Tech world seeks cutting-edge lifeline after roller-coaster year

las vegas — After a rollercoaster year for the tech world, many industry leaders are looking to the cutting edge for salvation.

As tech industry players converge in Las Vegas for the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, an overriding theme is that gizmos, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and superfast internet connections hold answers to many if not all ills.

One of the world’s largest trade shows, CES is drawing an expected 170,000 people and 40,000 exhibitors from dozens of countries showing wares in robotics, digital health, artificial intelligence, sports and more.

Jensen Huang, chief executive of the computer chip and artificial intelligence group Nvidia, said advances in machine learning have opened up vast possibilities, including the ability of software writing software. Some exhibitors envision a world where self-driving cars could be summoned any time of the day, eliminating struggles to find parking or petrol stations.

Machines would tend to the tedium of traffic, which would run smoother since vehicles would wirelessly “talk” to one another to optimize travel efficiency.

While tech is being touted as a solution to many ills, there is also a darker side, noted analyst Bob O’Donnell of Technalysis Research. “Tech is being seen as the cure for everything, but it can also be the cause of societal issues,” O’Donnell said, citing concerns over cybersecurity and a recently revealed flaw in computer chip technology that could leak data. — AFP