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9MegaTechnologyTrendsAndHowTheyAreRe-ShapingOurWorld

BernardMarr

9 Mega Technology Trends

And How They Are Re-Shaping Our World

Bernard Marr

© Bernard Marr, 2018

Disclaimer We have taken great care to ensure that the information contained in this eBook is accurate at the time of publication, and the publisher and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.

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9MegaTechnologyTrends

AndHowTheyAreRe-ShapingOurWorld

Howwework.Howweplay.Howwemeetpeople.Howwe

communicate.HowwegetfromAtoB.Howwetakecareof

ourhealth.Prettymucheveryfacetofhumanlifehasbeen

impacted,alteredand(generally,atleastfromaconvenience

pointofview)improvedbytechnology.Butnotalltechtrends

arecreatedequal.Someblowupinafrenzyofhypeandthen

quietlyfadewhenthenextbigthingcomesalong(MiniDiscs

anyone?Myspace?).Othersaresoutterlytransformative,like

theInternet,thattheyfundamentallychangeourworldand

thewayweliveinit.

Inthisbook,Iexaminenineofthebiggest,mostseismictech

trendsthatwilldefine2018andbeyond.FromtheBigData

explosionandthethreat(oropportunity,dependingonwhich

sideofthefenceyousit)ofincreasingautomation,to

potentiallyhugeinventionslikeblockchainorquantum

computing,we’lllearnwhatthesetrendsare,howthey’re

changingtheworld–andwhatallthismeansforyou,your

careerandyourbusiness.

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TREND1:THEINCREASING

DATAFICATIONOFOUR

LIVES,ANDHOWWE’REALL

LEAVINGOUR(DIGITAL)

MARK

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TREND1:THEINCREASINGDATAFICATIONOFOURLIVES,

ANDHOWWE’REALLLEAVINGOUR(DIGITAL)MARK

Youcarryyoursmartphonewithyouasyouwalktothetrain

stationinthemorning.Youbuyacoffeewithyourcontactless

debitcardwhenyougetthere.Onceonthetrain,youreada

fewnewsarticlesonyourphone.Maybeyoucheckoutwhat

yourfriendsareuptoonsocialmedia,orarrangeyourFriday

nightdrinksviaWhatsApp.Youshoponlineinyourlunch

break.Ormaybeyoueatyourlunchintheparkandsharea

photoofwhatabeautifuldayitis.Attheendofyourbusy

day,maybeyougoforalongrun,trackingyourprogresson

yourFitbitorasmartphoneapp.Ormaybeyoujustcrashin

frontofyoursmartTV,orderatakeawayviatheJustEatapp,

andyouloseyourselfinagoodNetflixseries.

That’swhatdataficationmeansinreallife.Asmoreandmore

ofourlivesinvolvesomekindofdigitalelement,thatmeans

thatalmosteverythingwedothesedaysleavesadigital

footprint–atrailofdatabreadcrumbs,ifyoulike.Asaresult,

we’reinthemidstofanunprecedentedexplosionindata.And

theamountofdataavailableisonlygoingtoincrease.

Inthischapter,wetakealookattheever-expandingpoolof

datawefindourselvesin(indeed,thatweourselvesare

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creating),andlookatsomeoftheinnovativewaysthatdatais

beingputtogooduse.

That’snotloveallaroundus,it’sdata

Whenyouthinkaboutit,it’snowonderwehavesomuchdata

onourhands.Justconsiderwhathappensintheaverage

minute(yes,justtheaverage60seconds)online:1

• Facebookreceives900,000logins

• 452,000Tweetsareposted(notallofthembyDonald

Trump,itjustfeelsthatway)

• 156millionemailsaresent

• Googlereceives3.5millionsearchqueries

• 4.1millionvideosareviewedonYouTube(presumably,

4millionofwhicharecatsdoingcutethings)

• Over15milliontextmessagesaresent

Asanindicatorofhowfastthevolumeofdataisexpanding,

let’slingeronthatlaststatistic.Morethan15milliontexts

weresentperminutein2017.In2016,thatnumberwasjust

1https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/what-happens-in-an-internet-minute-in-2017

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3.5million.That’sa334percentincreaseinthecourseofone

year.Andit’sjustthetipoftheiceberg.

Thesheervolumeofdatathatwe’recreating,andtherateat

whichthatvolumeisaccelerating,issostaggeringthat90

percentofthedataavailableintheworldtodaywasgenerated

inthelasttwoyears.2We’reessentiallydoublingtheamount

ofdatawehaveavailableeverytwoyears.

There’saclassicmathematicalproblemthatillustratesthis

growthperfectly.Pictureachessboardwithits64squaresand

imagineyou’regoingtoplacericeoneachsquareanddouble

thenumberofgrainswitheachsquare(so,onegrainonthe

firstsquare,twograinsonthesecondsquare,fouronthenext

square,andsoon).Simple,right?Notexactly.Bytheendof

thefirstrow,you’dbestrugglingtofitthegrainsonthe

square.Bythe64thsquare,youwouldhaveused

18,446,744,073,709,551,615grainsofrice–morethanany

countrycouldconceivableproduce.Andallfromalittle

harmlessdoubling.

Whyarewegeneratingsomuchdatatoday?Mostlyit’sdueto

theriseofcomputers,smartphones,theInternet,andother

technologicaladvances(suchassensors),thatarecapableof

2http://www.iflscience.com/technology/how-much-data-does-the-world-generate-every-minute/

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capturinginformationfromtherealworldandtranslatingit

intodata.

BigDatainanutshell

WhenpeopletalkaboutBigData,whatthey’regenerally

referringtoistheexponentialexplosionintheamountofdata

we’regeneratinginthisdigitalage–aswellasourincreasing

abilitytoanalyseandgatherinsightsfromthatdata,anduse

themtoouradvantage.Inthisway,databringsincredible

opportunitiestobetterunderstandourworldandchangethe

wayweliveinit.

Theterm‘BigData’hasbeenaroundforyearsnow,but

there’sstillconfusionaboutwhatitactuallymeans.The

conceptitselfisstillevolvingasit’srelatedtosomanyfast-

movingwavesofdigitaltransformation,suchasartificial

intelligence(AI).WhenexpertsfirststartedtalkingaboutBig

Data,itwassometimesdismissedasafadortrendytechterm

thatwouldsoonbeforgotteninfavourof‘thenextbigthing’.

Butthathasn’thappened.Infact,whennewtechbuzzwords

comealong,BigDataisprettymuchthedrivingforcebehind

allofthem.

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HowdoesBigDatawork?

BigDataisbuiltontheideathat,themoreyouknowabout

something(i.e.themoredatayoucangather),thebetter

positionedyouaretogainnewinsights,andthenmake

predictionsaboutwhatwillhappeninthefuture.Thisis

possiblebecause,bycomparingmoredatapoints,youcan

spotrelationshipsthatwerepreviouslyhidden.Wecanlearn

fromtheserelationshipsbetweendatapoints,andbasefuture

predictionsordecisionsonthem.

Therefore,it’sBigDatathatfuelsthoseNetflix

recommendationsyouseewhenyouswitchonyourTV,orthe

targetedadsyouseewhenyougoonline,orthe‘Peopleyou

mayknow’featureinLinkedIn.Mostexcitingofall,thepower

oftoday’sadvancedBigDataandanalyticstechnologymeans

thisprocessisentirelyautomated.

Exploringthedifferenttypesofdata

Thefactthatwe’releavingalargerdigitalfootprintthanever

beforecreatesmanynewtypesofdatathatcanbeanalysed.

TheinterestingthingaboutBigDataisthat,increasingly,all

thisdataiscomingtousinanunstructuredform,meaningit

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can’tbeeasilyclassifiedintoastructuredtablewithrowsand

columns(likeaspreadsheet).Muchofthedatawe’re

generatingisintheformofpicturesandvideos,audio

conversationsandcommands,ortextcommunications

(anythingfromemailsandtextstosocialmediamessages).

Thisunstructureddataisbigger,moreunwieldyandmore

challengingtoanalyse,whichiswhereadvancesincomputing

powerandotherdevelopmentslikeAIcomeintoplay–more

ontheselater.

Sowhataresomeofthemorerecenttypesofdatathatwe

nowhavethecomputingandanalyticpowertoharness?Let’s

takealookatsomeofthemostprevalentdatatypes:

• Activitydata:Thisistherecordofyouractivitiesor

actionsthatoccur,eitheronlineorinthephysical

world.Itcanthereforecoveranythingfromtheorder

inwhichyouwalkaroundyourlocalsupermarket,and

theitemsyoubuy,toanytimeyouswiperighton

Tinder.

• Conversationdata:Thisdoesn’tjustapplytoanout-

loudconversation,likewhenyoucallacustomer

servicecentre.Itcanalsorefertoanyconversationyou

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mayhaveinanyformat,fromatextmessageor

WhatsAppmessage,toanemailorsocialmediapost.

• Photoandvideodata:Ourever-increasingattachment

tooursmartphonesandthecommonplaceuseof

CCTVcameras(particularlyintheUK),meanswe’re

creatingmorephotoandvideoimagedatathanever.

• Sensordata:Aswe’llseeinthesecondchapterofthis

book,avastamountofdataisbeinggeneratedand

transmittedfromthesensorsthatareincreasingly

beingbuiltintoeverydayproducts,fromsmartphones

tosmartyogamats!

RememberthetypicalworkdayIstartedthischapterwith?

Let’srevisitthatintermsofthedatabeinggenerated:

• Youcarryyoursmartphonewithyouasyouwalkto

thestation(GPSdatafromthesensorinsideyour

phone).

• Youbuyacoffeewithyourcontactlessdebitcard

(activitydata).

• Youreadthenewsonyourphoneorcheckoutwhat

yourFacebookfriendsareupto(activitydata).

• YouarrangesomeFridaynightdrinksviaWhatsApp

(conversationdata).

• Youdoabitofonlineshoppingatlunch(activitydata).

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• OrtakeaphotointheparkanduploadittoFacebook

orInstagram(photodataand,potentially,conversation

data).

• Later,maybeyougoforarunwithyourFitbit(activity

data).

• OrmaybeyoujustcrashinfrontofNetflixwitha

takeaway(activitydata).

Now,businessesareevenleveragingthe‘finalfrontier’ofBig

Data:spacedata.Thankstothegrowingsophisticationand

decreasingcostofsatellitetechnology,morebusinessesare

usingdatafromspaceinpracticalwaysrighthereonEarth.In

retail,forexample,satellitedatacanbeusedtomonitorfoot

trafficaroundashoppingcentre.Orinrealestate,areasthat

arepronetofloodingorsinkholescanbemoreeasily

identified.

ThankstothelikesofaerospacemanufacturerSpaceX,

foundedbyTeslaentrepreneurElonMusk,pavingthewayfor

spaceinfrastructure,spacedataislikelytobecomeamuch

moreviableoptionformanybusinessesinthecomingyears.

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HowBigDataisbeingputtouse

Youmightbestartingtofeelalittlefreakedoutbythe

increasingamountofdataavailableaboutyoureveryday

actions,andthethoughtofbeingtrackedbysatellitesmaybe

isn’thelping.Sonowseemsagoodtimetoturntosomeofthe

incrediblypositivewaysBigDataistransformingourworld.As

wellasmakingoureverydayliveseasierandmoreconvenient,

BigDataprojectsaremakingarealdifferenceinareasas

diverseasspacetravelandcrimeprevention.

Data-drivenhealthcareforinstance,involvesanalysingvast

numbersofmedicalrecordsandscanimagesforpatternsthat

canhelpdoctorsspotsignsofdiseaseearlier,therefore

helpingtoincreasecancersurvivalrates.

BigDataishelpingtopredictearthquakes,andhelpaid

organisationsrespondtohumanitariandisastersbymonitoring

andsafeguardingtheflowofrefugees.Foodproductionisalso

beingrevolutionisedbyBigData,helpingproducersmaximise

yieldsandoptimisetheuseofagriculturalmachinery.

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Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Theamountofdataavailabletousisonlygoingtoincrease.If

BigDataiscapableofallthistoday,justimaginewhat’sin

storeforustomorrow.

Youmightbethinkingthatonlylargecorporationshavethe

budgetsandinfrastructuretobenefitfromallthisever-

increasingdata.Well,actually,no.OnesignificantBigData

trendhasbeenthemovetowardsthedeliveryoftoolsand

technologythrough‘software-as-a-service’platforms.This

meansbusinessesrentserverspace,softwaresystemsand

processingpowerfromthird-partyproviders–eliminatingthe

needforheavyinfrastructureinvestments.Andthisismaking

BigDataaccessibletobusinessesofanysize.

Butwhataboutthedataitself?Whatifyou,liketheaverage

business,aren’tsittingonamountainofdatalikeGoogleand

the3.5millionInternetsearchesitreceiveseveryminute?The

truthisit’ssurprisinglyeasytostarttakingadvantageofthe

explosionindata,withoutgatheringityourself.Herearejusta

fewideas:

• Google:TheInternetgianthasamountainofdataand

ausefulsetoftoolsforinterrogatingthatdata–

Adwordsbeingawell-knownexample.Thecompany

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effectivelyfunctionsasacentralhubforreal-timedata

feedsonjustaboutanythingthatcanbemeasured,

fromweatherinformationtostocksandshareprices.

• Facebook:Theubiquitoussocialnetworkhasalotof

dataonitsusers,andthecompany’sdetailed

understandingofpeopleandtheirinterestsallowsitto

sellextremelytargetedadvertisingservicestoany

business.Thatmightmeantargetingaspecific

demographic,orpeoplewithaninterestinstamp

collecting,oryoucansimplyletFacebookworkits

magicandfindcustomersthataresimilartoonesyou

alreadyhave.

• LinkedIn:Ifyouemploypeople,LinkedIngivesyou

accesstovaluableBigDatathatcanhelpyoufindthe

rightpeopleforyourbusiness,forexample,byfinding

talentthatmatchesaparticularprofile.

Bytappingintodatafromthesebigplayers,andpartnering

withasmallersoftware-as-a-serviceprovider,anyorganisation

canleveragetheexplosionindatatobuildasmarter,more

successfulbusiness.

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TREND2:THEINTERNETOF

THINGS(IoT)MEANS

EVERYDAYDEVICESARE

BECOMINGSMARTER

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TREND2:THEINTERNETOFTHINGS(IoT)MEANSEVERYDAY

DEVICESAREBECOMINGSMARTER

It’snotjustariseintextmessagesandmorepeoplewatching

catvideosonYouTubethatareresponsiblefortheexponential

growthindata.TheIoTisanothermajorcontributingfactor.

TheIoTreferstotheincreasingnumberofdevicesandobjects

thathavebecomesmartandconnected,likephones,watches

andTVs.Thesedays,almostanythingcaneffectivelyfunction

asacomputer,gatheringandtransmittingdata.

IntheIoT,dataiscreatedbythings,nothumans,resultingin

thename‘machine-generateddata’.Suchdataisgenerated

when‘smart’devicesormachinescommunicatewitheach

otherorwiththeirhomeservices.Thinkofyoursmarthome

thermostatsendinginfotoyouriPhone,orindustrial

machineryinplantsgatheringperformancedataviasensors

andtransmittingitforanalysis.

Inthischapter,weexploretheincrediblescaleoftheIoT,look

attheIoTdevicesthataretransformingourworld,and

discovertheinnovativewaystheIoTisdrivingbusiness

success.

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TheunstoppableIoT

Almostanythingcanbemade‘smart’thesedays.Andthese

smartdevices,fromyourphonetoyourTVtoyourFitbit,can

connecttoandshareinformationwitheachother.Thisisa

crucialpartoftheIoT–machine-to-machineconnections

meanthatdevicescantalktoeachotheranddecideona

courseofactionwithoutanyhumanintervention.(For

example,yoursmartthermostatautomaticallyadjustingthe

temperaturewhenaroomgetstoocold,basedonwhatit

knowsaboutyourpreferences.)

TheIoThasseenenormousgrowthinrecentyears,andthat

growthisverylikelytocontinue.IHShaspredictedtherewill

be75billiondevicesconnectedtotheInternetby2020.3Intel

disagrees,predictingthatnumberwillbeawhopping200

billiondevices(that’s26smartobjectsforeveryhumanbeing

onEarth).4Whetherwehit200billionconnecteddevicesora

moremodest(modest!)numberlike75billion,it’sstillahuge

increaseonthe15billionconnecteddevicesthatwerearound

in2015.

3https://cdn.ihs.com/www/pdf/enabling-IOT.pdf4https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/images/iot/guide-to-iot-infographic.png

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Whatarealltheseconnecteddevicesandmachines?

Iknowwhatyou’rethinking:200billiondevices,that’salotof

smartphones.ButtheIoTisnotallaboutthephoneyoucarry

aroundinyourpocket.IoT-enableddevicesarebeingwidely

usedinbusinesses,inmanufacturing,inhealthcare,andmany

otherindustries–moreonthebusinessapplicationsoftheIoT

comingup.

Outontheroads,ourcarsareofferingever-increasinglevels

ofconnectivity,and,by2020,it’sestimatedthataquarterofa

billioncarswillbeconnectedtotheInternet.5Appintegration,

navigationanddiagnostictools,andevenfullyautomated,

driverlesscarsarejustafewofthewaystheIoTispositively

disruptingtheautomobileindustry.

Inourhomes,therearetheobvioussmartproductslikesmart

TVsandsmartthermostats.Butthereareevensmartversions

ofproductsthatyoureallywouldn’texpect,likeyogamats

thatgiveyoufeedbackonyourDownwardDog,andfrying

pansthattellyouwhentoflipyoursteak.TheAmazonEcho,

withitsvoice-enabledassistantAlexa,isanother,farmore

5https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2970017

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prominent,exampleofanIoTdevice.Infact,we’vewelcomed

Alexaintoourhomestosuchanextentthatexpertsestimate

shipmentsofEchoswillsurpass10millionunitsin2017.6

OtherinnovativeusesoftheIoTinthehomeincludeBelkin’s

Switchsmartplug,whichletsyouswitchelectricalitemsonor

offfromyoursmartphone,ortheAugustsmartlock,which

automaticallyunlocksyourfrontdoorwhenyougethomeand

locksitbehindyouwhenyouleave–itevenletsyougrant

peopleaccesstoyourhomeremotelyusingyoursmartphone.

Itlookslikeourloveofsmarttechnologyinthehomeisonly

goingtoincrease.Onesurveyfoundthat70percentofpeople

whopurchasedtheirfirstsmarthomedevicebelievetheyare

likelytopurchasemore.7

Inaddition,wearabletechnologies,liketheAppleWatch,Fitbit

bands,VRheadsetsandsoon,areanothersignificantportion

ofIoTdevices.AccordingtoIDC,retailersshippedaround104

millionconnectedwearabledevicesin2016,andthat’s

expectedtorisetonearly240millionunitsby2021.8These

devicesgenerateatonofhighlypersonal,extremelyvaluable

dataonthewearer’sactivitiesandwe’reonlyjustbeginningto

6http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20170601PD218.html7https://www.coldwellbanker.com/press-release/2016-is-the-year-smart-home-technology-will-be-mainstream8https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS42818517

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understandthepossibilitiesandpotentialapplicationsforthis

data.

HealthdataisoneparticularlyvaluableaspectoftheIoT,anda

numberofdeviceshavebeendevelopedthatcapturehealth

dataandtransmitthatdatatohealthprofessionals.The

Healthpatchhealthmonitor,forinstance,canbegiventoout-

patientsbytheirhealthcareproviders,andtransmitinfoon

theindividual’sheartrate,skintemperature,respiratoryrate

backtomedicalteams.Notonlycanthishelpalertdoctorsto

potentialhealthproblemsintheindividual,collectivelythis

datahasthepotentialtoprovidewiderinsightsthatmay

informfuturetreatments.

HowtheIoTistransformingthewaywedobusiness

I’vebarelyscratchedthesurfaceonwaystheIoThasledto

excitingnewproductsandpossibilitiesforconsumers.Butit’s

alsoimpactingthewaywedobusinessinabigway.Thedata

producedbythesesmartdevicesandmachines(evenlegacy

machinescanbemade‘smart’byinstallingsensors),gives

companiesawealthofinsightsintoconsumerbehaviour,

machineperformance,andmore.

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Herearethefivemainwaysbusinessesarebenefittingfrom

theIoT:

1. Developingadeeperunderstandingofcustomers:The

smartproductsI’vedescribedinthischaptergive

companiesadirectlinetotheircustomers’behaviours

andpreferences.Fitbit,forexample,knowshowmuch

itsusersexerciseandevenwhattheirnormalsleep

patternsare.AndRollsRoyceinstallssensorsinthejet

enginesitmanufactures,soitcanbetterunderstand

howairlinesusethoseengines.Companiescan

leveragetheinsightsderivedfromthisdatatomake

quickerandsmarterdecisionsthatwillbenefit

customers,oridentifytrendsthatmayleadtonew

businessopportunities.

2. Deliveringnewcustomervaluepropositions:Once

youbetterunderstandyourcustomers,thenextlogical

stepistousethoseinsightstodevelopnewproducts

andserviceofferings.Tractorandfarmequipment

manufacturerJohnDeere,forexample,hasdeveloped

intelligentfarmingsolutionswheresensors

continuouslymonitorsoilhealthandotherfactors,and

givefarmersadviceonwhatcropstoplantwhere,and

soon.

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3. Makingbetterinternaldecisions:Themassesofdata

fromIoTsensorsanddevicesgivescompaniesuseful

informationthatcaninformstrategicdecisionmaking,

wherebythedataisusedtoanswercriticalstrategic

questions,andoperationaldecisionmaking,whereby

thedataandanalyticsismadeavailabletoeveryonein

theorganisation(perhapsviaaself-servicetool)to

informdata-drivendecisionsrightacrossthecompany.

4. Optimisingoperations:Machine-generateddatacan

alsoimprovethewayacompanyisrun,forexample,

byhelpingtoautomatefactoriesorimprovethe

efficiencyofinternalprocesses.Thisdoesn’tjustapply

toindustrialcompanies.Uberusesdatafromsensors

andsmartphonestomonitortrafficconditionsinreal

time,andthisdataisusedtomanagethesupplyof

driversandadjustpricesaccordingtodemand.

5. Creatinganewincomestreamoraddingvaluetothe

business:Asyoucanimagine,thedatafromIoT

devicesisvaluablestuff.Somecompaniescapitaliseon

thisbysellingthedata,orinsightsfromthedata,to

otherparties.(GoogleisabletoselldatafromitsNest

smartthermostatstoutilitycompanies,forinstance.)

Thedataisalsoavaluablebusinessassetinitsown

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right,andcansimplybolsterthebottom-linevalueof

anorganisation.

ConsideringthemanyusesofIoTdata,it’snosurprisethatthe

IoTisdeliveringrealvaluetoorganisations.Thatmaycomein

theformofcostsavings,likethe$37milliontheCityof

BarcelonaissavingeachyearthankstoitsIoT-drivensmart

lightingsystem.9Oritmaycomeintheformofnewrevenue

streams.Eitherway,oftheorganisationsthathave

incorporatedsomesortofIoTinitiativeintotheirbusiness,94

percenthaveseenareturnontheirinvestment.10

Real-worldexample:HowHirotecisharnessingtheIoT

ManufacturersareamongthelargestadoptersofIoT

technology,incorporatingdevelopmentslikeindustrialsensors

andnetworkedassemblylinesintotheiroperations.Let’slook

athowthishasworkedinpracticeforleadingautomobile

partsmanufacturer,Hirotec.

9http://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/news/article/how-smart-city-barcelona-brought-the-internet-of-things-to-life-78910http://www.csgi.com/resources/profiting-from-the-internet-of-things-above-and-beyond-connectivity-iot/success

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Hirotec’scleverapproachwastoinvest,atleastatfirst,in

small-scale,short-termstrategieswherevaluecouldbe

realisedquickly–theideabeingthatthesesmallerinitiatives

wouldlaythegroundworkandhelpgainbuy-informore

challenging,largerscaleprojects.

Oneofthecompany’sfirstIoT-driveninitiativesinvolved

connectingcuttingmachineryatoneofitstool-building

operations,inordertomonitorandmeasurethereliabilityand

performanceofthosemachines.Thisdeliveredvaluable

insightsonthehealthofHirotec’smanufacturingequipment,

showingthecurrentstatusandhistoricalperformanceofeach

cuttingdevice.Thisdatawasusedtomakethemachinesmore

productive.

Next,uppingthescaleslightly,IoTtechnologywasusedatthe

company’sheadquartersinJapantohelpmanufacturing

teamsmakesmarterdecisionsandactonmachinedataina

moreefficientway.Theydevelopedareportingtooldesigned

todeliverinsightsfrommachinedatatothepeoplewho

neededthemmost(i.e.plantmanagerswhocouldtake

appropriateactionwhenamachinewasn’tperformingatits

best).

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Now,HirotecisinthethirdphaseofitsIoTimplementation,

expandingitfurtheracrossthecompany.Thecurrentfocusis

onconnectingawholeproductionlineatoneofthe

company’sJapanmanufacturingplants.Thismeansthe

productionofacompleteautocomponent–inthiscase,acar

door–willallhappeninasmart,connectedway.

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

It’sclearthattheIoTgivescompaniesincredibleopportunities

fornewproductsandservices,orwaystooptimisedecisions

andoperations.Thepossibilitiesforusingthesedevicesand

thedatatheygenerateareendless.Theflipsideofthat,of

course,isthatcompaniescanendupbamboozledbythe

endlesspossibilities.Thismeanstheymayendupspending

moneyonexpensiveIoTinitiativesthat,ultimately,don’thelp

thecompanyachieveitsgoals,ortheymaydonothing,and

getleftbehindastheircompetitorsembracetheIoT

revolution.

SowheredoyoustartwiththeIoT?Howcanyoubestuseitin

yourorganisation?Themostimportantthingistoconsider

howtheIoTcanbelinkedtoyourbusinessstrategy,andhow

itmightdeliverthebiggestbusinessvalue.Therefore,lookat

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thefiveusesoftheIoTIsetoutearlierinthischapter,anduse

theseasabasisfordetermininghowtheIoT(andIoTdata)can

beleveragedinastrategicwaythatpropelsyourbusiness

towardsachievingitsgoals.

There’snodoubtinmymindthattheIoTisjustgetting

started,andbusinesseswhobegindevelopingorexpanding

theirIoTeffortsnowwillbetheoneswhorealisea

competitiveadvantageinthelongterm.

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TREND3:THEEXPONENTIAL

GROWTHINCOMPUTING

POWERISFUELLING

INCREDIBLE

TECHNOLOGICAL

ADVANCES

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TREND3:THEEXPONENTIALGROWTHINCOMPUTING

POWERISFUELLINGINCREDIBLETECHNOLOGICALADVANCES

Noneofthisenormousgrowthintheamountofdatawe’re

producing,northebillionsofconnecteddeviceswealready

own,wouldbepossibleifitweren’tforthehugeleapswe’ve

madeincomputingpower.

Ofcourse,datainitselfisn’tanewthing.Goingbackeven

beforecomputers,westillusedtogatherdatainorderto

measure,monitor,oraccessinsights(justthinkofpaper

archivefilesormicrofiches).What’schangedisourabilityto

store,organiseandinterrogatethatdata–thanksto

computers.Earlycomputertechnology,particularlyearly

spreadsheetsanddatabases,gaveustheopportunitytostart

storingmoredata,andanalysingthatdatainnew,exciting,

andfastways.Sincethen,computershavegotevenfaster,

betterand,ofcourse,much,muchsmaller.

Today,we’vemovedwaybeyondspreadsheetanddatabase

technologyandcannowcapture,storeandinterrogatemany

differenttypesofdata,includingallkindsofunstructured

data.Infact,it’stheseadvancesincomputingpowerand

analyticsthatallowsacompanylikeNetflixtomonitoryour

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viewingbehaviourandofferupotherfilmsandTVseriesthat

itthinksyou’llenjoy.

Inthischapter,we’lllookattheexponentialgrowthin

computingpower,andhowcutting-edgedevelopmentslike

quantumcomputinghavethepotentialtotransformour

world.

Moore’sLawandhowcomputingpowerhasdoubledevery

twoyears

Exponentialgrowthappearstobeathemeofthisbooksofar,

andcomputingpowerisnodifferent.Waybackin1965,

GordonMoore,co-founderofIntel,predictedthatcomputing

powerwoulddoubleeveryyear,anddecreaseincostata

relativerate.In1975,herevisedthatpredictiontoeverytwo

years.

Thisinsight,whichbecameknownasMoore’sLaw,setthe

paceforadigitalrevolutionthatwe’restillfeelingtheimpact

ofmorethan50yearslater.Themoderncomputing

technologyweuseandenjoytoday–fromlaptops,smart

phonesandevensmartyogamats,tosocialmediaplatforms–

stemsfromthefoundationMoorelaid.Astransistorsgot

31

smaller(meaningcomputermanufacturerscouldfitmoreof

theminasmallerspace,thusincreasingmemoryspace),

processingpowerincreased,computersgotsmaller,andthey

becamemoreeconomicallyviableforeverydayusers–tothe

pointwherecomputingtechnologyisnowubiquitousin

everydaylife.Thinkaboutit:thatsmartphonesittingprobably

justafewinchesawayfromyouhasthecomputingpowerofa

militarycomputerfrom50yearsagothatwasthesizeofan

entireroom.Thisdramatic,exponentialboosttocomputing

powerhaschangedthewayweworkandliveforever.

Moore’spredictionendedupprovingaccuratefordecades.

Onlyin2015didIntelannouncethatthepaceofacceleration

hadslowedtoapointwhereitwasdoublingapproximately

everytwoandahalfyears.11

Totheskyandback:Cloudcomputinganddistributed

computing

Twoparticularcomputingdevelopmentshavetransformedthe

waywestoredata,bringingustothepointwherewecannow

gather,storeandworkwithunprecedentedvolumesofdata.

11https://www.ft.com/content/36b722bc-2b49-11e5-8613-e7aedbb7bdb7

32

Andthosedevelopmentsarecloudcomputinganddistributed

computing.

Thecloudreferstotheabilitytostoredataoutsideofyour

computer(inasystemlikeDropbox,forinstance),andthe

abilitytoperformcomputingtasksusingsoftwareor

applicationsthataren’tinstalledonyourcomputerordevice

(usingsoftware-as-a-servicetoolslikeXero,forexample).Ina

nutshell,cloudcomputingmeanssoftwareordatarunningon

remoteservices,whereitcanbeaccessedviatheInternet.

Gmailoperatesinthecloud,asdoesFacebookandTwitter.

Cloudcomputingprovidesthegruntthatmakesyoursmart

phone,well,smart.Yourphonedoesn’thavenearlyenough

built-instoragetorunalltheinfoitneedsforitsmanyapps

andfunctions,soitconstantlysendsdatatoandreceivesdata

fromthecloudinordertoperformallthetasksyouwantitto.

Cruciallyforbusinesses,cloudcomputingmeanscompaniesof

allsizescanharnesslargestoragecapacitiesandcomputing

power,withoutinvestinginlotsofexpensivenewhardwareto

storethatdataorrunanalyticstools.

Thecloudalsoallowscomputerstobelinkedinhuge

networks,meaningthatlargevolumesofdatacanbestored

andanalysedusingmanydifferentcomputers,oftenin

33

completelydifferentlocations,eachtakingonasmallpartof

theoveralltask.Thisiswhat’sknownas‘distributed

computing’or‘distributedstorage’.Distributedcomputing

spreadstheloadofstoringandworkingwithlargevolumesof

data,makingitcheaper,easier,andmuchmoreefficient–

therebyopeningupthepowerofBigDatatothemasses.

Together,cloudcomputinganddistributedstoragehavelaid

thefoundationforBigDataandtheIoT.

Fromcloudytofoggy:Lookingat‘fog’or‘edge’computing

Thecloudisgreat.Thecloudhasrevolutionisedourabilityto

workwithdata.Butthecloudisnolongerthecuttingedge.

Becausecomputershavegotsmallerandmoreprevalentin

everydaylife–tothepointwherewecaneffectivelyhavea

computerinafryingpanhandle–wecannowleveragethese

devicestoperformsomeanalytictasksoutsideofthecloud.

BecausethecloudreliesonInternetbandwidth,the

exponentialgrowthindataposessomethingofaproblemfor

ourfluffyfriend.Especiallywhenyoutakeintoaccountthe

anticipatedgrowthinIoTdevices,allofwhichwillbe

transmittingdatatothecloud.

34

Thisiswherefogcomputing(sometimesknownas‘edge

computing’)comesin.Fogcomputingsolvestheproblemby

allowingdatatobekeptclosertotheground,ifyoulike,in

localdevices,ratherthanhavingtogotothecloud.Imagine,

forexample,yourlaptopdownloadingasoftwareupdateand

thensharingthatupdatewithyourphoneandtablet,sothat

youdidn’thavetogoontoeachdeviceanddownloadthe

sameupdatefromthecloud.That’sfogcomputing.

BothCisco(whichcoinedtheterm‘fogcomputing’)andIBM

(whichpreferstheterm‘edgecomputing’)aredeveloping

initiativestopushcomputingprocessesbackouttotheedge

ofnetworks–tothedevices,routersandsensorsthatareall

aroundus,allowingthemtohandlemuchofthedataand

processingrequiredofthem,withoutmakinguseofthecloud.

AfterMoore’slawcomesquantumcomputing

Withthefogclearing,wecanseewhat’scomingoverthehill

intermsofcomputingpowertrends.Byfarthemost

significantdevelopmentisquantumcomputing,whichwillsee

computersbecomemillionsoftimesfasterthantheyareright

now.

35

WeknowthatMoore’sLawnolongerholdstrue.Thenumber

oftransistorswecanfitoncomputercircuitsisnolonger

doublingeverytwoyears.Thetransistorsareaboutassmallas

existingtechnologycanmanage,andwe’rereachingthelimits

ofwhattraditionalcomputerscandointermsofdata

processingpower.

That’swhytheleadingcomputingfirmsareinaracetolaunch

thefirstcommerciallyviablequantumcomputer:acomputer

thatwouldbeexponentiallymorepowerfulthantoday’s

computersandcapableofsolvingproblemsthattoday’s

computerscan’tsolve.Capableofsolvingproblemsthatwe

can’tevenimagineyet.Iemphasisedthewords‘commercially

viable’therebecausewealreadyhavequantumcomputers.

Google,forexample,hasaquantumcomputerthatitsaysis

100milliontimesfasterthananyclassicalcomputerinits

lab.12Fortherecord,Googleannouncedin2017thatitintends

toproducethefirstcommerciallyviablequantumcomputer

withinfiveyears.13

12https://research.googleblog.com/2015/12/when-can-quantum-annealing-win.html13https://www.wired.com/2017/03/race-sell-true-quantum-computers-begins-really-exist/

36

Gettingunderthehoodofaquantumcomputer

Ifyouthinkaboutit,eventhemostimpressivecomputers

todayarereallyjustcalculatorsunderthehood.Theyuse0s

and1stomakedecisionsaboutthedataweinput,followinga

predefinedsetofinstructions.Forthemostpart,computers

todayareusedtodoingonethingatatime,sothemore

complextheproblemit’sworkingon,thelongerittakes.

Quantumcomputersareawholedifferentbeast.

Thenamestemsfromquantumphysics,theworldofatomic

andsubatomicparticles,andthefactthattheseparticlescan

existinmorethanonestateatatime.Quantumcomputing

takesadvantageofthis.Insteadofbits,quantumcomputing

usesquantumbits,or‘qubits’.What’sthedifference?Picture

asphere.Whileabitcanexistateitherofthetwopolesofthe

sphere,aqubitcanexistanywhereonthesphere.

PerhapsEricLadizinsky,co-founderofquantumcomputing

companyD-Wave,explainedthedifferencesbetweena

regularcomputerandaquantumcomputerbestwhenhe

spokeattheWIRED2014conference.Hesaidtoimaginethat

youonlyhavefiveminutestofindanXwrittenonapageofa

bookamongthe50millionbooksintheLibraryofCongress.In

thisscenario,youwouldbearegularcomputerandyouwould

37

neverfindtheX.But,ifyouhad50millionparallelrealitiesand

youcouldlookatadifferentbookineachofthoserealities

(justlikeaquantumcomputer),youwouldfindtheXno

problem.Aquantumcomputersplitsyouinto50million

versionsofyourselftomaketheworkquickandeasy.

Ishouldpointoutthatquantumcomputerswon’treplace

traditionalcomputers.Ourregularcomputerswillstillbe

betterfortaskslikeemail,wordprocessing,workingon

spreadsheetsandsoon.Infiveyears’time,Iwon’tbewriting

mynextbookonaquantumcomputer.Thatwouldbeinsane!

Theintentionforquantumcomputersistobeacompletely

differenttool,capableofsolvingentirelydifferentproblems.

Howwillweusequantumcomputing?

Wedon’tactuallyknowallthepossibilitiesofquantum

computingyet,andit’sfairtosaytherewillbesolutionsand

useswehaven’teventhoughtofyet,butwhatwedoknowis

thatitwillbeagame-changerforeveryindustry.

Whenyouconsiderhowmuchclassicalcomputers

revolutionisedourworldwiththerelativelysimpleuseof0s

and1s,youcanimaginetheextraordinarypossibilitieswhen

38

youhavetheprocessingpowerofqubitsthatcanperform

millionsofcalculationsatthesamemoment.

Oneareathatwillbegreatlyimpactedbyquantumcomputing

isAI.Theinformationprocessingthat’scriticaltoimproving

machinelearning(moreonthisinthenextchapter)isideally

suitedtoquantumcomputing.Quantumcomputerscan

analyselargequantitiesofdatatoprovideAImachinesthe

feedbacktheyneedtoimproveperformance.Quantum

computersareabletoanalysethedatatoprovidefeedback

muchmoreefficientlythantraditionalcomputers,and

thereforethelearningcurveforAImachinesisshortened.Just

likehumans,AImachinespoweredbytheinsightsfrom

quantumcomputerscanlearnfromtheirexperiencesandself-

correct.Inthisway,quantumcomputerswillhelpAIbecome

muchmoreintuitiveveryquickly,and,inturn,expandtomore

andmoreindustries.

Therearemanyotheranticipatedusesforquantum

computing,fromimprovingonlinesecurity(hack-proof

encryptionsanyone?)tomakingbetterweatherandclimate

changepredictions.But,forme,what’smostexcitingabout

quantumcomputingis,insteadoftroubleshootingissuesbitby

bitaswedonowwithclassicalcomputers,quantum

computerswilltackletheentireproblematonce.Thisopens

39

thedoorforamazingdevelopmentsineveryfieldfrom

financialservicestoournationalsecurity.

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Chancesareyourbusinessisalreadyusingthepowerofthe

cloud,butisittimeyoustartthinkingaboutthepowerofthe

fog?Ifyourbusinessreliesonstoringitsdatainsomeone

else’scloud-baseddatacentre,itwouldcertainlybewiseto

keepinmindthelimitstoInternetbandwidth,theexponential

growthindata,andhowthismightaffectyourabilityto

uploaddatatoandreceivedatafromthecloudinfuture.It

makessense,then,tothinkabouthowyoumightbringat

leastsomeofyourdatabackdowntoearthandutilise

developmentsinfogcomputing.

It’searlydaysforquantumcomputing,andwedon’tyetknow

howthingswillshakeoutforregular,non-Google-size

businesses.Butit’scertainlyatrendworthkeepinganeyeon,

particularlyifyou’remakinguseofAI-enabledanalyticsto

solvecomplexproblems.

40

TREND4:ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE(AI)AND

MACHINELEARNINGMEAN

COMPUTERSCANNOW

MIMICTHEHUMANBRAIN

41

TREND4:ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE(AI)ANDMACHINE

LEARNINGMEANSCOMPUTERSCANNOWMIMICTHE

HUMANBRAIN

Computersmayhavechangedthewaywework,play,interact

witheachother,gotowar,orprettymuchanyotheraspectof

life,buttraditionalcomputershaven’treallybeenthatsmart.

Forexample,foracomputertocompletethesimpletaskof

findingcatphotosinanimagesearch,youwouldfirsthaveto

teachthecomputerwhatacatis,bygivingitlotsofpictures

withcatsin,sothatitcouldrecognisesimilarpictures.Now,

artificialintelligence(AI)hasadvancedtosuchalevelthat

computersarecapableofteachingthemselveswhatacatis–

andother,slightlymorevaluable,activities.Infact,systems

suchasIBM’scognitivecomputingplatformWatsoncancarry

outanever-growingrangeoftaskswithoutbeingtaughthow

todothem.

Computersnowhavetheabilitytolearn,inmuchthesame

wayasahumanbraindoes,andthishasbeenfuelledbythe

massiveincreaseindataandcomputingpower.Quitesimply,

AIwouldbenothingwithoutdata.EventhoughAI

technologieshaveexistedforseveraldecades,it’sthe

incredibleexplosionindatathathasallowedittoadvanceso

quicklyoverthelastcoupleofyears.Siri,forexample,would

42

haveonlyarudimentaryunderstandingofourrequests

withoutthebillionsofhoursofaudiodatathathelpeditlearn

ourlanguage.Therefore,it’sthemassesofdatathatwehave

availablethatacceleratesanAIsystem’slearningcurve.The

moredataishas,themoreitlearnsand,ultimately,themore

accurateitbecomes.

WhatallthismeansinpracticeisthatAIishelpingcomputers

undertakemoreandmorehumantasks.ThankstoAI,

computerscansee(thinkofFacebook’sfacialrecognition

software),read(forexample,analysingTweetsbothfor

contentandsentiment),listen(‘Alexa,what’sthecapitalof

Mongolia?’),speak(‘ThecapitalofMongoliaisUlaanbaatar’)

andgaugeouremotions(affectivecomputing–moreonthis

later).

InthischapterweexplorehowAIworksandhowthistrend

willbemassivelyinfluentialinourworld.

WhatexactlyisAI?

AIcanbedefinedasusingcomputerstosimulatethecapacity

forabstract,creative,deductivethought–particularlythe

43

abilitytolearn.Therefore,atthecoreofAIliesavisionof

buildingmachinesthatarecapableofthinkinglikeushumans.

AIresearchanddevelopmentworkcanbebrokendowninto

twobranches:

• Applied,specialisedAI:Thisusestheprinciplesof

simulatinghumanthoughttocarryoutspecifictasks,

suchasdiagnosingdiseaseinpatientsorpredicting

faultsinmanufacturingequipmentbeforetheyoccur.

• GeneralisedAI:Thisseekstodevelopintelligent

machinesthatcancompleteanytask,muchlikea

person.ThisareaislessdevelopedthanspecialisedAI,

sinceitrequiresamorecompleteunderstandingofthe

humanbrainthanwecurrentlyhave,andmore

computingpowerthaniscommonlyavailableto

researchers(butquantumcomputingwillchangeall

this).

Introducingmachinelearninganddeeplearning

Theterms‘AI’,‘machinelearning’and‘deeplearning’are

oftenusedinterchangeably,andIusetheminterchangeably

foreaseinthischapter.However,they’renotquitethesame

44

thing.Infact,it’smachinelearninganddeeplearningthat

allowsmachinestolearnforthemselves.

EssentiallymachinelearningisasubsetofAI–orrather,it’s

theverycuttingedgeofAI.IfAIisthebroaderconceptof

machinesbecomingintelligent,machinelearningisaspecific

applicationofthatconcept,wherebymachinessolvespecific

real-worldproblemsbyprocessingdatavianeuralnetworks

thatmimichowahumanbrainfunctions.

Now,we’veprogressedfrommachinelearningintodeep

learning.Deeplearningfocusesevenmorenarrowlyona

subsetofmachinelearningtoolsandtechniques.RememberI

saidmachinelearningisthecuttingedgeofAI?Well,deep

learningisthecuttingedgeofthecuttingedge.

Deeplearningisessentiallymachinelearningthatusesdeep

neuralnetworks,builtbylayeringmanyneuralnetworkson

topofoneanother.Dataispassedalongnetworksofnodes,

throughatangledwebofalgorithms,andthesenetworks

adaptaccordingtowhateverdatatheyareprocessingas

movesfromnodetonode.Thisway,theneuralnetworkscan

moreefficientlyprocessthenextbitofdatathatcomesalong,

basedonthedatathatcamebeforeit–thusenablingamore

complexsimulationofhumanlearning.Thisabilityto‘learn’

45

fromdataandtheabilityofasystemtoeffectivelyteachitself

iswhatmakesdeeplearningsopowerful.

Supervisedandunsupervisedlearning

Iknowwe’vecoveredquiteafewcomplexconceptsinashort

spaceoftime,butallowmetoaddtwomoreontop:

‘supervisedlearning’and‘unsupervisedlearning’.Bearwith

mebecausethesetwoconceptsarevitaltounderstanding

howmachines(or,really,algorithms)arebecoming

increasinglysmarter.Let’slookateachconceptinturn:

• Supervisedlearning:Thisis,fornow,byfarthemore

commonlyusedtechnique,andinvolves‘teaching’an

algorithmorsystemwhatyouwantittolearn,based

onasetoftrainingorreferencedata.Here,theoutput

orendresultyouwanttoachieveisalreadyknown.

Youjustneedtoteachthesystemhowtogetfromthe

input(i.e.inputdata)totheoutput(thedecisionor

action),basedonwhatit’slearnedfromthetraining

data.

• Unsupervisedlearning:Afarmorecomplexprocess,

unsupervisedlearninghasbeenmuchlesswidelyused

sofar,butitrepresentsthefutureofAI.In

46

unsupervisedlearning,thereisnotrainingdatasetand

theoutcomesareunknown.Essentially,theAIgoes

intotheproblemblind,andisletlooseupontheinput

datawithnoreferencedatatolearnfrom.

Inreality,mostproblemsrequireasortofhybridsolution,

particularlywhenthereferencedataisincompleteor

inaccurate.Incaseslikethis,‘semi-supervisedlearning’

techniqueswouldbedeployed,wherebythesystemhas

accesstoreferencedatawhenit’savailable,butisabletouse

unsupervisedlearningtechniquestofillintheblankswherever

required.

HowAIandmachinelearningisbeingusedinpractice

Asmachinesbecomeincreasinglysmarter,they’reableto

performtasksthatwerepreviouslythedomainofushumans.

Thishasledtomanypredictionsofhumanslosingtheirjobsto

robots.We’llgettothatinthenextchapter.Fornow,let’s

lookatsomeoftheamazingthingsAIiscapableof.

47

AIinhealthcare

HealthcarehasbecomeakeyindustryforAIandmachine

learning.NotonlyhavemajorplayerssuchasIBMand

MicrosoftjumpedintotheirownAIhealthcareprojects,but

severalstart-upsandsmallerorganisationshavebeguntheir

owneffortstocreatetoolstoaidhealthcare.

MuchoftheAIworkdonethusfarinhealthcareisfocusedon

diseaseidentificationanddiagnosis.FromSophiaGenetics,

whichisusingAItodiagnoseillnesses,tosmartphoneapps

thatcandetermineaconcussionandmonitorother

concernssuchasjaundiceinnewborns,diseaseandhealth

monitoringisattheforefrontofmachinelearningefforts.And

machinesarenowlearninghowtoreadCTscansandother

imagingdiagnosticteststoidentifyabnormalities.

Allthisispossiblebecausecomputersandthealgorithmsthey

runcanworkthroughcolossalamountsofdata–muchfaster

andmoreaccuratelythanhumanscientistsormedical

professionals–tounearthpatternsandpredictionsto

enhancediseasediagnosis.

48

AI-driveninsurancecompanies

AIistransformingdata-heavyindustrieslikeinsurance.

Becausemachinescanprocesslotsofdataatafastspeed,

theycanuncoverinsightsandpatternsmuchmorequicklyand

accuratelythanhumans.Forexample,chatbots,whichare

drivenbyAItechnology,arebeingusedinmessagingappsto

helpresolveclaimsandanswersimplecustomerservice

queries.

AIisalsobeingusedtoidentifypossiblefraudulentclaims,

basedonpatternsfromotherfraudulentclaims,andhighlight

fishycasesforfurtherinvestigationbyahuman.

Naturallanguageprocessingandnaturallanguagegeneration

Naturallanguageprocessing(wherecomputersunderstand

humanspeech)andnaturallanguagegeneration(where

computersgeneratespeech)areparticularlyinteresting

subsetsofAI.ThisiswhatenablesAlexatounderstandyour

five-year-oldwhenheorsheaskstoheartheirnewfavourite

songforthe50thtimethatday,andenablesAlexatotalk

back.

49

Naturallanguagegeneration(NLG)iswherethereallyexciting

stuffishappening–suchasnewsstoriesbeingwrittenby

computers.IntheUS,theAssociatedPressisalready

publishingcorporateearningsstoriesthatarewrittenbyNLG

engines.TheWashingtonPosthasHeliograf,ajournalisticbot

thatgeneratesautomatedcontentwithanimpressivelystrong

editorialvoice.AndintheUK,newsagencyPressAssociationis

usinganautomatedchatbot-drivenplatformtowriteasmany

as30,000localnewsstorieseachmonth.

Empatheticmachines

‘Affectivecomputing’isanotherexcitingareaofAI,which

involvesmachinesbeingabletoreadouremotionsandadjust

theirbehaviouraccordingly–effectivelymakingthem

emotionallyintelligent.Programsarebeingdevelopedthat

cananalysefacialexpressions,posture,gestures,toneof

voice,speech,andotherfactorstoregisterchangesinauser’s

emotionalstate.AIdeveloperAffectiva’sEmotionAI

technology,forinstance,isalreadybeingusedby1,400brands

tojudgetheemotionaleffectofadvertsonviewers.

50

Workingoutyoursexualorientation

Computerscanevendeterminewhetherapersonisgayor

straightjustfromanalysingtheirface.Onerecentstudytook

morethan35,000facialimagesthatwerepubliclyavailableon

adatingwebsiteandfoundthatacomputeralgorithmcould

correctlydistinguishbetweenstraightandgaymen81percent

ofthetime.14Forwoman,theaccuracyratewas74percent.

And,demonstratingjusthowimportantdatavolumeistoAI

capabilities,thesystem’saccuracyimprovedto91percent

whenthecomputerwasgivenfiveimagesperperson.

Real-worldexample:HowAIisdrivingsuccessatSpotify

Withtensofmillionsofuserslisteningtomusiceveryminute

ofeveryday,musicstreamingserviceSpotifyhasaccessto

hugeamountsofdata,includingwhatsongsgetplayedthe

most,users’geographicallocation,andwhatdevicethey’re

listeningon.

14https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/09/28/the-ai-that-predicts-your-sexual-orientation-simply-by-looking-at-your-face/#6142d9c43456

51

Astheplatformcontinuestoacquiredata,it’susingthatintel

totrainitsalgorithmsandmachinestolistentomusicand

extrapolateinsightsthatwillimproveuserexperience.

OneexampleofthisistheDiscoverWeeklyfeaturethatgives

youapersonalisedplaylisteveryweek.Theseplaylistsare

madeupofmusicyouhaven’tlistenedtobeforeonthesite,

butthatthealgorithmshavedeterminedyou’llprobably

enjoy.BasedonallthelovelydataSpotifyhasonyourmusic

preferences,thealgorithmscanextrapolatewhatothermusic

you’lllike.

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

AItechnologymayseembeyondthereachoftheaverage

business,butplatformslikeIBM’sWatsonareopeningupAI

andmachinelearningtoamuchwideraudience.Infact,there

aremanystart-upswhoareapplyingthistechnologytoawide

rangeofindustriesandapplications.RememberthePress

Association,whoisproducingthousandsoflocalnewsarticles

withAI?Theyhaven’tdevelopedthisalone.Theypartnered

withnewsautomationspecialistsUrbsMedia.

52

Whateverindustryyou’rein,it’slikelythatAIwillhavesome

impactinthecomingyears.Whiletherearegenuineconcerns

aroundwhatthismaymeanforpeople’sjobs(moreonthatin

thenextchapter),it’simportanttokeepanopenmindabout

theincredibleopportunitiesAIbrings.

53

TREND5:AUTOMATIONIS

ANUNSTOPPABLEFRIEGHT

TRAIN,ANDWESHOULDBE

JUMPINGABOARD

54

TREND5:AUTOMATIONISANUNSTOPPABLEFRIEGHT

TRAIN,ANDWESHOULDBEJUMPINGABOARD

Therehasclearlybeenahugeleapinmachineintelligence

overthelastcoupleofyears.Andthemoreintelligent

machinesbecome,themoretheycandoforus.That,inturn,

meansevenmoreprocesses,systems,functionsanddecisions

canbeautomatedandcarriedoutbyrobotsoralgorithms.

Inthischapter,we’lllookathowawiderangeofindustriesare

becomingmoreautomated,aswellashowthiswillimpact

humanworkers.

Thefourthindustrialrevolution

Thefirstindustrialrevolutionwassteamandwaterpower.The

second,electricityandassemblylines.Thethird,computers.

Andnow,thefourthindustrialrevolution,alsoknownas

industry4.0,ishere.

Thefourthindustrialrevolutionisessentiallytheideaofsmart,

connectedfactories(poweredbyIoTtechnology),where

machinesareconnectedtoasystemthatcanmonitorand

visualisetheentireproductionchain,andmakedecisionsfor

itselftokeepeverythingrunningsmoothly.Buttheconcept

55

isn’tnecessarilylimitedtofactoriesandindustrialprocesses.

Thisideaofprocessesbeingconnectedandautomatedis

spreadingtoavastspectrumofindustries,ascomputers,

machinesandalgorithmsreplaceoraugmenthumanworkers.

ThefourDsofrobotisationandautomation

Althoughawiderangeofindustriesandjobswillbeimpacted

byincreasingautomation,expertsagreethatmostofthefirst

waveofjobsthatmachinesaretakingcanbecategorisedby

fourDs:

• Dull:Robotsandmachinesareuniquelyqualifiedfor

repetitiveandtedioustasks.Theydon’tgettired,they

don’tgetbored,andtheydon’thavelapsesin

concentration.Withrobotstakingonthedullerjobs,

thehumanworkforceisfreetofocusonmorecreative

andinterestingtasks.

• Dirty:There’sawholeworldofdirtyornot-so-pleasant

jobsthattheaveragehumandoesn’tthinkabout,but

areessentialforkeepingourworldfunctioning.Robots

canbetheperfectsubstituteforhumanswhenit

comestotaskslikesewerreconnaissance.

56

• Dangerous:We’realreadyusingrobotsfordangerous

worklikeinvestigatinganddetonatingsuspected

bombs,andcompaniesarestartedtodeveloprobots

forotherdangerousjobs,likepolicing.Infact,areal-

liferobo-copisalreadyonthebeatinDubai.

• Dear:Whendeployingrobotssavesmoneyorreduces

delays,it’sjustonemorewayrobotscanearntheir

keepandmakeapositivecontributiontoourworld.

Onethingisprettycertain,inthefuture,humanswillno

longerbeneededtodothejobsthatrobotsormachinescan

dosafer,faster,moreaccuratelyandcheaper.

Automationinaction

Let’slookatjustafewoftheplaceswhereautomationis

makingadifference.

Ontheroads

Waymo,Google’sself-drivingcardivision,confirmedatthe

endof2017thatitsautonomousvehiclesarenowdriving

aroundwithoutahumandriver–untilnow,ahumanhas

57

alwaysbeenonboardreadytotakethewheelifsomething

wentwrong.15Accordingtosomeestimates,by2020,there

couldbeasmanyas10millionself-drivingcarsontheroad.16

Therearealreadyself-drivingfeaturesonmanymodelsthat

arealreadyavailable,allfuelledbymachinelearning,sensors,

camerasandsoftwarethathelpsvehiclesgatherdatafrom

aroundthemandrespondtowhatthatdataistellingthem.

Trucks,too,arebecomingautomated.DaimlerTruckshas

alreadylaunchedan18-wheel,fullyautonomoustruck.For

now,thesetrucksaren’tdriverless,butthetruckitselfcan

takeoverfromthedriverinanumberofcircumstances,such

askeepingasafedistancefromthevehicleinfront,

maintainingaconsistentspeedandsoon.IntheUK,semi-

automatedtruckswillbetakingtotheroadsin2018.17

Outatsea

Rolls-Roycehasrevealedplanstodevelopfullyautonomous

cargoshipsthatcantaketotheseaswithouthumanson

15https://www.wired.com/story/waymo-google-arizona-phoenix-driverless-self-driving-cars/16http://www.businessinsider.com/report-10-million-self-driving-cars-will-be-on-the-road-by-2020-2015-5-617https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-transport-trucks/semi-automated-trucks-to-hit-uk-roads-by-end-of-2018-idUSKCN1B51BH

58

board,withtheshipsbeingcontrolledfromaland-based

controlhub.Withouttheneedtocarrycrew,theseshipswill

becheapertooperateandhavemoreroomforcargo.The

planisfortheshipstosetsailby2020.18

Inmanufacturing

MercedesparentcompanyDaimlerisonthecuttingedgeof

thefourthindustrialrevolution.Everyaspectofproductionis

impactedbydigitalisation,fromdigitaldesignandprototyping

tonetworkedproductionlines.

Adidasmaynotseemlikeaparticularlyhigh-techcompany,

butthesportswearmanufacturerisinvestingheavilyinsmart

factories.In2016,thecompanyproducedtheirfirstpairof

shoesfromanew,highlyautomatedfactoryinGermany,and

ithasplanstointroduceasimilarautomatedfactoryin

Atlanta.19ForAdidas,automationallowsforincrediblespeed

andgreatercustomisationofproductsforcustomers.

18https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/10/23/rolls-royce-and-google-partner-to-create-smarter-autonomous-ships-based-on-ai-and-machine-learning/#56dfd0266dfe19https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/09/29/adidas-brings-jobs-back-home-but-not-for-people/#772f6512402b

59

Sowhatdoesthismeanforhumanjobs?

AdidasbringingitsmanufacturingbacktotheWestisgreat,

butmoveslikethisareunlikelytocreateawealthof

manufacturingjobsforcommunities.Adidassaidtheirnew

Atlantafactory,forinstance,wouldcreatearound160jobs.

Butwithmachinescarryingoutthebulkofthemanufacturing

processes,thesejobsareunlikelytobelow-skillproduction

linejobs.Morelikely,they’llbejobsinprogramming,quality

controlandmaintenance.

It’snotjust‘blue-collar’jobsthatwillbeaffectedby

automation,however.It’sthoughtthatrobots,machinesand

algorithmswillreplace–or,morelikely,augment–many

humanjobs,includingprofessionaljobsinfieldslike

accountingandlaw.Byoneestimate,47percentofUSjobs

areatriskofautomation.20

Herearejustafewofthejobsthatarelikelytobeaffectedby

automationtosomedegree:

• Truckdrivers:I’vealreadymentionedhowthefirst

automatedtruckshavebeendeveloped.McKinsey

20http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2016/jan/24/4th-industrial-revolution-brings-promise-and-peril-for-humanity-technology-davos

60

predictthatinlessthanadecadeone-thirdofalltrucks

ontheroadwilldrivethemselves.21

• Bricklayers:SAM(Semi-AutomatedMason)isupto

threetimesmoreproductivethanhumanbricklayers,

layingmorebricksperhourthanyouraveragehuman

brickie–anddrinkingconsiderablylesstea.22

• Legalsupportstaff:ADeloitteInsightreporthasfound

that39percentoflegaljobsstandtobeautomatedby

2020.23AItechnologywillplayabigrolehere,giving

computerstheabilitytoreviewdocumentsandfind

relevantsupportinginformationforcases.

• Doctors:Inthepreviouschapter,wesawhowAIis

beingheavilyadoptedinthehealthcareindustry.IBM’s

Watson,forinstance,isalreadyteamingupwith

healthcareproviderstohelpdetectandtreatcancer.

• Accountants:Auditingexpenses,categorisingand

clearinginvoices,andbankreconciliationarejustafew

oftheaccountingtasksthatarewellsuitedto

intelligentmachines.Inmostcases,themachinescan

21http://www.newsweek.com/2016/12/09/robot-economy-artificial-intelligence-jobs-happy-ending-526467.html22https://www.technologyreview.com/s/540916/robots-lay-three-times-as-many-bricks-as-construction-workers/23https://www.legaltechnology.com/latest-news/deloitte-insight-100000-legal-roles-to-be-automated/

61

completethetaskfarquickerandmoreaccuratelythan

ahumanaccountant.

• Writers:Yourfavouritenovelistswillbesafe,but

journalists,reportwritersandotherwriterswhoassess

informationandthenwriteaboutitwillseemoreand

moreautomatedsystemsencroachingontheir

territory.IftheWashingtonPostisanythingtogoby,

machinesarealreadycreatingveryreadablecontent.

Let’spaintahappierpicture

Ifthatallsoundsabitbleak,especiallyifyou’reatruckdriver

oraccountant,fearnot.Yourexactjobasyouknowitright

nowmaynotexistinthefuture,butitmayhavemorphedinto

moreinterestingtasksorjobsthataren’tsuitedtomachines.

That’sthebeautyofautomation:itfreesuphumanstofocus

onmorestrategic,creativeorcomplextasks.

Andwherearoledisappearsaltogether,newtechnologywill

leadtothecreationofrolesthatdidn’texistbefore.Just

imaginegoingbackintimeandtellingpeoplefromthe1980s

that,whereyoucomefrom,millionsofpeopleworkasapp

designersorsocialmediamanagers.Theywouldn’thaveaclue

whatyouweretalkingabout!

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We’veseenitwitheachoftheindustrialrevolutionsthathave

comebeforeus.Changingworkforcescreatemorejobsin

differentareasandevenjobsthatdon’texisttoday–even

jobsthatwecan’timaginetoday.

Intheend,Ibelievethathumanswillworkalongsidetheir

robotcolleagues,andworkplaceswillbeabletoleveragewhat

eachonedoesbest.Humansarestillmoreflexibleandare

abletocomeupwithuniquewaystosolveproblems,so

robotsandmachineswillfreeusuptodigintoproblemsthat

requiremorecreativityandbrainpower.Inevitably,itwill

requiretrainingandtheacquisitionofnewskills,but,

ultimately,robotswillallowhumanstoenhancetheirroles.

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Asanybusinessconsultantwilltellyou,anythingthatcanbe

streamlinedorautomated,shouldbe.Andthatgoesfor

businessesbigandsmall.Ifarobotormachinecandoatask

quicker,cheaper,easierandmoreaccuratelythanahuman,

whyshouldn’tit?It’sanaturalevolution.

Bynowyou’veprobablyreadlotsofarticlesthatpithumans

againstmachines–‘Beafraid:Robotswilltakeallourjobs’and

63

thelike.I’veevenwrittensomeofthosearticles!Butthetrue

pictureofthefutureislikelytobelessblackandwhite.

Insteadofconsideringwho’llwinoutbetweenrobotworkers

andhumanworkers,weshouldbethinkingaboutafriendly

mergerbetweenmanandmachine,onethatbringsoutthe

bestinbothsides.

Infact,researchersbelievetheseAI–humanteamsmaybethe

answertosolvingtheworld’smostpressingandcomplex

problems,suchasclimatechange.24Forme,thequestionisn’t

whowillwinbetweenmanandmachine,buthowcanwebest

worktogether?Forbusinesses,thatmeansautomatingthe

processesthatarebestsuitedtomachines,andharnessing

humanbrainpowerforthequirkierproblemsandaspectsof

business.

24http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3380709/Superintellingence-AI-humans-working-solve-climate-change-end-wars-researchers-claim.html

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TREND6:3DPRINTINGIS

CHANGINGTHEWAYWE

PRODUCETHINGS

65

TREND6:3DPRINTINGISCHANGINGTHEWAYWEPRODUCE

THINGS

Huge,smartfactoriesandintelligentmachinesareonesideof

automation.Theothersideisalotmorehumble.I’mtalking

aboutthe3Dprinter.Thisoneinventionisdisrupting

manufacturing,andotherindustries,inmanypositiveways.In

pharma,forexample,thefirst3Dprinteddrugwasapproved

bytheFDAin2015.25Humantissuehasalsobeensuccessfully

recreatedwith3Dprinting.

As3Dprintingtechnologyimproves,thescopeofapplications

willextendtomanymoreindustries.Forexample,evenifa

traditionalmanufacturingassemblylineisn’treplacedwith3D

printers,thetechnologycouldstillbeusedtoquicklyprintand

replacesparepartsformachinery.Inventorswillbeableto

createmodelsandmockupsoftheirideasquicklyandeasily.

Outsidetheworldofwork,3Dprintingcouldaltermany

aspectsofeverydaylife–fromtheproductswebuy(maybe

evenmakeourselvesathome),tothehouseswelivein,tothe

foodweeat.Evenchocolateisbeingmanufacturedwith3D

printingtechnology.That’sright,printersexistthatcanprint

chocolate.

25http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/04/technology/fda-3d-printed-drug-epilepsy/

66

Beforeyourunofftobuyoneoftheseincrediblechocolate-

printinggadgets,let’stakealookatwhat3Dprintinginvolves,

andexploresomeofthefascinatingways3Dprinting

technologyisbeingapplied.

Whatis3dprintingandhowdoesitwork?

3Dprinting(alsoknownasadditivemanufacturing)isameans

ofcreating3Dobjectsfromadigitalfileusinganadditive

process.It’stheoppositeoftraditional(subtractive)

manufacturing,wherebyanobjectiscutoutorhollowedout

ofitsmaterial,e.g.plasticormetal,usingacuttingtoolor

somethinglikeamillingmachine.In3Dprinting,theobjectis

createdbylayingdown,oradding,layersuponlayersof

material,buildingupuntilyouhavethefinishedobject.Slice

thatobjectopen,andyou’dbeabletoseeeachofthesethin

layers,muchliketheringsofatreetrunk.

Thisinnovativelayeringapproachmeansthatfarmore

complexshapescanbecreatedthanintraditional

manufacturing–andusinglessmaterial,too.Thematerials

usedin3Dprintingcanbeprettymuchanything:plastic,

metal,concrete,liquid,powder,evenchocolateorhuman

tissue.

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Computingiscentralto3Dprinting,sincetheprintercreates

theobjectbasedonthe3Dsketchit’sgiven,producedusing

3DmodellingsoftwarelikeCAD.

Amazingexamplesof3Dprintinginaction

Herearejustafewoftheways3Dprintingisalreadybeing

used.

Printinghumantissue

Theworldofmedicinewasactuallyoneoftheearlyadopters

of3Dprinting.Itmakessensewhenyouthinkaboutit.Eachof

usaredifferent–wehavedifferentlengthlimbs,differentsize

ears,andsoon–and3Dprintingtechnologyallowsforan

extremelyhighlevelofcustomisation.Asaresult,millionsof

individuallysculptedprostheticsarebeing‘printed’,from

dentalimplantstolimbstohearingaidshells.

Researchersarealsousingthetechnologytocreatehuman

tissue,includingcartilageandskin.TheWakeForestInstitute

forRegenerativeMedicine,forexample,hasprintedbones,

musclesandevenears,andimplantedthemsuccessfullyinto

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animals.Importantly,afterbeingimplanted,themanufactured

tissuesurvivedandmaturedintofunctionaltissue.26

Andwe’rewellonourwaytobeingabletoprinthuman

organs.Therearestilllegalandethicalissuestoironout

beforethesestartbeingimplantedintohumans,sothiswork

isstillexperimental.Fornow,livertissuethat’sbeingprinted

isbeingusedlargelyfordrugtesting.Butifthoselegaland

ethicalhurdlescanbeovercome,justimaginehowthis

technologywillchangethelivesofthemillionsofpeople

aroundtheworldwaitingfororgantransplants.

Printingchocolate

It’samazingtothinkthatchocolatiersarenowusing3D

technologytoprintchocolates.Forexample,ChocEdge

creates3Dprintersthatallowchocolatierstodesignand

produceintricateandinventivechocolates,byrendering

prettymuchanyshapeorobjectoutofchocolate.

Howdoesitwork?Well,nottoputyouoffyourKitKat,butit’s

alotlike3Dplasticprinting.A3Dmodelofwhatevershape

youwanttorenderinchocolateisslicedintolayers,and

26https://3dprint.com/119885/wake-forest-3d-printed-tissue/

69

convertedintocodefortheprintertoread.Theobjectisthen

builtup,ultra-thinlayerbyultra-thinlayer,inmelted

chocolate,whichcoolsandsetsasit’sprinted.

IntheUS,Hersheyand3DSystemshavecollaboratedtocreate

achocolateprinteroftheirownthatcanacceptindividual

designsandprintcomplex,customshapesinwhite,milkand

darkchocolate.27Thismeans,ifyouweresoinclined,you

couldhaveyourfacerecreatedinchocolateasaninventive

Valentine’sgiftforyourlovedone.WillyWonkawould

approve,Ithink.

Printinghouses

Architectureandconstructionarealsobeingenhancedby3D

printingtechnology.ApisCor,aSanFrancisco-based3D

printingcompany,canprintalltheconcretewallsforamodest

houseinunder24hours.Usingthismethod,ahousecanbe

createdquicklyandeasilyonsite.ApisCor’smobile3Dprinter,

whichlooksabitlikeasmallcrane,laysdownlayersofa

concretemixturetobuildupthewalls.Then,oncetheprinter

isremoved,insulation,windowsandaroofareadded.The

27http://www.wired.co.uk/article/cocojet-chocolate-3d-printer

70

companyclaimsitsprintedwallswilllastforupto175years,

andthatahousemadeinthiswaycostsjustover$10,000to

build.28

Butwhystopatamodest,regularhouse?Whynot3Dprint

yourveryowncastle?That’swhat3Dconcreteprintingexpert

AndreyRudenkodid.29Keentoprovethatinnovativeand

unusualconstructionwaspossiblewith3Dprinting,heset

aboutcreatingtheworld’sfirst3Dprintedconcretecastle.

Admittedly,theresultisstillarelativelymodestcastle.Buta

castleitmostdefinitelyis.

Notonlyisthistechnologyabigstepforwardinmakinghouse

building(andcastlebuilding)moreaffordable,itcouldbeused

tohelpquicklyre-homepeoplewhohavebeendisplacedby

naturaldisasters,suchasfloodingorearthquakes.What’s

more,3Dprintedbuildingsmayhaveloftieraspirations

beyondbuildingshereonEarth.Thetechnologyisbeing

consideredasawayofbuildingfuturemoonbases.30

28http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/03/incredibly-cheap-house-3d-printed-just-24-hours/29http://www.totalkustom.com/3d-castle-completed.html30http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/01/foster-esa-moon-base-3d-printing

71

Printingtrainers

RememberthehighlyautomatedAdidasfactoryImentioned

inthepreviouschapter?Thefactoryuses3Dprintingtocreate

lightweight,flexiblesolesthatbettersupportthewearer’s

feet.Thanksinparttothisinnovativetechnology,Adidassays

itcancutthetimeittakestobringanewdesigntomarket

frommonthstoaweekorless.31Italsoallowsformuch

greatercustomisationofproductsforsportswearfans.

How3Dprintingwillchangemanufacturing

3Dprintersdon’tcutout,drillormillaproductfromitssource

material.Instead,theystartfromnothingandbuildupthe

productfromthere.Thismeans3Dprintingusesfarless

materialthantraditionalmanufacturingmethods,andit

meansthatone-offitemscanbemadequicklyandeasily,

withoutneedingtoworryabouteconomiesofscale.Notonly

isthisbetterforourenvironment,itwillalsoleadtosignificant

costsavingsformanufacturers.Andthosecostscanextendto

infrastructurecostsaswellasmaterials.

31https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21724368-recent-advances-make-3d-printing-powerful-competitor-conventional-mass-production-3d

72

AgriculturalmanufacturerJohnDeere,forinstance,isworking

with3DprintercreatorsCarbononaprojectthatwillalterthe

natureoftheirmanufacturingforever.Insteadofhavinghuge

warehousesallovertheworldfilledwithsparepartsforits

tractorsandothermachines,JohnDeerecanhaveallthe

digital,3Ddesignsforitssparepartsinthecloud,wherethey

canbeaccessedfromanyofitsmanufacturingplants

anywhereintheworld.Partscanthenbeprintedtoorder,

wheneverandwhereverthey’reneeded,withouthavingto

manufacturethousandsofpartsandstorethemforyears.32

GEisalsoinvestingbigin3Dprinting:$1.5billiontobe

precise.33Inoneexample,thecompanyisprintingfuelnozzles

forLEAPjetengines,andexpectsproductiontohit35,000

nozzlesayearby2020.3Dprintingisclearlyonthewayto

becomingviableforanykindofmassproduction.

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Ifyourbusinessinvolvesmanufacturingproductsor

componentsofanykind,you’ddowelltoconsiderhow3D

32http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21724368-recent-advances-make-3d-printing-powerful-competitor-conventional-mass-production-3d33https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21724368-recent-advances-make-3d-printing-powerful-competitor-conventional-mass-production-3d

73

printingcouldenhanceyouroperations.Whileit’sfairtosay

that3Dprintingisalongwayfrombeingubiquitous,examples

likeAdidasandGEshowushowthetechnologyisadvancingto

apointwhereitcanchallengetraditionalmethodsofmass

production.

Ofcourse,peoplethoughtthatprint-on-demandwouldput

bookshopsoutofbusiness,andthathadn’tbeenthecase.So

perhaps3Dprintingwillremainaspecialistprocess.Thisisone

trendwheretimewilltell.But,forme,what’sparticularly

excitingabout3Dprintingistheopportunitiesitoffersfor

customisationofproductsanddesignstosuitone-offrequests

andorders.

Inthisageofonlineplatformsanticipatingoureverywish,and

makingpersonalisedrecommendationsonwhatwemightlike

tobuy,read,watchorlistentonext,consumersaregetting

veryusedtohighlypersonalisedservices.Businesseslike

AmazonandNetflixhavedoneextremelywellforthemselves

byfiguringoutexactlywhattheircustomerswant,andthen

givingittothem.3Dprintingprovidesyetmorescopefor

personalisationandcustomisation,andIthinkthatmightbe

thekeytoitssuccess.

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TREND7:‘HISIRI’:

INTERFACEINNOVATIONS

HAVETRANSFORMEDHOW

WEINTERACTWITH

TECHNOLOGY

75

TREND 7: ‘HI SIRI’: INTERFACE INNOVATIONS HAVETRANSFORMEDHOWWEINTERACTWITHTECHNOLOGY

Overthelast10years,butparticularlyinthelastfewyears,

thewayweinteractwithtechnologyhaschangeddramatically

–andcontinuestochange.Mobilephonesandtabletshave

movedusfromtypingonakeyboardandclickingwitha

mousetosimplytouchingascreen.Weincreasinglycarryout

moretasksonthemove,onourmobilesandtablets.Andmost

ofusareentirelycomfortablespeakingtotechnologydirectly,

forinstance,throughvoicesearchesviaSiri,Alexaandthelike.

Inthischapter,we’lllookathowinterfaceinnovationshave

changedthewayweworkandplaywithtechnology,anddelve

intothecuttingedgeofinterfaces:virtualreality(VR)and

augmentedreality(AR).

Fromdesktoptomobile

We’veshiftedremarkablyquicklyfromtraditionaldesktop

computersandlaptopstosmartphonesandtablets.Thoseof

uswhodoofficejobsmightstillcarryoutthebulkofourmore

complexworktasksonalaptopordesktopPC(viewinga

spreadsheetiscumbersomeonasmartphone,forinstance,as

iswritingabook),butwe’reusingourtabletsandlaptops

76

moreandmoreforwork-relatedactivities…likeanswering

emailsat9pmatnight.

Outsideofwork,though,thesmartphonereignssupreme.

Improvedsmartphonetechnologyandhigh-speedmobile

Internetnetworkshaveresultedinsmartphonesbecoming

thefirstthingmanypeoplereachforwhentheyneedtocarry

outsomesortofonlineordigitalactivity.Wanttotakea

pictureofyourkid’sfirstdayatschool?Reachforthephone.

NeedtoarrangeMum’s60thbirthdaysurprisewithyour

siblings?HeadtoWhatsApp.Orderingacab?Bookingahotel?

Orderingyourweeklygroceries?Asthesayinggoes,there’san

appforthat.Andlet’snotforgetthat,inmanydeveloping

countries,asmartphonemaybetheonlycomputeraperson

has.

It’snowonderthenthat,in2016,mobilewebusageovertook

webusagethroughtraditionalcomputersforthefirsttime

ever.34Thatmeansmorewebsitesarenowaccessedthrough

smartphonesandtabletsthantheyarethroughcomputers

andlaptops.Thesameresearchalsofoundthat,intheUK,

mobileadvertisingsurpasseddesktopadvertisinginthefirst

34http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/11/01/mobile-web-usage-overtakes-desktop-for-first-time/

77

halfof2016.Googlehasalsoconfirmedthatsearcheson

mobiledevicesnowoutstripdesktopsearches.35

We’realittlewayfromPCsandlaptopsendinguponthescrap

heap,butit’sclearthescaleshavecertainlytippedinmobile’s

favour.

Theriseofvideo

Linkedtothismigrationtomobileisthemassivegrowthin

videocontent.Tenyearsago,whenwewantedtofindout

aboutsomething,wemighthavereadawebpage,online

articleorblogpost.(Tenyearsbeforethat,itwouldhavebeen

aphysicalbook,newspaperorotherkindofpublication.)

Now?It’sverylikelywewatchavideo.Ifyouthinkaboutit,

whendidyoulastseesomeonewatchingavideoontheir

phoneortablet?Ibetitwaswithinthelast24hours.

YouTubenowhasoverabillionusers–nearlyathirdofall

peopleontheInternet–andmorevideocontentisuploaded

totheplatforminonemonththanthemajorUSTVnetworks

havecollectivelycreatedoverthelast30years.36Eightytwo

35http://searchengineland.com/its-official-google-says-more-searches-now-on-mobile-than-on-desktop-22036936http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/03/08/video-marketing-statistics

78

percentofTwitteruserswatchvideocontentonthesite.37

Andalmosthalfofpeoplewatchmorethananhourof

FacebookorYouTubevideosaweek.38Byoneestimate,

Internetvideotrafficwillaccountforover80percentofall

consumerInternettrafficwithinthenextfouryears.39

Thishashadamassiveimpactonthewaybrandstryto

interactwithus,andvideoisbecomingacorepartofmany

businesses’marketingefforts.But,notcontentwithjust

watchingvideos,Internetusersarewantingtocreatetheir

ownvideocontent–leadingtoFacebookandInstagram’sLive

features,whichallowuserstosharelivevideocontentfrom

theirday.Now,oneineveryfivevideosviewedonFacebookis

aLivebroadcast.40AndIexpectthatnumberwillrise.

Lookaroundyouthenexttimeyou’reonatrainorbus.How

manypeoplearestreamingnewsvideoratherthanscrolling

throughanarticle?HowmanyarewatchingaYouTubevid?Or

howmanyarewatchingvideostheirfriendshaveposted,

ratherthanreadingtheirstatusupdates?Allthisrepresents

37http://www.insivia.com/27-video-stats-2017/38http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/03/08/video-marketing-statistics39https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2017/09/22/top-10-video-marketing-trends-and-statistics-roundup-2017/#6cfbba1d710340http://mediakix.com/2017/03/facebook-live-statistics-video-streaming-to-know/#gs.wOYVlrM

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anothersignificantwayinwhichourinteractionswith

technologyhavechanged.

Chattingtoourdevices

Now,we’removingfromtouchingscreenstotalkingtoour

technology.Idon’tmeaninthatabsent-mindedwaywe

sometimeschattoinanimateobjects,butinadeliberate,goal-

orientedway.Insteadoftappingascreenandtypingasearch,

forexample,wecannowsimplyaskourdeviceswhatwewant

toknow–and,thankstoAIcapabilities,theycanunderstand

ourrequestandanswerus.Estimatessuggestthat,by2020,

50percentofallsearcheswillbevoicesearches,andaround

30percentwillinvolvenoscreenwhatsoever.41Forme,(at

leastfornow)thisrepresentsthebiggestchangeinhowwe

interactwithtechnology.

What’sgreataboutinteractionslikethisisthattheybreak

downbarriersbetweengenerations.Youdon’thavetobe

technicallysavvytoaskavirtualassistantlikeAlexawhenthe

clocksgoback,orwhetherit’sgoingtorainwhenyougoout

later.Allyouneedisthepowerofspeech.Irecentlyhosteda

41https://www.branded3.com/blog/google-voice-search-stats-growth-trends/

80

charityteafor15elderlypeople,andtwoofthemweretalking

abouttheirAlexa.Playingafavouritesong,askingAlexatocall

arelativeorfriend,orsimplyjustsaying‘Goodnight,Alexa’

andhaveheranswerbackwerejustsomeofthewaysAlexa

makeseverydaylifebetter.Andattheotherendofthe

spectrum,mysix-year-oldloveschattingtoAlexaandasking

thosemust-knowquestionsthatsix-year-oldsareconstantly

comingupwith,like‘Howmanybonesarethereinthehuman

body?’

Chatbotscandomorethanplayyourfavouritesong

Alexa,Siri,Cortana.They’realljustAI-drivenchatbots.Asare

manyofthecustomerservicerepresentativeswenowinteract

withonline.Chatbotsaren’trobotsatall,ofcourse,but

softwarethatyoucommunicatewithtocompleteataskor

answeraquestion.Andtheimplicationsofthistechnology

extendfarbeyondaskingforaspecificsong.Businessesare

tappingintothepowerofchatbotstodeliverabetter,more

personalisedservicetocustomers,communicatewiththeir

employees,andimproveoperations.Someofthemore

commonusesforchatbotsinclude:

81

• Automatingcustomerservice:Promptattentionand

communicationwithcustomersisacriticalcomponent

ofbusinesssuccess.Chatbotsexcelatthisbecause

theycanrespondtomultiplequeriesatthesametime

andeasilyanswertypicalcustomerservicequeries.

• Conversationalcommerce:Theeasieritisfor

customerstopurchaseyourproduct,themoreyou’ll

sell.Conversationalcommerceallowscustomersto

purchaseanitemsimplybyhavingaconversationwith

achatbot.

• Marketingandadvertising:Advertising-focused

chatbotscansharenewsaboutspecialoffersornew

productswithcustomersviadirectmessaging.

Outsideofthebigbrands,it’srelativelyearlydaysintermsof

chatbotadoptioninbusiness,butitwon’tbelongbeforeit

takesoffamongsmallercompanies.Asweallgetmoreused

tointeractingwithtechnologyinmorenatural,intuitiveways,

chatbotsprovideaneasywayforbusinessestokeep

customersengaged.

82

Howeverydayobjectsanddevicesarenowintegratingwith

AIassistants

Asbusinessesarecottoningontoourloveofinteractingwith

technologyviaaudiocommands,manufacturersaregradually

integratingtheirproductswiththelikesofSiri,Alexaand

GoogleAssistant.

Forexample,IhaveaSonossmartspeakersystem,andthe

latestSonosspeakersarenotjustintegratedwithAlexa(and

otherAIassistants),they’rebuiltwiththattechnology

specificallyinmind.Thismeansmysmartspeakerscan

respondtoallthevoicecommandsandquestionsI’dexpect

Alexato.

Inanotherexample,AlexaisbeingfittedintoBMWsfrom

2018.Usingmicrophonesembeddedintothecar,driverswill

beabletogiveAlexabasicvoicecommands,likeaskingfor

weatherornewsupdates.Fordhasalreadyunveiledcarsthat

allowdriverstosynctheirAlexadevicesandremotelyunlock

theircarjustbyaskingittounlock.

AmazonclearlyhasplanstogetAlexaintoasmanyproducts

asitcan.ThecompanyhasevensaidthatAlexawillbe

availableforBillyBass–youknow,thattalkingfishthathangs

onyourwall...

83

Real-worldexample:GEandAlexaintegration

GESolhasunveiledatablelampwithatwist.Aswellas

offeringenergyefficiency,asleekdesignand,obviously,the

abilitytolightaroom,the‘C’lampis‘smart’.It’sfully

integratedwithallthevoiceandsoundcapabilitiesofAlexa,

meaningyoucanaskyourlamptoreadyouthelatest

headlines,giveyoutheweatherreport,orplayyourmusic.

Youcanevenaskyourlamptoadditemstoyourshoppinglist.

Thefutureisalreadyhere:Virtualreality(VR)and

augmentedreality(AR)

VRandARrepresentthenexthugeleapininterface

innovation.Morethanjustsci-fi,VRandARarealreadyfinding

veryrealapplicationsinourworld,andarelikelytochangethe

wayweinteractwithtechnology.

ButwhatisVRexactly?AndhowdoesARdiffer?Inanutshell,

thetermVRreferstotheuseofcomputertechnologytofully

immersetheuserinasimulated3Denvironment,tothe

extentthattheuserfeelsliketheyarephysicallyinthat

environment.AR,ontheotherhand,isrootedverymuchin

therealworld,notasimulatedenvironment.WithAR,

84

informationorobjectsareoverlaidontowhattheuseris

seeingintherealworld.Bothtechnologiestypicallyworkusing

specialheadsetsorglasses,likeOculusRiftorGoogleGlass,

butappsareavailabletoofferVRandARexperiencesthrough

asmartphone(GoogleCardboardbeingoneexample).

HowbrandsarealreadytappingintoVRtechnology

There’squitealotofhypearoundthepotentialusesofVR,

andwithgoodreason.Researchhasshownthatconsumers

aremorelikelytobuyfromabrandthatusesVR,42meaning

thetechnologyhasthepotentialtoabsolutelytransform

marketing.Herearesomewaysbigbrandsarealready

harnessingVRtocreateabetterexperienceforconsumers:

• Mercedescreatedavirtualexperienceofdrivingthe

latestSLmodeldownCalifornia’sbeautifulPacific

CoastHighway.

• Oreoenticedcookieloverswithananimatedvirtual

land,completewithchocolatecanyons,topromotea

newcookieflavour.

42http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/new-study-says-people-are-more-likely-buy-brands-use-virtual-reality-172557

85

• FootwearmanufacturerTomsisknownforits

philanthropicefforts,givingapairofshoestosomeone

inneedforeverypairthecompanysells.Thecompany

recentlycreatedanemotiveimmersiveexperience,

takingusersonagivingtriptoaremotePeruvian

village.

ARinaction

ARtechnologymaybeinitsinfancy,butthathasn’tstopped

businessesmakinggooduseofit.ARcreatesa‘mixed

environment’,blendingvirtualobjectsordatawiththereal-

worldenvironment–anapproachthat’sprovingparticularly

usefulinthemanufacturingsector.

Modernmanufacturingmayinvolveputtingtogethermany,

manycomplexcomponents,eachofthemdifferent.Usingan

ARdevice,youcanhaveinstructionsorschematicsavailableat

aglance,rightinfrontofyoureyes,whileyou’relookingatthe

componentinquestion.

Thiscanalsobeincrediblyusefulinamaintenancesetting,and

potentiallysavecompaniesalotoftimeandmoneyon

training.MitsubishiElectric,forexample,isdevelopingAR-

86

drivenmaintenancesupport,usinga3Dmodelthatshowsthe

userthecorrectordertoinspectapieceofequipment.

Maintenancestaffcanalsologinspectionresultswiththeir

voice.

ButtheapplicationsofARdon’tendinthemanufacturing

world.AllsortsoforganisationsaredevelopingAR

experiences:

• PepsiCorecentlytookoveraLondonbusshelterto

createanincredibleAR-enableddisplaythattricked

commutersbyoverlayingimagesontothereal-life

streetinfrontofthem.Theseimagesincludeda

meteorcrashingintotheground,atigerpadding

towardsthem,andalargetentaclepoppingupfrom

underneaththepavingslabs!

• TheUSArmyisharnessingARtoimprovesoldiers’

situationalawareness,usinganeyepiecethathelps

thempreciselylocatetheirposition,locateothers

aroundthem,andidentifywhetherthey’reafriendor

afoe.

87

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Atthemostbasiclevel,thistrendrequiresallbusinessesto

deliveragoodmobileexperience,andthatmeanshavinga

websitethatworksseamlesslyonphonesandtablets.This

maysoundobvious,but,accordingtoonesurvey,almosta

fifthofsmallbusinessesstilldon’thaveamobile-friendly

website.43

Goingbeyondmobile,businessesmustbereadytooffertheir

customersanAI-enabledchatbotexperience,whetherthat

meansintegratingAlexa(andotherAIassistant)technology

intoyourproducts,orputtingchatbotstoworkinyour

customerservice,marketingandsalesfunctions.

Andlookingevenfurtherahead,thewayweinteractwith

technologyisgoingtobecomemoreandmoreimmersive.

(Evenmoreimmersivethanhavingavirtualassistantwithyou

24/7,readytorespondtoyoureverywhim.)Companieswho

canbegindevelopingVRandARexperiencesareverylikelyto

reaptherewardsinthelongerterm.

43https://clutch.co/web-designers/resources/small-business-2017-website-survey

88

TREND8:BLOCKCHAIN

TECHNOLOGYWILL

OVERHAULHOWWE

STORE,SHAREAND

PROTECTDATA

89

TREND8:BLOCKCHAINTECHNOLOGYWILLOVERHAULHOW

WESTORE,SHAREANDPROTECTDATA

Youmighthavealreadyheardofthephrase‘blockchains’,but

aren’tquitesurewhatitmeans.Ormaybeyouthink

blockchainsarejustanothertechybuzzword,soontobe

overtakenbythenextbigthing.

Butblockchainsaremorethanjustabuzzword.Blockchain

technologyisaverypractical,incrediblyusefulsolutiontothe

problemofstoring,authenticatingandprotectinginformation.

Assuch,ithasusesinmanyindustrieswheretransactions,

identitiesorinformationneedstobeauthenticated,including

bankingandinsurance.ThispotentialhasledIBMCEOGinni

Romettytodeclare,‘WhattheInternetdidfor

communications,blockchainwilldofortrustedtransactions.’

Inverysimplisticterms,ablockchainisakindofdecentralised,

extremelysecuredatabase.Toputitinmoretechnicalterms,

it’sadistributed,peer-to-peerledgerofrecords,whichmeans

thestoragedevicesfortherecordsinthedatabasearenotall

connectedtoacommonprocessor.

Therecordsinablockchainarecalled‘blocks’(sothat’swhere

the‘block’partcomesfrom)andeachblockislinkedtothe

previousblock(hence,‘chain’).

90

Inthischapter,we’llgettogripswithhowblockchainswork,

andsomeofthefar-reachingimplicationsofblockchainsthat

willseethetechnologychangeourworld.

Howdoblockchainswork?

Everyblockinablockchainhasatimeanddatestamp,andthe

wholechainisself-managed,meaningitdoesn’tneeda

centralintermediarytocoordinateeverything.Thatmeans

there’snoonepersonororganisationinchargeoftheentire

chain,andeverythingisgovernedbyconsensus(whichiswhat

makesitapeer-to-peernetwork).Ablockchainistransparent,

soeveryoneinthechaincanseethedetailsofeachblockor

record.Thechainitselfcanbepublic(liketheInternet)or

private(likeanintranet).

Publicorprivate,blockchainsareincrediblysecurebecause

userscanonlyeditthepartsoftheblockchainthatthey‘own’,

bypossessingtheprivatecryptographykeyneededtoalterthe

file.Andwhenchangesaremadetoablock,thewhole

blockchainiskeptinsynchandeachuser’scopyofthe

blockchainisupdatedinrealtime.Whilenothingistotally

‘hack-proof’thesedays,blockchainrepresentsahugeleap

forwardcomparedtoourcurrentsecuritytechnology.

91

Here’sanexampleofhowthismightworkinpractice.Imagine

adigitalmedicalrecordasablockchain.Eachentry(e.g.a

diagnosisandtreatmentplan)isaseparateblock,withatime

anddatestampthatmarkswhentherecordwascreated.Only

peoplewiththenecessaryprivatekeycanaccessthe

informationinthatblock.So,inthiscase,thedoctormight

haveoneprivatekey,andthepatientanother.Information

canbesharedwithanotherparty–aconsultantorspecialist,

forinstance–butonlywheneitherthedoctororpatient

sharestheirprivatekeywiththatparty.

Ifthisisallsoundingabitfamiliartoyou,itmightbebecause

thevirtualcurrencyBitcoinfunctionsonblockchain

technology.Blockchainservesasthepublicledgerforall

bitcointransactions,operatingwithouttheuseofacentral

serveroroverseeingauthority.Infact,blockchainwas

originallydevelopedforBitcoinuse,butitsapplicationsare

spreadingmuchfurtherthanthecryptocurrency.Infact,

blockchaincanbethoughtofasthe‘Internetofvalue’,

providingareal-timeledgerofprettymuchanythingthatcan

berecorded:financialtransactions,contracts,supplychain

info,evenphysicalassets.

92

Real-lifeapplicationsbeyondBitcoin

Rightnow,only0.5percentoftheworld’spopulationisusing

blockchain.44Butthatwillchange.IBM,forexample,is

dedicating$200millionand1,000employeestoblockchain-

poweredprojects.45NinetypercentofmajorEuropeanand

NorthAmericanbanksareexploringblockchainsolutions.46

AndarecentWorldEconomicForumreporthaspredicted

that,by2025,10percentofGDPwillbestoredonblockchains

orblockchain-relatedtechnology.47

Let’stakealookatsomeofthewaysblockchaintechnology

canbeusedinpractice.

Speedingupclaimsandpreventingfraudintheinsurance

industry

Blockchainisalongwayfromwidespreadadoptioninthe

insuranceworld,butthetechnologyhasthepotentialto

dramaticallyimproveinternalprocesses,makingthemfar

moreefficientandsecure.

44ttps://www.reddit.com/r/ICONOMI/comments/61hmv4/10_blockchain_facts_that_every_investor_should/45https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/blockchain-statistics/46https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/blockchain-statistics/47http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC15_Technological_Tipping_Points_report_2015.pdf#page

93

Blockchaincould,forexample,helpspeeduptheresolutionof

insuranceclaimsthroughtheuseofsmartcontracts.Contracts

wouldberecordedandverifiedontheblockchaininthefirst

instance.Then,intheeventofaclaim,theblockchainwould

ensurethatonlyvalidclaimsarepaidbyensuringcriteriain

thesmartcontractaremet.Whenthecriteriaaremet,the

blockchaincouldtriggerpaymentoftheclaimwithoutany

humaninteraction.

Insurancecompaniesarebattlingfraudonalargescale.

Blockchainfunctionsonaprocessofdecentralisedvalidation,

whichwouldmeancustomers,policiesandtransactionscould

beindependentlyverifiedforauthenticity.Admittedly,this

wouldrequireextensivecooperationbetweeninsurers,

customers,manufacturers,andotherparties(likethepolice),

buttheideaisthatpartieswouldusetheblockchaintoshare

andvalidateinformation.

Disruptingthelegalprofession(inagoodway)

Blockchain’ssecurityandtransparencycouldhelpdeliverhuge

benefitstothelegalprofession.Forinstance,thesmart

contractsthatIalludedtointheprevioussectioncouldsee

94

contractsbeingautomaticallygeneratedandself-executing,

withoutanyhumanlegalinterventionrequired.

Or,inanotherexample,blockchaincouldbeusedtomonitor

andauthenticatelanddeeds.Thiswouldbeparticularly

helpfulindevelopingcountrieswhereitcanbechallengingto

keeptrackofwhoownswhatbitofland.Apublicblockchain

ledgerclearsupanyconfusion,allowingallpartiestoseewho

ownswhichlanddeeds,andwhenownershipswitchedhands.

Blockchain-basedbankingandfinancialservices

Imentionedthatmanymajorfinancialinstitutionsarealready

investinginleveragingblockchaintechnology.Consideringthe

potentialcostandlaboursavingsblockchainwouldbring,it’s

nowonder.Trillionsofdollarsaremovedaroundour

antiquatedglobalfinancialsystemeveryday–andthese

transactionsareoftenslow,costlyandopentofraud.

Financialservicesis(fornow,atleast)theindustrywhere

expertsseethemostobviousandnumerousapplicationsof

blockchaintechnology.Herearesomeofitspotentialuses:

• Reducingfraud:Mostbankingsystemsarebuiltonthe

ideaofacentraliseddatabase,which,becauseithas

95

onepointoffailureratherthanmany,ismore

vulnerabletocyberattack.Blockchainsarenot

centralised,andarethereforelessopentoattack.

• Knowyourcustomer(KYC):Customerduediligence

andKYCregulations–whicharedesignedtohelp

reducemoneylaundering–costfinancialinstitutions

upto$500millionperyear.48Blockchainallowsclients

tobeindependentlyverifiedandidentified,andfor

otherpartiesinthechain(i.e.otherbanksorfinancial

servicesproviders)toaccessthatverification–

meaningtheydon’thavetorepeattheKYCprocess.

• Smarterpayments:Atthemoment,therearealotof

intermediariesinthepaymentprocessingsystem.

Blockchaintechnologyeliminatestheneedformanyof

them,therebysimplifyingthepaymentprocess,while

beefingupsecurity.

48https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/press-releases/2016/may/thomson-reuters-2016-know-your-customer-surveys.html

96

Real-worldexample:APPIIandtheendofCV

‘embellishments’

Blockchaintechnologycouldhavefar-reachingimplicationsfor

thewayemployersassesscandidatesforvacancies.In2017,

APPIIlaunchedtheworld’s‘firstblockchaincareerverification

platform’,49whichisdesignedtogiveemployersconfidence

thatthecandidatesittinginfrontofthemiswhotheysaythey

are,andthattheyactuallydohavetheexperienceand

qualificationstheyclaim.

APPII’splatformallowscandidatestocreatewhatitcalls

‘IntelligentProfiles’,listingtheireducation,professional

experience,accreditation,etc.onthedistributedledger,

whereitcanbeverifiedandpermanentlyrecorded.Previous

employersandeducationalinstitutescanverifythe

informationonthecandidate’srecord,meaningthehiringfirm

doesn’tneedtocheckallthosedetailsagain.Theplatformalso

usesfacialrecognitiontechnologytoverifyacandidate’s

identity,askingthemtotakeapictureusingtheAPPIIapp,and

thencomparingthatphototoofficialIDrecords,suchas

passports.

49https://appii.io/

97

Thissavesemployersmanyhours,sometimesevenweeks’of

worktoverifycandidates–andinanyfieldwherecontracting

iscommonplace(IT,forexample),thetimesavingscouldbe

considerable.Italsogiveshiringmanagersconfidenceinthe

candidate’sskills.Withonestudyreportingthatmorethan

halfofhiringmanagershavecaughtcandidatesfibbingon

theirCVs,50itmakessensethatAPPII’sservicewillbe

welcomedbymanyabusiness.

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Today,blockchaintechnologyisaboutasmatureasthe

Internetwasin1996,51soit’sfairtosaywe’vegotawaytogo

beforeblockchainsbecomecommonplace.Therearealso

significanthurdlestoovercomearoundindustryregulation,

privacylaws,andtheneedtosecurepersonaldata.

There’snodoubt,though,thattheblockchainrevolutionis

underway,andmostindustryexpertsconcurit’swherewe’re

headed.Theimpactofblockchaintechnologywillbe

50http://time.com/money/3995981/how-many-people-lie-resumes/51http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-blockhain-in-insurance/%24FILE/EY-blockhain-in-insurance.pdf

98

enormous,changingtheveryfoundationofoureconomicand

socialsystems.

Fullintegrationislikelytotakeyears,ifnotdecades,soitmay

seemlikeit’snotworthconsideringthepracticalimplications

foryou.Thatwouldbeamistake.Lookathowquicklythe

Internettookoffandhowdramaticallyithasalteredalmost

everyfacetofoureverydaylives.Blockchainsmaybejustas

significant.Therefore,itpaystokeepabreastofdevelopments

inthefield.

99

TREND9:PLATFORMSWILL

CHANGETHEWAYWEALL

DOBUSINESS

100

TREND9:PLATFORMSWILLCHANGETHEWAYWEALLDO

BUSINESS

Thisfinaltrendleveragesmuchofthetechnologywe’ve

alreadylookedatinthisbook.BigDataandtheincreasing

dataficationofourworld,beefed-upcomputingpower,smart

devicesandtheshifttomobile,AIandautomation–allof

thesehavecreatedaperfectstorm.Andoutofthatstormhas

comeplatformbusinesses.

Thedifferencebetweenatraditionalbusinessmodelanda

platformbusinessmodelisthedifferencebetweenanold-

schoolcabcompanyandUber.Thefirstisheavilybasedon

assets,withcarsthatneedmaintainingandupdating,anda

teamofemployeestodrivethosevehicles.Thesecondtaps

intotheunlimitedpowerofthecrowd,unitingthosewitha

carinneedofsomecash,withpeoplewhowantaride.With

Uber,theplatformfacilitatesinteractionsbetweencustomers

andproviders.Theplatformisthebusiness.And,ofcourse,all

thoseinteractionsgeneratelotsandlotsofdata–datathat

helpstheplatformbusinessimproveitsserviceofferingand

keepthecrowdcomingbackformore.

PlatformshavegivenrisetobusinesseslikeAirbnb,eBayand

Amazon,aswellasthegigeconomyitself.Theyarealsothe

101

foundationofwhatthebigsocialmediabusinesseslike

FacebookandTwitterdo.However,theinfluenceofplatforms

extendsfarbeyondthesegiants;nowevenlong-running

businesseswithmoretraditionalbusinessmodelsare

beginningtodevelopplatformstrategies.

Aswe’llseeinthischapter,thistrendrepresentsa

fundamentalchangetobusinessmodelsandstrategy–

probablythebiggestdisruptiontobusinessstrategythatI’ve

seen.Andthatmeanseverybusiness,regardlessofsizeor

industry,needsaplatformstrategy.

Whatisaplatform?

Aplatformisessentiallyanetwork(digitalorphysical)that

createsvalueforparticipantsbyfacilitatingconnectionsand

exchangesbetweenpeopleforservices,productsor

information.Theplatformapproachisallaboutleveragingan

ecosystemtocreatevalue.It’snotexactlyanewinvention–a

groceryshop,forinstance,connectsconsumerswiththe

producerswhogrowfruitandveg–buttheothertrendsthat

we’veseenthroughoutthisbookhaveallowedplatformsto

offergreatervaluethaneverbefore,disruptingmanyan

102

industryandsectorintheprocess.Justthinkoftheimpact

Airbnbhashadonthehospitalityindustry.

What’scrucialisthatthecompanyisrarelytheactualservice

provider;instead,theyactasafacilitatorforthecrowd,

makinginteractionspossible,easy,andsafeforboththe

providerandtheuser.

Thebenefitsofplatformsincludeunlockingnewsupplyand

demandstreams,eliminatinggatekeepers,buildingamore

nimblebusinesswithfewerassetsandrawmaterials

(remember,Uberdoesn’towncars),andofferingmorevalue

tousers.Valueisabsolutelykeytoplatformsuccess.Themore

valuableaplatformornetworkistoitsendusers,themore

successfulitbecomes.

Lookingattheplatformbusinessmodel

AccordingtoDeloitte,52therearefourmainbusinessmodels

intowhichalmostanybusinessfits.Startingwiththemost

traditionalbusinessmodelsandprogressingtothenewer

ones,theseare:

52https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tr/Documents/finance-transformation/us-cfo-insights-valueshift-120314.pdf

103

• Assetbuilders:Thisencompassescompaniesthat

makeorsellphysicalitems.Businessesthatfallinto

thiscategoryincludemanufacturing,retail,realestate,

construction,andsoon.

• Serviceproviders:Thesecompanieshireemployeesto

provideaservicetocustomers.Thisincludesanything

fromconsultancybusinesses,financialinstitutionsand

lawfirms,todrycleanersandcarrepairworkshops.

• Technologycreators:Thiscoverscompanieswho

createandsellintellectualproperty,suchassoftware,

pharmaceuticalsandanalytics.

• Networkmatchmakers(alsoknownasplatforms):

Thesecompaniescreateanetworkandconnect

individualstoprovidevalue.Participantsinthe

networkmaysellproductsorservicestoeachother,

giveadviceorreviews,collaborate,orsimplycultivate

relationships.Facebook,Twitter,Amazon,Airbnband

Uberareallplatformbusinesses.Google,which

connectspeoplesearchingforstuffwithadvertisers

whohavestufftosell,isanotherplatformbusiness.

104

Thetop15platformcompaniesrepresentanimpressive$2.6

trillioninglobalmarketcapitalisation.53What’smore,Deloitte

foundthattechnologycreatorsandplatformbusinessesare

typicallyvaluedattwotofourtimeshigherthanasset-or

service-basedbusinesses.54Aswellasachievingahigher

valuation,networkbusinessestypicallyhaveloweroverheads.

It’snowonderthenthat81percentofexecutivessay

platform-basedbusinessmodelswillbeacentralpartoftheir

growthstrategywithinthreeyears.55

Developing,expandingorshiftingyourbusinessmodeltoa

platformmodelrequiresashiftinmindsetawayfromphysical

assetstospottingthevalueofintangibleassets.Dataisone

suchintangibleasset,asisanapporyoursocialmedia

presence,orevenyournetworkofcustomers.Mostofthe

businessesIworkwitharesittingonplentyofintangibleassets

withoutreallyrealisingit–particularlywhenitcomestodata.

Keytomakingaplatformbusinessmodelworkisrecognising

howthoseassetscandeliveroraddvalue,andthen

developingorexpandingthoseassets.

53https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/insight-digital-platform-economy54https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tr/Documents/finance-transformation/us-cfo-insights-valueshift-120314.pdf55https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/insight-digital-platform-economy

105

Crowd(andcloud)powerpacksarealpunch

Airbnbwouldbeuselesswithoutitsnetworkofpeople

providingaccommodation.Facebook,TwitterandYouTubeall

relyonthecrowdtogeneratethecontentpeoplewanttoread

andsee.The‘crowd’–anonlinecommunityornetwork–is

absolutelycriticaltothesuccessofplatforms.

WetalkedaboutthecloudinChapter3andhowithas

revolutionisedthewaywestoreandworkwithdata.WhatI

didn’tmentionthen,butisequallytrue,isthatthecloudhas

fundamentallychangedemploymentandthewaywework

forever.

Asmoreandmorebusinessesandapplicationsheadforthe

cloud,it’sbecomingmucheasierforcompaniestosayyesto

hiringremoteworkersortapintoexpertisewheneverthey

needit.IntheUKalone,therearealreadyaroundfivemillion

crowdor‘gigeconomy’workers,56peopleworkingviadigital

platformslikeUpworkorUber.

Relatedtothiscloudworkingmovementisthesharing

economy.Ridesharing,apartment/homelending,peer-to-peer

lending,reselling,coworking,talent-sharing–thesharing

56https://phys.org/news/2016-02-million-crowd-workers-uk-gig.html

106

economyistakingoffallovertheworld.Beyonda

disillusionmentwithconsumerism,what’sdrivingthistrendis

data,computingpower–and,ofcourse,platforms.Most,if

notallofthesecrowd-workingandsharingnetworkupstarts

wouldnotbeviablebusinesses,certainlynotonalargescale,

withoutleveragingaplatformandafoundationofBigData.

Withoutasophisticatedapptomatchadriverwitharider,

Uberwouldn’tbecompetitivewithtaxidriverswhocruise

aroundalldaylookingforfares—andthesameistrueofeach

oftheseplatformservices.

Real-worldexample:HowGithubdemonstratesthepowerof

thecrowd

Describedas‘thecloudforcode’or‘Facebookfor

programmers’,Githubisoneofthelargestcoding

communitiesintheworld,allowinguserstoupload,shareand

publishopensourceprogrammingcode.It’savaluable

repositoryforcode,butitalsocreatesfurthervalueby

allowingcoderstocollaborate,reviewandimproveoneach

other’swork.

107

AsanexampleofhowinfluentialGithubis,Microsoft(yes,the

Microsoft,thecompanywhousedtobenotoriouslyaverseto

theverynotionofopensource)isoneofGithub’stop

collaborators.Therearemorethan16,000peopleonGithub

contributingopensourceMicrosoftcode,someMicrosoft

employees,somenot.57FacebookandGoogleareothertop

collaborators.

NotonlyisGithubincrediblyinfluentialinthetechworld,it’s

alsoavaluablecompanybyanystandards.It’svaluedat

around$2billion,andhasattracted$350millionininvestment

inrecentyears.58

Thisallsoundsgreat,butwhatabouttraditionalbusinesses?

It’simportanttostressthatplatformbusinessmodelsaren’t

justfortechnologycompanies.Platformsoffergrowth

opportunitiesacrossallkindsofbusinesses,industriesand

sectors.

Ford,forexample,istestingoutashiftfromanassetbusiness

toaplatformbusinesswithapilotcar-sharingoffering.59With

57http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-github-open-source-2016-958https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelhelft/2015/07/29/github-raises-250-million-in-round-led-by-sequoia-capital/#2ba01e534cb659http://fortune.com/2016/01/12/ford-leasing-pilot/

108

theriseofbusinesseslikeUberandLyft,Fordistryingto

adjustitsbusinessmodeltocapitaliseonseismicmarketshifts.

ThemedicalequipmentmanufacturerPhilipsisanother

exampleofanasset-basedbusinesstransitioningtoa

platform.Thecompanyisteamingupwithcloudpartners

AmazonWebService,AlibabaCloudandSalesforcetolaunch

thePhilipsHealthSuitecloud-basedplatform–asuiteoftools

thatfacilitatepersonalisedhealthcare.60

Whatthistrendmeansforyou

Fromthosecompaniesthatarelightontraditionalassets,like

GoogleandFacebook,toasset-heavycompanieslikeFordand

Philips,platformsarebecomingafundamentalpartof

businessstrategy.Thatmeanseverycompanycanandshould

haveaplatformstrategy.

Tocreateasolidplatformstrategy,youmustconsiderthree

questions:

• Howwillyourplatformsupporttheexchangeof

value?Essentialtoasuccessfulplatformisdetermining

howyourplatformwillcreateandcapturevalue.Or,to

60https://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/innovation/about-health-suite

109

putitanotherway,howwillparticipantsinyour

platformbenefitfromothersintheplatform?

• Howwillyouattractanddriveuserstoyourplatform?

ImagineUberwithoutthedrivers.Itjustwouldn’t

work.Youmustthereforefigureouthowyou’ll‘seed’

userstoyourplatform,forexample,byofferingfree

servicesorlowprices.

• Howwillyourplatformencourageinteractions?Your

platformshouldbecomethecoreofacommunity–

somethingthatconnectspeopleandaddsvalue–and

thismeansencouragingparticipantstointeractwith

eachother.YourgoalistomakeitTHEplacewhere

consumersmeetandcommercehappens(whether

thatmeansgoods,servicesorinformation).

Governancepoliciesarekeytoensuringthese

interactionspreservevalueandanexemplary

experience.

Together,thesequestionswillhelpyoubegintheprocessof

leveragingaplatformandcommunitytocatapultyour

businesstosuccess.

110

CONCLUSION:LOOKING

AHEADTOABRIGHTER

FUTURE

111

CONCLUSION:LOOKINGAHEADTOABRIGHTERFUTURE

There’snodoubtthatsomeofthesetrends,particularly

automation,willseejobschange,andevendisappear.Andit’s

alsotruethatsomeofthesetrendshavethepotentialto

seriouslycreeppeopleout,particularlywhenitcomestothe

increasingdataficationofourlives.Afterall,noteveryone

wantstheirbank,mobilephoneproviderorcarmanufacturer

knowingeverylittledetailabouttheirdailyhabits.

Butwiththesetechtrendscomehugeadvantages,efficiencies

andimprovementstoourlives.Foreverypersoncreepedout

bythethoughtofBigDataorAI,isanotherwhocouldhave

theircancerdiagnosedearlierthankstomachineleaning.And

forbusinesses,regardlessofsize,industryortargetmarket,

thesetrendsofferenormouspotentialtobetterunderstand

andconnectwithcustomers,provideabetter,moreefficient,

moresecureservice,anddeliverexcitingnewproductsand

services.Alsowiththesetechtrendscomenewjobs,andeven

wholenewindustries.

Ithereforebelievetheseninetrendsarealreadyshaping,and

willcontinuetoshape,ourworldinapositive,excitingand

inspiringway.Ihopethisbookhasinspiredyoutolearnmore

112

aboutthesetrendsandconsiderhowtheycouldbeadoptedin

yourbusinessorindustrytoeffectpositivechange.

IfyouenjoyedthiseBook,whynotheadtomywebsitefor

morearticles,casestudies,eBooksandmore…

www.bernardmarr.com

113

AbouttheAuthor

BernardMarrisaninternationallybest-sellingbusinessauthor,keynotespeakerandstrategicadvisortocompaniesandgovernments.Heisoneoftheworld'smosthighlyrespectedexpertswhenitcomestobusinessperformance,digitaltransformationandtheintelligentuseofdatainbusiness.

BernardisaregularcontributortotheWorldEconomicForumandwritesweeklycolumnsforForbes,HuffingtonPostandLinkedInwherehisarticlesarereadbymillions.HisexpertcommentsalsoregularlyfeatureonTVandradio(e.g.BBCNews,SkyNewsandBBCWorld)aswellasinhigh-profilepublicationssuchasTheTimes,TheGuardian,TheFinancialTimes,theCFOMagazineandtheWallStreetJournal.

Bernardisamajorsocialmediainfluencerwithover1.5millionfollowersacrossLinkedIn,Twitter,FacebookandSlideShare.Infact,BernardisrecognisedbyLinkedInasoneofthetop5businessinfluencersintheworld.

Hehaswritten15booksandhundredsofhighprofilereportsandarticles,includingtheinternationalbest-sellers‘DataStrategy’,‘BigDatainPractice’,'BigData','KeyBusinessAnalytics',‘KeyPerformanceIndicators’,'TheIntelligentCompany’,‘ManagingandDeliveringPerformance’and‘StrategicPerformanceManagement’.Hisbookshavebeentranslatedintoover15languagesandhaveearnednumerousAmazonNo1bestsellingpositions,theCMIManagementBookoftheYearawardandtheWHSmithbestbusinessbookaward.

114

Bernardhasworkedwithandadvisedmanyoftheworld'sbest-knownorganisationsincludingAccenture,AstraZeneca,BankofEngland,Barclays,BP,Cisco,DHL,Fujitsu,Gartner,HSBC,IBM,Mars,MinistryofDefence,Microsoft,NATO,TheHomeOffice,NHS,Oracle,Orange,Tetley,T-Mobile,Toyota,RoyalAirForce,SAP,Shell,theUnitedNations,WalgreensAllianceBoots,Walmart,amongmanyothers.

Youcanalsofollow@bernardmarronTwitter,whereheregularlyshareshisideasorconnectwithhimonLinkedInwherehewritesaregularblog.