Tech Trends 2017

A coffee machine that knows exactly how much milk you want in your coffee or a phone that unlocks only when you look at it – 2017 will see companies walking the tech talk, a bit farther than they have. Several technology concepts that have piqued our curiosity – artificial intelligence, autonomous cars, connectivity standards, and more – are expected to be evolved and developed into products.

- Nidhi Singal

As Sandeep Aurora, Director, Marketing and Market Development, Intel South Asia, says, “If 2016 was the year that concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) became mainstream for consumers, 2017 will be the year when commercial application of this synergy of hardware and software becomes real, to make novel experiences possible.”

HERE’S WHAT 2017 HAS IN STORE 

AI Invasion: Artificial Intelligence isn’t restricted to enterprise or commercial use anymore. From personal assistant software such as Siri, Google Now and Cortana, to movie and music recommendations on the basis of past interests on apps such as Netflix and Spotify, our lives are already influenced by AI. Going forward, it will have a bigger and better role to play. Prashant Pradhan, Watson Business Leader, IBM India-South Asia, says, “In the next five years, almost every decision in business and our day-to-day lives will be touched by AI. This will happen through systems that can understand, learn and reason, and interact naturally with human beings. Promising applications of AI are already visible in our lives. India, in particular, holds a lot of potential for cognitive use, due to the scale and complexity in areas such as education, healthcare and commerce.” AI’s role in high impact areas such as healthcare will be noteworthy – for instance, IBM’s Watson is augmenting the expertise of oncologists to take on cancer. Tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are heavily investing in AI along with its variations such as machine learning and robotics. Closer home, wearable tech company Boltt Sports Technologies will be introducing a fitness kit comprising a pair of smart shoes, a smart band and health and training apps, powered by AI.