Brace for fast-paced AI in new decade
WHAT do the iPad, Samsung Galaxy S, Raspberry Pi, Uber, Instagram, Apple Watch, Tesla and Minecraft all have in common? Other than the fact that these are some of the most iconic technologies of our times, they are all products of the 2010s.
It is hard to believe that these technologies are so young, given the impact they’ve made in our lives. It seems like some of them have been around for decades at the very least; yet, they are all younger than 10.
This didn’t stop them from becoming household names and such an integral part of our lives that it is difficult to imagine a life without them. I mean, imagine not being able to call an Uber to get to the airport. Uber transformed the global taxi industry to the extent that it became the umbrella name for all similar services. So, whether they are calling an actual Uber or another service like Lyft, most people still refer to it as “taking an Uber”.
Similarly, the iPad became the standard for tablet PCs; the Samsung Galaxy S put the Android operating system on the map, making it a viable contender to the iPhone’s iOS operating system; the Raspberry Pi launched a whole industry of tiny, programmable computers that could fit inside anything from drones to robots, home security systems and 3D printers.
Instagram became a dominant force in the social media industry, selling its 13-person start-up for $1 billion (R14.2bn) to Facebook just 18 months after its launch. This is unprecedented in corporate history. The Apple watch disrupted the health and fitness industry and now dominates the wearable device market, while Minecraft became the 3D world-builder game that every game in the genre wants to be likened to. Thanks to massive strides in battery and electric motor technology innovation, Tesla’s electric cars were the first in history to actually go mainstream enough to become a real challenger to the fossil-fuel powered status quo of petrol- and diesel-powered cars.
Just like the motor vehicle replaced the horse almost overnight, electric vehicles will soon replace fuel-powered vehicles. While these technologies are truly remarkable, they are just the tip of the iceberg. The past decade brought us countless other technological innovations which were equally transformational. At the heart of most of these advancements was a single technological marvel that promises to change our world in ways we cannot imagine: artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial intelligence really took off in the past decade, thanks to advancements in a number of technologies that it is reliant on.
AI, coupled with the internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing technologies, have launched a new era of technological advancement, known to most people as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or 4IR. Thanks to this combination of technologies, self-driving cars were transported from the realm of science fiction to reality. Soon, cars and trucks hurtling along our highways without drivers will become an everyday sight.
Self-flying drones and airplanes will follow soon after. Thanks to the same technology, computers are now able to teach themselves new skills like playing becoming proficient enough to beat world champions; doctors are able to diagnose illnesses and even detect early stage cancer by simply scanning a patient with a hand-held scanner; and farmers are able to monitor the health of their animals, crops and even the water and soil on their farms from anywhere in the world.
Probably the most amazing achievement of AI is that it is able to innovate. More and more, scientists are using AI to solve age-old problems and design and develop new materials and products. No doubt, the past decade has been like no other the in the history of humanity. It was a frantic, fast-paced, relentless decade where we saw new and groundbreaking technologies emerge on a nearly daily basis.
What exactly can we expect in the 2020s? This much we can tell with certainty: the next decade is going to be even more amazing. Some scientists say we will see more tech advancement in the next decade than we did in the previous century.
They qualify their claim by stating that, whereas the innovations of the previous century were driven by humans, the innovation of the next decade will be driven by artificial intelligence.
And AI is faster than humans. Much, much faster.