2018

Welcome to 2018. This year the last generation to be born in the nineties will mostly head off to university or into the world of work. A reminder of how time seems to be accelerating and how exciting it is that they have grown up in a technological age, for them there have always been computers. I am looking forward to 2018 and what it is going to entail.

I thought that I would give some of my thoughts with regards to what we may see happen in 2018. This is all my opinion some of which is informed by what I see and read, some that is just intuition and gut feeling and some irresponsible babble.

1. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies will continue to become more mainstream as the user experience continues to improve. We will become more and more comfortable with the use of smart contracts to remove the need for third party agents.
2. Augmented Reality will continue to grow although I do not see there being mass adoption of glasses worn all the time in 2018. I am excited for the world where I can get information streamed into my field of vision rather than having to take out a phone to check something on Wikipedia or look someone up on LinkedIn.
3. Automation of many job functions will continue to rise throughout 2018 as many functions become more efficient for AI and computers to do. Medical AI will play a major role in improving health in many poor areas of the world.
4. An extra 1 000 000 000 people will experience the wonders of the internet thanks to the reduction in the price of mobile devices and the spread of cheap, ubiquitous internet.
5. More and more items will continue to become internet enabled thanks to the increase Sigfox and 5g coverage across the globe.
6. Nomadic lifestyles and a rise in global travel will be experienced as there is a shift to more affordable global experiences.
7. Use of renewable energy will continue to rise as we start to see a positive move in global warming data. Not only are renewables better for the environment they are more cost effective providing the earth with every to more people than ever before.
8. A global debate will take place on the use of global health records to be mined using advanced algorithms to help us to better understand and diagnose disease early.
9. The data collected by wearables will begin to be used to assist more people to be healthy and move towards preventative healthcare. The use of insidables becomes something more and more people are getting comfortable with.
10. World power dynamics will continue to shift towards previously emerging economies and a call for use of non violent means for conflict resolution becomes a hot topic
11. Trump will leave the office of the president of the United States.
12. We will see a rise in the number of wealthy people giving back. As the inequality in the world continues to widen the top 1% will bee the potential legacy that they hold in their hands to shape the world that we live in by making it a more equitable place.

Well that was fun. I believe that I could have come up with quite a few more but that is where I will stop. I encourage all people to look towards a technological future in which we are all better off… that really excites me.

HAVE A FANTASTIC 2018 AND LIVE YOUR DREAMS!