Artificial intelligence is everywhere
In 2023, artificial intelligence will become a reality in the corporate world. Code-free AI, with its simple drag-and-drop interface, will enable any business to harness its power to create smarter products and services.
We’re already seeing this trend in the retail market, where Stitch Fix, a personalised styling service, is already using AI algorithms to recommend clothes to customers that best fit their size and taste.
Contactless automated shopping and delivery will also be a huge trend in 2023. Artificial intelligence will make it easier for consumers to pay for and pick up goods and services.
Ai will also cover most jobs across industries and business processes.
For example, more and more retailers will use artificial intelligence to manage and automate the complex inventory management processes that take place behind the scenes. As a result, convenience trends such as “Buy online, Pick up roadside” (BOPAC), “Buy online, Pick up in-store” (BOPIS) and “Buy online, return in-store” (BORIS) will become the norm.
In addition, as AI drives retailers to gradually pilot and roll out automated delivery schemes, more and more retail employees will need to get used to working with machines.
Parts of the metaverse will become reality
The “meta-universe” has become shorthand for a more immersive Internet; With it, we will be able to work, play and socialize on a virtual platform.
Some experts predict that the metaverse will add $5 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and 2023 will be the year that defines the direction of the metaverse for the next decade.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies will continue to evolve. One area to watch is the work scene in the meta-universe — I predict that in 2023 we’ll have more immersive virtual meeting environments where people can talk, brainstorm and collaborate on creative work.
In fact, Microsoft and Nvidia are already developing meta-universe platforms for collaboration on digital projects.
In the New Year, we will also see more advanced digital avatar technology. Digital avatars — the images we project when interacting with other users in our metacomes — can look exactly like how we look in the real world, and motion capture could even allow our digital avatars to adopt our unique body language and gestures.
We may also see the further development of autonomous digital avatars powered by artificial intelligence that can represent us in the metaverse even when we’re not logged into the digital world.
Many companies are already using metacosmic technologies like AR and VR for employee onboarding and training, a trend that will accelerate in 2023. Consulting giant Accenture has created a metacosmic environment called the “Nth Floor.” The virtual world mimics the Accenture office in the real world, so new and existing employees can perform HR related tasks without having to be in a physical office.
Progress on Web3
Blockchain technology will also see significant progress in 2023 as more companies create more decentralized products and services.
For example, currently we store everything in the cloud, but if we decentralize data storage and encrypt it using blockchain, not only will our information become more secure, but we’ll have innovative ways to access and analyze it.
In the New Year, NFT will become more available and practical. For example, NFT tickets to a concert might get you backstage experiences and memorabilia. NFT may become the key we use to interact with many of the digital products and services we purchase, or may represent contracts we enter into with other parties.
The digital world is connected to the physical world
We are already seeing an emerging bridge between the digital and physical worlds, and this trend will continue in 2023. The merger has two components: digital twinning and 3D printing.
Digital twinning is a virtual simulation of a real-world process, operation, or product that can be used to test new ideas in a secure digital environment. Designers and engineers are using digital twins to reconstruct objects in the virtual world so they can test them under any imaginable conditions without the high cost of conducting experiments in real life.
In 2023, we’ll see more digital twinning, from factories to mechanical devices, from cars to sophisticated medical treatments. After testing in the virtual world, engineers can tweak and edit the components before creating them in the real world using 3D printing technology.
For example, an F1 team could collect data transmitted by sensors during a race, as well as information such as track temperature and weather conditions, to see how the car changes during the race. They can then transmit data from the sensors into the digital twin of the engine and car parts, and run scenes to make design changes to the car on the move. The teams can then 3D print car parts based on their test results.
More and more editable nature
We will live in a world where editing can change materials, plants and even human traits. Nanotechnology will allow us to create materials with entirely new functions, such as being waterproof and self-healing.
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology has been around for a few years, but in 2023 we will see the technology accelerate, allowing us to “edit nature” by altering DNA.
Gene editing works a bit like word processing, in that you can remove words and add them — except you’re dealing with genes. Gene editing can be used to correct DNA mutations, address food allergies, improve the health of crops and even edit human characteristics such as eye and hair color.
In 2023, we will see supply chains become more transparent as consumers demand energy efficiency and greener technologies in the products and services they buy.
Advances in quantum computing
Currently, the world is racing to develop quantum computing on a large scale. Quantum computing, the new way of using subatomic particles to create, process and store information, is a technological leap that is expected to allow our computers to run a trillion times faster than today’s fastest conventional processors.
But one potential danger of quantum computing is that it could render our current encryption techniques useless — so any country that develops quantum computing on a large scale could undermine the encryption practices of other countries, businesses, security systems, etc. It’s a trend worth watching closely in 2023, as countries like China, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia pour money into developing quantum computing technology.
Progress in green technology
One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is putting the brakes on carbon emissions so that it can solve the climate crisis.
In 2023, there will be continued progress in green hydrogen energy. Green hydrogen is a new, clean energy source that produces close to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Two major European energy companies, Shell and RWE, are creating the first large-scale pipeline of green hydrogen projects powered by offshore wind in the North Sea.
At the same time, we’re going to see advances in decentralized grids. Distributed energy generation using this model provides a system of small generators and storage located in a community or individual home so that they can provide power even if the city’s main grid is unavailable.
Currently, our energy system is dominated by large gas and energy companies, but decentralised energy schemes have the potential to democratise electricity on a global scale while reducing carbon emissions.
Robots will become more like humans
In 2023, robots will become more like humans — in both appearance and ability. These types of robots will be used in the real world as event greeters, bartenders, concierges and escorts for the elderly. They will also perform complex tasks in warehouses and factories, working alongside humans in manufacturing and logistics.
One company is trying to create a humanoid robot that can work at home. At Tesla’s Artificial Intelligence Day in September 2022, Elon Musk unveiled two Optimus humanoid robot prototypes and said the company would take orders over the next three to five years. The robots can perform simple tasks like moving items and watering plants, so we may soon have “robot butlers” helping out around the house.
Advances in autonomous system research
Business leaders will continue to make progress in creating automated systems, especially in distribution and logistics, where many factories and warehouses are already partially or fully automated.
In 2023, we’ll see more self-driving trucks, ships, and delivery robots, and even more warehouses and factories implementing autonomous technology.
British online supermarket Ocado, which describes itself as “the world’s largest online grocery retailer”, uses thousands of robots to sort, carry and move groceries in its highly automated warehouses. The warehouse also uses artificial intelligence to place the most popular items where robots can easily reach them. Ocado is now rolling out the homegrown technology behind their warehouses to other grocery retailers.
Greener technology
Finally, we’ll see more of a push for green technologies in 2023.
Many people are addicted to technology such as smartphones and tablets, but where do the manufacturing parts for these gadgets come from? People will think more about where rare earth components in products such as computer chips come from and how we consume them. We also use cloud services like Netflix and Spotify, and the big data centers that run them still consume a lot of energy.
In 2023, we will see supply chains become more transparent as consumers demand energy efficiency and greener technologies in the products and services they buy.
