Though a rather turbulent year, 2020 allowed for some incredible discussions surrounding emerging tech and the impact of emerging technologies. In many regards, we are entering a new era of mass technological innovation, where (almost) anything is possible. Now that we’re halfway through 2021, let’s look back to some of the best articles of 2020 to see what lessons we learned.

The 4th industrial revolution is key to getting the global economy, and our lives, back on track.

Though many fear the 4th industrial revolution (4IR) will threaten the livelihood of people around the globe, 4IR technologies actually offer solutions to help bring back some normalcy to our daily lives post-pandemic.

“Technology and digital connectivity are allowing many people to work remotely and meet virtually, while education systems are offering children distance learning from the safety of their homes through webinars.”

Online Shopping and the 4IR

The 4IR has also transformed the way we purchase goods—while people also shopped online before COVID19, the pandemic has caused online shopping for household essentials to skyrocket, which is likely a trend which will continue even post-pandemic.

4IR Technologies Allow for Business as Usual

4IR technologies also allows companies to continue business activities despite any social distancing restrictions. For example, blockchain technologies allow for contracts to be securely signed without anyone being physically present.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can also be used to power factories and continue production through robots, while also allowing for remote decision making capabilities without putting anyone at risk. If we take it one step further, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be combined with cloud computing to allow global manufacturers to remotely access and control the operation of facilities from around the world.

Why We Should Embrace the 4IR

Historically it has been exactly the creativity and innovation brought on by revolutions which has equipped us to solve any challenges placed before us. Digital technologies allow us to bring about a mass amount of change in order to accelerate the global good. Instead of seeing the 4th industrial revolution as a threat, let’s celebrate the innovation that it brings.

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The New-Era of Innovation

“100% of jobs, 100% of industries, and 100% of professions will be affected by Artificial Intelligence in the next 5 to 10 years, By 2020, companies using AI will take 1.2 trillion from competitors who don’t…”

Despite such figures, in reality we have no idea what kind of impact AI will have in the future. Regardless, rather than replacing humans, AI technology is meant to make human creativity, ingenuity and intelligence even more important and desired. This new-era of innovation will not replace humans with robots, but combine human ingenuity with advanced technologies to create incredible innovation.

The Three Systems of AI

There are three main systems within AI: “AI voice recognition, AI content understanding and summarization, AI content creation and generation.” AI voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, bots and Siri act as a sort of “intelligent assistant”, which allows humans to have a better quality of life through these voice assistants predicting their needs.

AI content understanding and summarization is equally as beneficial—it’s able to summarize all types of data into simplified content through various forms of organization and analysis. Finally, AI content creation and generation helps develop concepts and ideas to generate content—this can even be through algorithms which emulate the human writing process.

AI Can Revolutionize the World

AI has the power to revolutionize the entire world by changing fundamental processes. “Ultimately, AI is about being of service to humanity. So, what we mean by that is, how can AI technology provide services, products and experiences that enrich people’s lives?”

Improving AI is About Collecting Data

To create the best customer experiences, large amounts of data must be collected, stored and understood—it’s for this reason that AI is so important, as well as the machine learning capabilities it provides. This data helps businesses better understand their customers wishes and purchasing patterns, in order to deliver exceptional experiences. Not only that, but this extra insight means extra profits too. It’s really a win-win for customers and businesses.

Though innovation offers up new ideas and evidently creates a bit of uncertainty, it should not be seen as a threat. AI and machine learning allow humans to innovate at never before seen levels, and that is something to be valued. It’s not humans against AI, but rather the opportunities AI can provide us with.

Read the full article here.

The AI landscape is shifting from ‘data’ to ‘knowledge.’ Here’s why that matters.

Though the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution was started over a half a century ago, it’s really during the last decade that things started to take off. AI has moved from being a relatively academic-scientific field to a part of our everyday lives. Though most current AI strategies heavily rely on data (and everything that goes along with it), it’s expected we see a major shift from data-based to knowledge-based AI strategies in the future.

The Future of AI is About Knowledge

With an increased willingness, and furthermore greater ease of exchanging data, in the coming decade, data harvesting will lose its importance. If we use the example of supply and demand, data will become so plentiful that it won’t be a prized resource anymore-- this is especially true when considering how data sharing will be accelerated through the Internet of Things (IoT). While data collecting and processing will certainly not disappear, AI business strategies are likely to be fuelled on knowledge instead.

“The AI value pyramid is based on data and driven by knowledge. While today “we are drowning in information but starved for knowledge”, we expect moving up the AI value pyramid, towards the knowledge layer.”

Collecting Data is only a Short Term Goal

Data acquisition should only be seen as a short-term goal, with knowledge-based partnerships becoming the priority in the long-run. Importance will shift from proprietary data sets, to sharing data across different entities to generate knowledge. Going forward, businesses should put greater emphasis on knowledge exchange, and cooperation should be a priority in long-term business strategies.

Looking Towards the Next Generation of AI

The future of the AI knowledge revolution will require revised business strategies with a focus on new frameworks, partnerships and business models. This next generation of AI strategy will combine existing data with new models to create a lasting system based on knowledge--and knowledge is power, isn’t it?

Read the full article here.

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