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As 2019 draws to a close, I’d like to review notable technological achievements, trends and breakthroughs that have the most potential to define the 2020s.
These technologies and trends may have had their humble beginnings in, or prior to, 2019, but their potential is so substantial that opportunities they create will mark the development of human civilization for years to come.
Here they are, in no particular order:
1. 5G
Superfast download/upload speeds and more stable online connections are the hallmark of mobile internet connectivity of the fifth generation. Although 5G is expensive, has its problems and is confined to major cities, it’s a technology that will improve in coming years — both in coverage and affordability.
Since it’s 10 to 100 times faster than your typical cellular connection today, 5G will revamp how we access online media and the way online devices communicate with each other. Although it made a modest commercial market debut in 2019, 5G will show its true potential in 2020 and onward.
2. AI-powered revamp of the education system
In an age when technology and information reign supreme, improving the speed and capacity by which students gain new skills and qualifications necessary to become contributing members of the global community is paramount. As always, technology is here to speed things up.
In 2018, 60,000 schools in China committed to a country-wide trial that could revamp its education system: Instead of being graded by teachers, every test and essay students write throughout the school year would be quickly and instantaneously evaluated by an artificial-intelligence algorithm. The goal of this approach was to aid teachers by complementing their evaluation, rather than replacing it. This, in turn, would enable teachers to spend less time on grading papers and to focus on teaching.
In the U.S., one company’s use of AI goes beyond grading exams. Century Tech enables students to learn faster and stay motivated by adapting the content based on their capabilities and interests. Another project shows how AI can be used to train students to adapt to team-based assignments and to improve their problem-solving capabilities. Although none of these endeavors started in 2019, they definitely left their mark, and will undoubtedly continue to do so.
3. Custom cancer vaccines
According to American Cancer Society research for 2019, 1.76 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States, and 609,640 people died from the disease. Since the early 1990s, overall cancer rates in the U.S. have declined, and custom cancer vaccines could provide new hope to even more patients.
Unlike conventional chemotherapy, which damages both healthy and tumorous cells, custom-made vaccines incite the body’s natural defenses to destroy only cancerous cells. Differentiation is achieved by identifying the unique mutation patterns within each tumor.
The research on this type of cancer treatment began in 2008, and currently in the U.S. there are dozens of ongoing human trials that use vaccine platforms targeting different types of cancer. However, even if these human trials are successful, another challenge awaits: The vaccines will need to be produced cheaply and quickly, which won’t be easy.
Some vaccines need to be synthesized by sequencing cancer cells’ genetic material, which requires biopsies, lab culturing, and finally taking the modified matured immune cells sensitive to cancer and injecting them back into the patient. This takes time, and more often than not, time is of the essence when it comes to cancer.
At the beginning of 2019, Bill Gates listed this particular breakthrough as one with the most potential to affect our lives in the future, and the end of the year shows the biotech industry shares the sentiment. Individualized therapy is at the cutting edge of cancer treatment, and advances made today will lay the foundation for the eradication of this vile disease in the future.
4. Computer vision
Computer vision is everywhere. It’s an integral part of AI-powered smartphone cameras that can recognize and adapt to photographed objects and sensors that help autonomous cars and robots navigate their environment.
Smart cities use it to monitor traffic, and in industry, production lines implement it to detect failures during production and faulty products.
Finally, its most controversial use is in state control where it can be a potent tool of mass surveillance and privacy erosion. Computer vision allows for the processing of vast amounts of visual data, and for many, this outweighs the dangers of its abuse, so its use is likely to spread in years to come.
5. AR and VR
In 2019, the most powerful virtual-reality hardware on the consumer market (Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, Valve Index) was released, showing that industry is making significant efforts to woo enthusiasts but, more importantly, the general public.
Even though both VR and augmented reality haven’t yet reached the level of mass adoption many have had hoped for, the industry is definitely here to stay. It has captured the interest of users in both mobile (Pokemon Go-like games, Snapchat filters) and desktop PC/console entertainment niches, and has expanded into tourism and sports.
If recent reports are any indication, the best for VR and AR is yet to come — some even predict a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.5% between 2019 and 2025. Finally, when even Apple is coming up with its own AR headset, it’s now more likely than ever that in 2020s, VR and AR will finally begin to penetrate the mainstream market.
6. Robo lawyers
Low-cost, AI-driven legal services will open the doors not only to small businesses struggling to navigate the complex legal system, but also to individuals. The goal is to help people be more proactive about protecting their individual freedoms, as well as to extend the reach of legal services to those previously excluded due to prohibitively high expenses.
One such app — DoNotPay — can help you with anything from canceling subscriptions to suing companies in a small-claims court. The service uses an AI chatbot that plows through legalese and asks easy-to-answer, relevant questions needed to fill out forms and legal documents, helping you gather necessary data for the case.
After taking into account all of the above, which technologies captured your interest and imagination in 2019? Which holds the most promise to change the world for the better? Let me know in the comment section below!
Jurica Dujmovic is a MarketWatch columnist.
