2020 Top Ten Technology Trends: From Hyper Automation to Blockchain

Editor's note: This article is from the block chain base camp (ID: blockchain_camp), Author: Ryan M. Raiker, translation: Wang Technology

Television programs from the 1960s (such as the Jasons) predicted that the 21st century will be full of flying cars, and that airborne robots will become part of our daily lives. October 21, 2015 was the point in time when Marty McFly (Michael F. Fox, Michael J. Fox) traveled in the second part of "Back to the Future" (this is the 1989 time through the classic sequel). The future he found attracted the imagination of countless people-today we live in a world dominated by live streaming, smartphones and social networks, not flying cars or hoverboards.

In just a decade or less, service applications such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, AirBnB, etc. have generated millions of users, and they can be found on almost everyone's smartphone. Personal assistants such as Siri and Alexa have entered many of our lives. It is too naive for anyone to say that the world has not changed in the past ten years. The growth and changes in this technology are likely to continue into the next decade or more.

At the beginning of this century, the information technology department was deeply concerned about the "Millennium Bug Problem" … "Oh no, the zero-sum clock!" At 12 o'clock in 2000, iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, AI, 4G, 5G and others All the funny things we know today don't exist. So what's new in the store as the new decade approaches?

• Weighing the pros and cons, the World Economic Forum creates a CBDC policy maker toolkit
• The Lightning Network Torch ignites again, for this time?
• Another step closer, Ethereum 2.0 "channel" is verified

Editor's Note: The "Millennium Bug Problem" refers to some problems with computer program design, which may cause the computer to operate incorrectly when processing dates and times after January 1, 2000, which may cause some sensitive industries Departments (such as electricity and energy) and banks, government and other departments stopped working at zero on January 1, 2000, and even had a catastrophic result. (Source: Wikipedia)

2020 brings many game-changing technology trends that are or will be accepted. Although some things already exist and are common in modern businesses, other new technologies are "first choices" that can dramatically change the way we live, work, and socialize. As modern technologies that we understand and love develop in new use cases and even emerging applications, we will begin to see many new benefits and opportunities.

The top ten technology trends of 2020 were grandly launched at the Gartner IT Symposium / Xpo in October 2019. Gartner predicts that key strategic technology trends for 2020 include two main areas: people-oriented and smart space. We will introduce them one by one below.

Hyper-automation

Hyper automation takes task automation to a new level. It is the application of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate processes (not just tasks) in a more influential way than traditional automation functions. It's a combination of multiple machine learning packaged software and automation tools that deliver work quickly. Hyper-Automation requires a combination of tools to help support the various parts of the workforce involved. This trend starts with robotic process automation (RPA), but with the combination of process intelligence, content intelligence, AI, OCR and other innovative technologies, we will see new growth.

Multi-experience

Diversified experiences have changed from two-dimensional screens and keyboard interfaces to more dynamic ones. With the great transformation of multi-modal interfaces, we will be immersed in interactive technology, and it will surround us. Diversified Experiences currently focuses on providing immersive experiences using augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, multi-channel human-machine interface and sensing technologies.

AI-enabled conversation platforms have changed the way people interact with the digital world. Beyond dialogue, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are also changing how people view the digital world. The joint transformation of perception and interaction will bring about future multi-sensory and multi-modal experiences. Over the next decade, this trend will become what is known as environmental experience.

Democratization of Technology

The democratization of technology is the process by which more and more people acquire technology more and more easily.

The democratization of technology means that people don't need extensive or expensive training to make it easy for people to acquire technical or business expertise. With the rise of mass developers, this has been widely recognized. In the past, automation was managed and deployed by IT, but with the advent of digital workers, the advent of robotic process automation has changed it. We are now seeing a new generation of developers, such as business analysts, who are closer to business challenges and can program and automate digital workers to help them get their jobs done. This trend will focus on four key areas: application development , Data and analysis, design and knowledge. According to Gartner, these tools may be designed to "generate comprehensive training data, which helps solve major obstacles to ML model development."

New technologies and improved user experiences will enable people outside the technology industry to access and use technology products and services.

Human Augmentation

Human enhancement explores the use of technology to provide cognition and improve the body as part of the human experience. This expansion uses technology to enhance the body's physical and cognitive capabilities. Companies like Boston Dynamics have developed a wide variety of body augmentation devices that can be used in factories or on the battlefield.

We have seen the proliferation of smart devices and smart wearables. New applications include the use of these wearables to improve worker safety in the mining industry. In other industries, such as retail and travel, wearables can be used to increase worker productivity and human capabilities.

Transparency and Traceability

Consumers who are increasingly aware of the value of personal information are demanding control of personal information. Many people are aware of the increasing risks of protecting and managing personal data. In addition, governments are implementing strict legislation to ensure information protection. Transparency and traceability are key elements supporting these digital ethics and privacy needs. In the coming years, more legislation around the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may be enacted worldwide.

As more organizations deploy AI and use machine learning instead of humans to make decisions, this has caused further concern. The need for interpretable AI and AI governance is growing. This trend drives attention to the key elements of trust: integrity, openness, accountability, competence, and consistency.

Edge Computing (The Empowered Edge)

Edge computing is a computing topology where information processing and the collection and delivery of content are located at the source of this information, that is, near the repository and users. This reduces latency and allows a degree of autonomy on these edge devices. Edge computing stems from the need for IoT systems to deliver disconnected or distributed functions to the embedded IoT world.

Brian Burke from Gartner said, "Edge computing will become the dominant factor in almost all industries and use cases, because the edge will be supported by more and more advanced, more professional computing resources and more data storage. Complex edge devices include robotics, Drones, autonomous vehicles and operating systems will accelerate this transformation. "

This will extend the role of devices as the foundation of a smart space and bring key applications and services closer to the people and devices that use them.

The distributed cloud

Distributed cloud is the way of cloud migration. Most people think of a cloud as being location-independent, it's there, it's somewhere. But now with a distributed cloud, the physical location where these data centers are located is becoming increasingly important. Resolving regulatory issues and delays and things like that is becoming increasingly important.

Now, the cloud has expanded its field and become a distributed cloud, that is, public cloud services are distributed to different locations, while the original public cloud provider is responsible for service operation, governance, update and evolution. This represents a major shift in the centralized model of most public cloud services and will lead a new era in cloud computing.

MORE Autonomous Things

Autonomous items are physical devices that use artificial intelligence to automate functions previously performed by humans. Currently the most recognizable forms of autonomous items are robots, drones, autonomous vehicles and appliances. The automation of these things goes beyond the automation provided by a rigorous programming model. They use AI to provide advanced behaviors that interact more naturally with the environment and people.

With the improvement of technical capabilities, the allowance of laws and regulations and the increase of social acceptance, we will deploy more autonomous items in uncontrolled public places.

Cryptocurrency and Practical Blockchain

Here, it is important to recognize the "practical blockchain": Although the blockchain has been around for several years, its commercial deployment is still slow due to some technical and management issues in the technology. Blockchain has the potential to reshape the industry, and implementation methods include building trust, providing transparency and enabling value exchange across business ecosystems, reducing costs, reducing transaction settlement time, improving cash flow and logistics, and more.

The report states that another area where blockchain has potential is identity management. Smart contracts can be programmed into the blockchain, and events can trigger actions; for example, payments are issued upon receipt. However, Gartner's Brian Burke said that due to a series of technical issues, including poor scalability and interoperability, blockchain is still immature for enterprise deployment. "Despite these challenges, the huge potential of blockchain to break through the old world and achieve revenue generation means that organizations should start evaluating blockchains, even if they do not expect to actively adopt the technology in the short term," he said.

With the fusion of complementary technologies such as AI and IoT, blockchain will achieve tremendous development in enterprises.

Artificial intelligence security

Evolving technologies such as hyper automation have shown how true digital transformation is changing in the business world. However, these techniques also create security holes through potential new attack points. Future AI security will have 3 key aspects: 1) protecting AI-driven systems, secure AI training data, and trained pipelines and machine learning models; 2) using AI to enhance security defense capabilities, and using machine learning to understand Mode to detect attacks and automatically execute some network security processes; 3) Whether the attackers are expected to use AI-to identify and defend against attacks.

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