The past two years have been hard to process for a lot of people due to the pandemic that has brought about a more rapid shift in the technological landscape. As we process everything that’s happening, we have another year on the way that is sure to bring about even more changes to our daily lives. New technological advances are sure to influence social interaction and business in profound and probably permanent ways. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and remote work technology will make great strides this next year. Here are some things that we can expect from these new areas of technological development.
Artificial Intelligence has already been replacing jobs in the workforce but due to the labor shortage across the nation, there will be more incentive for companies to fill the gaps with automation. However, the use of artificial intelligence goes beyond replacing workers with factory machines. AI can also be used for commercial operations and even some functions of IT operations. In education, AI can take in information about students and create a customized path for their success. This ability to take in information about people and use them for practical purposes has also been used tremendously by dating apps. Dating apps have become immensely more popular since the pandemic and continue to pull in more users which is a testament to the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and its power over humans. AI has also contributed to the great progress of facial recognition technology and camera technology.
You may have had a fun video chat with one of your friends using an augmented reality filter to make a playful virtual mask. From putting your face in an astronaut suit to turning your whole body into a pickle, it really is quite amazing what you can do with them and how well they read people’s facial expressions and change themselves accordingly. However, augmented reality technology has many other uses besides silly video chats. Augmented reality is also behind immersive games such as Pokémon Go which also interacts with the physical world we live in. But augmented reality is also more than a gimmick. Many brands now use AR Masks to advertise products. You can even use augmented reality to do sneaker fittings. IKEA uses augmented reality to take a piece of furniture that they are trying to sell and allow their potential buyer to preview what it would look like in one of the rooms of their home. 2022 is destined to bring about many more innovative uses of AR technology.
Work-at-home technology has been developing for some time, but the crisis of the pandemic certainly increased the demand for it rapidly driving up the advances in its development. The pandemic has also given validation of the fact that workplaces can function remotely. Strides are now being made to enhance the experience of those in a video call. For instance, some technology can pick up where the sound is coming from and export it in the same direction on the end of the call. This means that if the sound is coming from the left side of the screen, the person on the other end would hear the sound coming from their left headphone. Mark Zuckerberg has also discussed in detail how he plans to make his new Metaverse capable of making virtual workspaces more immersive. People for instance could wear goggles and go in a virtual room where they can chat with somebody as if they are standing right there next to them. Telecoms equipment manufacturer Ericsson now actually trains its employees using virtual reality glasses. It’s possible we may see more virtual training as immersive technology develops.
There may be other technological developments that happen in 2022 but the above-mentioned areas are guaranteed to see great new advances. 2022 is guaranteed to see more people involving themselves in the virtual world whether it’s working from home, using augmented reality, or relying on artificial intelligence. With this new technology on the rise, can expect major changes in the social landscape in which we live in next year.
