Changes in our lives are coming at a fast yet subtle rate. Sometimes, we don’t take the time to stop and think just how much technology changed our lives in the last 20 years. For example, two decades ago, probably few people thought that they would have instant phone calls with people from other continents. And it is even harder to imagine what technological advancements will be made in the next decades, and how they will impact our lives.
Emerging Factors Influencing The Change
There have been several factors paving the way for changes: development in electrical components technology, affordability of electrical devices such as smartphones, availability of the Internet to a broader population, and two large emerging technological fields, the big data analysis and AI development.
Big data analysis is an emerging branch of technology, referring to gathering relevant data from a ton of unusable information and analyzing for a specific purpose. To get a sense of just how much information is circulating on the Internet –if you start downloading all of the data currently on the web, it would take you more than 180 million years. And to put into perspective just how much the Internet is growing – more than 90% of data was generated in the previous two years.
Another crucial factor, still mysterious in nature to most people, is AI or artificial intelligence. It is one of the fastest growing areas of human and monetary interest. According to TechJury, it is estimated to grow from 1.4 billion dollar market to over 60 billion in 2025. So, if you are interested in investing in some tech field, be sure not to miss out on the AI craze, which is unfolding.
The development of AI started when it was first defined by automation pioneer, Alan Turing. He developed the famous Turing test, currently the only test that questioned if AI was truly self-conscious in 1943. It took 60 years for a bot to pass the Turing test.
In another example, programmers at Facebook shut down their two chatbots, which they put up to negotiate one against another because they were quickly developing their own language to communicate more effectively.
How Are These Two Connected?
You have probably seen ads on your Facebook feed that are connected with your interests and what you have been searching online. This is why advanced algorithms are tracking your data transfers through your web browsers. Large companies are realizing the value of this, and are investing ridiculous sums into AI research, as it is predicted that, in the future, only AIs will be able to analyze tremendous quantities of data on the web to give meaningful results. Feeling lonely but too lazy to create a Tinder profile? Just wait for an AI that finds you a perfect match based on your digital history. It will surely be just around the corner.
It Is A Brave New World Out There
Technology is advancing at incredible and, some might say, alarming pace. It is inevitable. But we can only hope that the advancements in the field of artificial intelligence will change our lives for the better.
