Predictions From IEEE’s 2024 Technology Megatrends Report

It’s time to start out making ready your group and workers for the results of synthetic normal intelligence, sustainability, and digital transformation. According to IEEE’s 2024 Technology Megatrends report, the three applied sciences will change how firms, governments, and universities function and can have an effect on what new expertise workers want.

A megatrend, which integrates a number of tendencies that evolve over twenty years or so, is predicted to have a considerable impact on society, know-how, ecology, economics, and extra.

More than 50 consultants from Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States offered their views for the report. They signify all 47 of IEEE’s fields of curiosity and are available from academia, the general public sector, and the personal sector. The report consists of insights and alternatives about every megatrend and the way industries may gain advantage.

The consultants in contrast their insights to know-how predictions from Google Trends; the IEEE Computer Society and the IEEE Xplore Digital Library; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“We made predictions about technology and megatrends and correlated them with other general megatrends such as economical, ecological, and sociopolitical. They’re all intertwined,” says IEEE Fellow Dejan Milojicic, a member of the IEEE Future Directions Committee and vice chairman at Hewlett Packard Labs in Milpitas, Calif. He can be a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Fellow.

The advantages and disadvantages of synthetic normal intelligence

Artificial normal intelligence (AGI) consists of ChatGPT, autonomous robots, wearable and implantable applied sciences, and digital twins.

Education, well being care, and manufacturing are a number of the sectors that may profit most from AGI, the report says.

For academia, the know-how can assist broaden distant studying, probably changing bodily lecture rooms and resulting in extra personalised schooling for college students.

In well being care, the know-how might result in personalised drugs, tailor-made affected person remedy plans, and sooner drug discovery. AGI additionally might assist cut back prices and improve efficiencies, the report says.

Manufacturing can use the know-how to enhance high quality management, cut back downtime, and improve manufacturing. The time to market could possibly be considerably shortened, the report says.

Today’s AI techniques are specialised and slim, so to reap the advantages, consultants say, the widespread adoption of curated datasets, advances in AI {hardware}, and new algorithms will likely be wanted. It would require interdisciplinary collaborations throughout laptop science, engineering, ethics, and philosophy, the report says.

The report factors out drawbacks with AGI, together with a scarcity of knowledge privateness, moral challenges, and misuse of content material.

Another concern is job displacement and the necessity for workers to be retrained. AGI requires extra AI programmers and information scientists however fewer assist workers and system directors, the report notes.

Adopting digital applied sciences

Digital transformation tech consists of autonomous applied sciences, ubiquitous connectivity, and sensible environments.

The areas that may profit most from increasing their use of computer systems and different digital gadgets, the consultants say, are development, schooling, well being care, and manufacturing.

The development business might use constructing data modeling (BIM), which generates digital variations of workplace buildings, bridges, and different buildings to enhance security and effectivity.

Educational establishments already use electronics reminiscent of digital whiteboards, laptops, tablets, and smartphones to reinforce the training expertise. But the consultants level out that faculties aren’t utilizing the instruments but for persevering with education schemes wanted to coach staff on the way to use new instruments and know-how.

“Most education processes are the same now as they were in the last century, at a time when we need to change to lifelong learning,” the consultants say.

“We made predictions about technology and megatrends, but we correlated them with other general megatrends such as economical, ecological, and sociopolitical. They’re all intertwined.” —Dejan Milojicic

The report says the digital transformation will want extra workers to oversee automation, in addition to these with expertise in analytics, however fewer operators and staff chargeable for sustaining outdated techniques.

The well being discipline has began changing to digital data, however extra could possibly be finished, the report says, reminiscent of utilizing computer-aided design to develop medication and prosthetics and utilizing BIM instruments to design hospitals.

Manufacturing may gain advantage by utilizing computer-aided-design information to create digital representations of product prototypes.

There are some issues with digital transformation, the consultants acknowledge. There aren’t sufficient chips and batteries to construct all of the gadgets and techniques wanted, for instance, and never each group or authorities can afford the digital instruments. Also, folks in underdeveloped areas who lack connectivity wouldn’t have entry to them, resulting in a widening of the digital divide. Other folks would possibly resist due to privateness, non secular, or way of life issues, the consultants word.

Addressing the local weather disaster

Technology can assist engineer social and environmental change. Sustainability functions embody clear renewable vitality, decarbonization, and vitality storage.

Nearly half of organizations world wide have a company-wide sustainability technique, however solely 18 p.c have well-defined targets and a timetable for the way to implement them, the report says. About half of firms lack the instruments or experience to deploy sustainable options. Meanwhile, data and communication applied sciences’ vitality consumption is rising, utilizing about 10 p.c of worldwide electrical energy.

The consultants predict that transitioning to extra sustainable data and communication applied sciences will result in fully new companies. Blockchain know-how could possibly be used to optimize surplus vitality produced by microgrids, for instance, finally resulting in extra jobs, less-expensive vitality, and vitality safety. Early leaders in sustainability are already making use of digital applied sciences reminiscent of AI, massive information, blockchain, laptop imaginative and prescient, and the Internet of Things to assist operationalize sustainability.

Employees accustomed to these applied sciences will likely be wanted, the report predicts, including that engineers who can design techniques which are extra vitality environment friendly and environmentally pleasant will likely be in demand.

Some of the challenges that would hinder such efforts embody a scarcity of laws, an absence of incentives to encourage folks to turn into eco-friendly, and the excessive value of sustainable applied sciences.

How organizations can work collectively

All three megatrends needs to be thought of synergistically, the consultants say. For instance, AGI strategies could be utilized to sustainable and digitally remodeled applied sciences. Sustainability is a key side of know-how, together with AGI. And digital transformation must be frequently up to date with AGI and sustainability options, the report says.

The report included a number of suggestions for the way academia, governments, industries, {and professional} organizations can work collectively to advance the three applied sciences.

To tackle the necessity to retrain workers, for instance, business ought to work with schools and universities to teach the workforce and prepare instructors on the applied sciences.

To advance the science that helps the megatrend applied sciences, academia must work extra carefully with business on analysis tasks, the consultants counsel. In flip, governments ought to foster analysis by academia and not-for-profit organizations.

Companies ought to advise authorities officers on the way to finest regulate the applied sciences. To achieve widespread acceptance of the applied sciences, the dangers and the advantages needs to be defined to the general public to keep away from misinformation, the consultants say. In addition, processes, practices, and academic supplies must be created to deal with moral points surrounding the applied sciences.

“As a whole, these megatrends should focus on helping industry,” Milojicic says. “Government and academia are important in their own ways, but if we can make industry successful, everything else will come from that. Industry will fund academia, and governments will help industry.”

Professional organizations together with IEEE might want to develop technical requirements and highway maps on the three areas, he says. A highway map is a strategic take a look at the long-term panorama of a know-how, what the tendencies are, and what the chances are.

The megatrends affect which initiatives IEEE goes to discover, Milojicic says, “which could potentially lead to future road maps and standards. In a way, we are doing the prework to prepare what they could eventually standardize.”

Dejan Milojicic discusses findings from IEEE’s 2024 Technology Megatrends report.

Dissemination and schooling are important

The group encourages a broad dissemination of the three megatrends to keep away from widening the digital divide.

“The speed of change could be faster than most people can adapt to—which could lead to fear and aggression toward technology,” the consultants say. “Broad education is critical for technology adoption.”