Top 5 Trends We Will See in Technology in 2019

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We are halfway through 2019 and there are already a few trends in technology that we can predict for the remainder of the year. Technology has been evolving at a far more rapid pace than last year, or the year before, which makes 2019 a game-changer in many ways.

The impact on technology has already been immense—humankind has made progress in a number of fields due to constantly advancing technology. And this pace of change is expected to continue through 2020 and beyond.

Below, we look at the technology trends of 2019 and how we can expect them to impact us.

AI is Becoming Smarter
Artificial Intelligence as a whole has been changing significantly in the past few years. In 2019, it has become far more intelligent than ever before.

A crucial segment of AI, robotic process automation (RPA)—software that is often known as a ‘bot’—has become more enhanced. Earlier, bots were given a set of simple instructions, which they performed at a fairly low level. They had essentially been created only for repetitive tasks and to improve workflow.

But with customer needs increasing, AI chatbots have had to adapt. Now, they are programmed to perform human-like interactions using natural language processing.

We have seen the popularity of the Amazon Echo grow, mainly because of how interactive the AI, named Alexa, is. These devices can now recognize human speech and patterns, and are generating replies accordingly. In other words, these bots and AI systems are learning, in the same way that humans do.

This enhanced AI is helping to improve B2C relationships. Customers can have a number of their queries answered through Facebook and web chatbots, all without a customer service agent at the other end.

The shift towards enhanced, machine learning AI is likely to have a massive impact on desk jobs and customer service roles. If AI and RPAs continue to improve at this rate, changes in workforces could be seen very soon.

AR is on the Ascendance
Not so long ago, Virtual Reality (VR) was envisioned as the next ‘big thing’ in technology. But the biggest challenge with VR is its lack of autonomy. Till now, VR has only been run through bulky devices—like the Oculus Rift or through headsets like Google Cardboard. Unsurprisingly, businesses found their uses for VR limited and moved on to the next best thing—Augmented Reality (AR).

In 2019, AR has become a popular mode of marketing products. It has been known to improve engagement and help businesses reach sales goals. It is also far easier for customers to use—AR often only requires customers to download an app on their phones.

AR has become a key part of social media platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat—the AR filters are extremely popular on Instagram Stories and Snapchat’s posts. They are also constantly being adapted for new events so the platforms stay on-trend at all times.

We have seen how IKEA is using AR to market and sell their products—customers can use the IKEA app to ‘place’ products in their home before buying it. A number of beauty companies like L’Oreal are adopting the techniques behind Snapchat and Instagram’s filters to give customers the opportunity to ‘try on’ makeup before making a purchase.

AR is also in the process of being used in the automobile industry to automate cars. And in the near future, AR will help us take the first steps towards creating a complete digital replica of the real world. The enhancements we are seeing this year are only the beginning for AR—there is much more on the way.

Internet of Things
Almost everything is connected to the internet now—from our cars to our watches. This deep connection is known as the Internet of Things (IoT), and it is set to change how we work in 2019.

With the popularity of the IoT finally being recognized, more and more businesses will begin connecting their existing technology to the internet and extracting data from those machines.

With so many things connected to each other through the power of the internet, an enormous amount of data is being generated. The kind of data available is incredibly precise—on what people like, don’t like, and even how they feel. Thus, all of it can be monitored, examined, and used to service customers and companies more efficiently. As a result, predictive technology has seen immeasurable improvement.

Beyond data, the IoT is already giving a voice to heretofore silent machinery—Alexa and Apple’s Siri are speaking to us, as are GPS apps. But it is the communication between humans and technology that the IoT is facilitating—more and more voice controlled apps and technology are now being produced.

The Internet of Things is going to connect humans, software, and technology in ways that could earlier not have been imagined, and is going to have a massive impact on the real world.

Robots and Automation
Automation has become a phenomenon in the past few years, with the rise of SaaS tools that create infographic templates to the possibility of automated cars. That trend has taken over 2019.

Automation is transforming the way businesses and manufacturers operate—everything from robots to drones are now being used to facilitate work that was earlier done by humans.

The use of robots and automated machinery has long been foretold but in 2019, they are already having a major effect on the workforce. The world has already seen the first agricultural robots in 2019. These machines are programmed to pick fruits, a delicate task believed to only be effectively accomplished by human hands.

That assumption is set to change with the advent of farming robots, who many are predicting will replace farmers in the near future.

Earlier in 2019, Amazon rolled out a line of automated packaging machines, another job that was largely conducted by people. Machinery has been known to reduce labor costs and increase profits, since the days of the Industrial Revolution.

However, instead of predicting doom and gloom for jobs lost, many believe that robots are simply taking on the repetitive manual tasks, leaving more complex jobs for humans. Whether that prediction will come to fruition remains to be seen.

The Rise of Smartspaces
The more humans and technology have become connected, the more expansive the digital environment has become. As a result, Smart Spaces—where technological systems interact with humans in a highly-connected and altered physical ecosystem—are becoming increasingly popular in 2019.

With the Internet of Things connecting devices to each other, and humans to those devices, Smart Spaces have become the key to supporting digital transformation. They are also being used as collaborative tools, as multiple devices are connected in Smart Spaces, no matter where their physical and geographical location.

Thus, we are now able to occupy a space with people we may not have had the chance to physically meet, but can connect with through a Smart Space.

And Smart Spaces are expanding further into Smart Towns and Smart Cities. Though that is still some way off, these occurrences will likely happen in the near future.

Conclusion
The digital transformation we are seeing before our eyes has no equal in its scale. Technology has advanced considerably from 2018 to 2019, with a number of concepts now becoming reality.

AR, automation, and AI, in particular, are changing the scope of human progress, and with increased connectivity with the Internet of Things, human beings are set to occupy spaces they could never have dreamed of in Smart Spaces.

And all signs point to 2019 being the forebearer of even more change, which is an exciting prospect for human evolution.

Ronita Mohan
Ronita Mohan is a content marketer at Venngage, the online infographic and design platform. Ronita is interested in a variety of topics related to digital marketing, visual content, and online engagement, which she enjoys researching and writing about.

Twitter: @Venngage