200th EditionTech & Telecoms

Technology Advancements over the Last Two Decades

When one thinks of futuristic technology, one may envision flying cars, mind-controlled assistants, automated systems, and zero-gravity societies. “It’s not that we use technology; we live technology,” Godfrey Reggio correctly stated.

It’s incredible how swiftly humans have evolved and, in turn, helped technology advance to make our lives easier. Only time will tell whether it is a boon or a bane.

Among the magnificent breakthroughs that no one could have believed would be feasible, a few are described below:

Autonomous Cars

With its prototype for various models, Tesla Autopilot has created quite a stir. Autonomous vehicles (AV), often known as self-driving or driverless cars, are futuristic technologies that require little to no human input when moving or driving – revolutionising transportation as we know it. They’ve become one of the most popular topics for scholars and students to study over the years.

Smartphones and Tablets

Despite the fact that cellphones have been around since the 1970s, the revolutionary iPhone was released in 2007. Since then, several smartphones have been released, each one becoming more advanced than the last. We now have foldable touchscreen smartphones that resemble the first flip phones.

A fusion of a phone and a laptop with some restraint — tablets and iPads had also become widely popular in the 2010s. These versatile portable devices are highly functional and easier to carry around compared to laptops, thus making them convenient and useful during meetings and travel.

The Internet

The internet is our new go-to spot for any and every need we have in our daily lives. Everything has steadily moved online and digital, from finding information, to connecting with people across the world in an instant. It has removed all communication barriers and drastically transformed and revolutionalised the way we live, learn, and connect to the world around us.

E-Wallets and E-Commerce

In the recent years, we have witnessed the growth of the digital economy with the rise in e-commerce. Buying and selling online has never been easier. Nowadays, anything we require is really just a few taps away and delivered to our doorstep.

In fact, cashless transactions has become the new norm. The shift from liquid cash to digital money has particularly risen since the pandemic and e-wallet usage has skyrocketed.

AI assistants and smart homes

Alexa, dim the lights and play relaxing music.

Siri, call mom.

Cortana, set an alarm for 7 am.

According to a study by Larrichia F. published in Statsta, the number of digital voice assistants or virtual/intelligent assistants will reach 8.4 billion units by 2024 – a number higher than the world’s population.

We have grown so reliant on AI assistants that we cannot conceive how smooth our lives would be without them.

Several houses have made the switch to a smart home arrangement, in which all electronics and appliances are controlled remotely via the internet from any networked device. There have been numerous interfaces between virtual assistants and smart home network connections. This system may be used to lock doors, turn off lights, raise the temperature, and so on.

5G

The fourth-generation (4G) network was introduced in 2010 and has proven to be quite popular among consumers who require high-definition services.

The fifth-generation is claimed to be the world’s fastest wireless technology. It will open up a whole new world with super-fast data and practically zero latency at reasonable pricing.

Humans continue to test the limits of affluence on a regular basis. There are many untapped potentials in the universe waiting to be discovered, and it is up to us to invent and reinvent them.

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