have become popular like Watson for IBM, DeepMind for Google and Alexa for Amazon. London-based DeepMind made it to the headlines in March after it was able to develop a machine that was able to beat a human player known for being a world-class player of the ancient board game from Asia, Go.

Managing director of research for Microsoft said that the partnership was historic and will be a major influence on the people while ethics researcher for IBM. Francesca Rossi regarded the collaboration as “a vital voice in the advancement of the defining technology of this century”.

Meanwhile, the absence of Apple and OpenAI, the non-profit group founded by Elon Musk, did not escape the eyes of enthusiasts but Apple is said to be enthusiastic about the project.

Reference

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-37494863

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