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Tens of billions of devices, sensors, vehicles and people will become interconnected over the next 10 to 15 years as the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) expands from about 11 billion connections today, to 30 billion by 2020, to 80 billion by 2025. And in fact, those estimates may prove low.
But the good news is, estimates will become easier to make.
“In the future, we’ll be able to better predict the future,” said Tom Bradicich, vice president and general manager of Servers and Internet of Things Systems for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Algorithms will build on algorithms, with every prediction smarter than the last.
Driver’s licenses will not exist—you won’t need one, because you won’t be driving
Through the first half of 2016, road fatalities in the U.S. climbed more than 10 percent compared with the same period last year, which saw an overall spike in traffic deaths of more than seven percent, the biggest increase in almost a half century. Tens of thousands die every year. “Losing 30,000 people a year is really unacceptable, but we live with that,” said Cindy Frewen, a professor and board chair of the Association of Professional Futurists. “We’ve become numb to that fact, yet we take that risk every day. We talk about other things that are high risk, and they are, but cars are one we really don’t talk about.” Humans, historically, have proven they aren’t the best at understanding or mitigating risks. That will quickly change, and it will be one of the single greatest benefits of IoT.
Data will become more like currency
Christopher Bishop, a board member of Teach the Future and TEDx TimesSquare who spent 15 years at IBM, agrees that data will become more of a currency. “People will want to buy your data for a survey or to participate in a focus group,” he said. “There will be chips that have all that data stored. You’ll monitor and manage what goes in there.” But speaking of currency, futurists say you also won’t use cash.
People will visit doctors less often
For the day-to-day health needs, sensors on your clothing will monitor your vitals and provide constant biometric updates—eliminating the need for annual in-person check-ups.
Food waste will be nearly eliminated
Sensors will be everywhere, even on our food. When food can have sensors on it, its spoilage rate can drop. If you’re shipping it, it can be routed in a way to prevent fruit from spoiling. We’ll also be able to simply grow more food, especially in developing countries. Printable sensors will be cheap and will tell farmers optimal times to plant optimal quantities of optimal crops, with up-to-the-nanosecond climate forecasts.
Money saved from energy efficiencies will be used to revamp urban infrastructure
Paying for that infrastructure will prove more challenging. With fewer people driving—both because of driverless transportation and with so many more working from home on high-speed connections. People may not buy as much locally, crushing the tax base. If more people share housing or don’t buy homes, or move around more frequently, local revenues will plummet and many legacy organizational structures found in cities will crumble from lack of funds. Governments will have to think of other ways to provide goods or services, perhaps through private-public partnerships. Maybe that partnership will focus on creating the necessary set of protocols for everything to talk to everything else simultaneously. “Standards and policies are going to be critical to making that all work as the deluge of data continues,” Bishop said.
Cyber attackers will be more motivated than ever
Security of IoT also will be critically important. Several futurists interviewed said devices may reach a point where they only respond to us—perhaps requiring a constant, pulsing connection to our DNA—but many were concerned that hackers will have more incentives than ever before to break down those barriers.
Those high-tech contact lenses in sci-fi movies will exist
Timothy Dolan, a principal at Policy Foresight, said he favors personalized earpieces to watches or implanted sensors. Others, including Bradicich, think all of our personal data will be implanted in contact lenses that will give us the supreme combination of security and functionality.
We’ll create robots that create robots
These devices will have to be created by people—or by robots created by people, at least until robots are smart enough to create manufacturing robots without human input. That might not be far off. The entire nature of work will be transformed through IoT, and maybe John Maynard Keynes’ decades-old prediction of a 15-hour workweek will finally come true.
Humans will be able to do more good
Life will be less about stuff, even though all of your stuff will be constantly talking to all of the other stuff. People will be living longer—perhaps, according to some surveyed, 150 or 200 years—and spending more of their newfound free time helping others.
Technology will become invisible
Unique Visions’ Joe Tankersley, a 20-year Disney veteran and imagineer, thinks we’ll reach a point where we’ll be surrounded by so much technology we’ll then be surrounded by none. “The ultimate goal of all this technology is for it to disappear,” he said. “The only people who really think a cell phone is a good form factor are the people who manufacture cell phones. You’ve got to carry it, it’s bulky, it breaks. People seem to think that these devices are what we’re obsessed with—we’re really not. We’re obsessed with the fact that these devices provide a new kind of connection for us. And if we can make that connection less obtrusive, why wouldn’t we?”
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The top medical technologies with the biggest promise for 2017:
A new era in diabetes care
In 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the world’s first artificial pancreas. The device monitors blood sugar and supplies insulin automatically. It basically replicates what a healthy version of the organ does on its own; and it enables diabetes patients to live an easier life in a sustainable way. It is the biggest step towards a new era in diabetes management in years. In 2017, this new way of diabetes management will spread around; and it will become a life-changing milestone in many patients’ lives when they first start to use the device.
Precision medicine in oncology
There are significant advances in immunotherapy which might launch a new era of treating cancer. Liquid biopsy was the big thing in 2016 and now it’s becoming more accessible for patients worldwide. The technology has limitations, but it’s getting better. Digital technology will start the transformation of available cancer care methods on the market. Personalized oncology is becoming available.
Narrow artificial intelligence in US clinics
IBM Watson, the company’s advanced artificial intelligence program is transforming healthcare into a quantifiable service where every bit of information is available. By using it, physicians only have to go through their personalized reports instead of reading through dozens of papers for every patient’s case. The so-called Watson for Genomics helps advance precision medicine by combining cognitive computing with genomic tumor sequencing.
Driverless trucks or cars will include health sensors
Parallel with striving for the introduction of driverless cars as soon as possible, companies are equipping cars with tons of sensors. As we will spend more passive time in 2017 in these vehicles, Uber, Volvo or Tesla will start implementing health sensors into the driver’s seat. I believe that the car itself is going to operate as a point-of-care in the future.
New service in nutrigenomics
Nutrigenomics is a brand-new cross-field combining genetics and nutrition science. The basic idea behind nutrigenomics is that our genome reveals valuable information about our organism’s needs. We should map out this data and utilize in order to lead a long and healthy life. After having your DNA sequenced (perhaps already at home), a smart app could let you know which food you should eat and what you should avoid at all cost.
SpaceX and NASA will realize they need a digital health masterplan to reach Mars
2017 will be the year when NASA and SpaceX will realize that they not only need a masterplan for revolutionizing the transportation industry and space travel, but also one in digital health.
The genome editing method CRISPR in clinical trials
I believe that in 2017, we have a great chance for launching the first clinical trials to test the real power of CRISPR in changing devastating diseases.
A big tech company will step into health
Yes, I know, you are right, Google, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, they all showed interest in medicine and healthcare. However, they should step up their efforts. Google has made steps forward in healthcare with Calico. They look for possible “cures” for ageing and for basically everything which might lead to death. It works together with pharma giant Abbvie to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new therapies. Human Longevity Inc. joined forces with Cleveland Clinic for a human genomics collaboration aimed at disease discovery and making ageing a chronic condition. IBM has been developing its artificial intelligence program, Watson and puts it to use in cardiology and cancer care. There is a harsh race among companies in terms of digital technological development; and its effects are already tangible in medicine and healthcare as well. The race will not tone down in 2017, rather on the contrary. A tech giant will announce next year that it will devote significant resources to changing healthcare, a quite undiscovered industry for them.
An insurance company launches a wearable sensor package
Due to predictions, 245 million wearable devices will be sold in 2019. As more and more accurate data sets about our lifestyle through trackers and wearables become available, it is inevitable insurance companies will try to utilize them. In 2017, a large insurance company (not a start-up!) will launch a package containing wearable sensors and guidance about living a healthy life by measuring data in 2017.
The surgical robot by Google and Johnson&Johnson will compete with daVinci
Surgical robots have the potential to change how surgeons will operate in the future. The industry is about to boom: by 2020, surgical robotics sales are expected to almost double to $6.4 billion. One fine example is the da Vinci Surgical System. It features a magnified 3D high-definition vision system and tiny instruments that bend and rotate far greater than the human hand. With the da Vinci Surgical System, surgeons operate through just a few small incisions. Recently, Google has announced that it started working with the pharma giant Johnson&Johnson in creating a new surgical robot system. The tech expertise of Google with the healthcare experience of J&J could prove to be a jackpot combination: daVinci will finally have a real competitor. It will definitely give another boost to the surgical robot industry.
Vocal biomarkers: the future of diagnostic medicine
Not long ago, scientists discovered vocal features in every way imperceptible to humans. They also found that the identification of such distinctive characteristics might have a huge impact on setting up a diagnosis. Researchers labelled these features “vocal biomarkers”. These can serve as a diagnostic tool for your physician to indicate signs of illnesses ranging from stress and depression to cardiovascular diseases. Vocal biomarkers will gain ground in 2017. Instead of focusing only on biomarkers measured in blood or genomic markers analyzed by geneticists, vocal biomarkers which are easy to detect, record and analyze will be used more and more for detecting and preventing diseases.
Pharma will start using massive AI in clinical trials and drug research
Clinical trials take a decade and cost billions of dollars. Atomwise uses supercomputers that root out therapies from a database of molecular structures. Last year, Atomwise launched a virtual search for safe, existing medicines in order to redesign them to treat the Ebola virus. They found two drugs predicted by the company’s AI technology which may significantly reduce Ebola infectivity. This analysis, which typically would have taken months or years, was completed in less than one day! 2017 will be the year when the pharma industry realizes they either use AI in drug research and clinical trials or start-ups will make them suffer.
A company will make the 3D printed cast a real choice
Imagine a scenario where you have broken or twisted a limb, and need a cast. The doctor just scans your arm, prints out a water-proof, lightweight cast in seconds using a software approved by traumatologists, and you’re free to go home.
It’s important to mention though that none of these will happen without individuals who understand what the technological advances can bring for us. Those people who discuss the advantages and ethical issues today are the ones who will bring disruption to everyday life tomorrow. Because it’s always more important how we adjust to the changes than what developments will take place next year.
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If you would like a long read about the digital world of work this one is provided by Cognizant. It is very good. Paul
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