As we are all aware, a virus can make its way from one end of the globe to the other in no time at all. Which is why trends that circumnavigate the planet are known as ‘viral’, although in this instance trends tend to actually be quicker than the microbial counterparts that they are named after.
In this article we take a closer look at the viral technological advancements that are not only driving growth in multiple sectors, but also redefining what we previously thought to be possible. Read on to find out what they are…
Virtual Reality
This technology has been just on the cusp of exploding since the 1970s. In recent years however it has gone on to fulfil its early promise and is now having a beneficial impact on the following industries:
Entertainment
Who needs to go to the cinema or the football when you can put on an Oculus headset and enjoy the same experience wherever you are? In the United States, virtual reality headsets have already completely revolutionised large parts of the entertainment industry and it’s beginning to happen in Europe too.
(The headset bringing the cinema to you.)
Gaming
When we think of gaming, we immediately start to picture consoles and PCs, but it is online casino gaming that is reaping the biggest rewards from virtual reality technology. Blackjack, roulette and poker fans are trading in their visits to the casino for a quick navigation to Casino.org to find the best online site offering their favourite table games in VR.
Healthcare: Surgery is high-stakes, but everyone has got to learn somewhere right? Just preferably not on me! In the future learning on the job could be completely eradicated from the world of surgery with more and more doctors now learning how to navigate a body with a scalpel through VR learning.
Artificial Intelligence
It’s impossible to mention technological advancements without touching on the most viral one of them all – artificial intelligence. Since its inception it has revolutionised almost every industry on the planet and is no doubt coming for my job!
Before this article is finished by the robots, here are three industries that have already been massively changed by AI.
Finance
Want to reduce the risk in your next investment? You could employ a flawed financial adviser or instead get AI to crunch the numbers for you. Neither are fool proof but the latter is much more accurate and a lot cheaper! So much so that major banks and financial institutions are competing in a mini-arms race to produce more intelligent AI financial predictors than their competitors.
Healthcare
Another viral technology that healthcare is benefitting from. AI, believe it or not, can predict who will and won’t develop certain diseases. An AI model was fed data from hundreds of thousands of mammograms and is now able to detect breast cancer before the physical signs are present. It’s revolutionary for breast cancer patients and is just one example of how AI is being used by the healthcare world.
(How AI is detecting breast cancer.)
Industry
It seems that one of the key drivers in human evolution over the past thousand years has been to reduce the time we spend making things. Almost every invention in that time period has been focused on doing just that and AI is no different. It’s currently being used in industry to streamline production methods and automate as many human dependent processes as possible.
Internet of Things
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? Well, it’s perhaps the most important aspect of our modern lives. It is essentially the connectivity of devices and here is how it is impacting some industries:
Healthcare
What an article for healthcare enthusiast’s ey? IoT advancements have led to a huge number of people wearing smart watches that monitor our vitals. Beyond that specialised devices are being manufactured and used to monitor patients with complex needs on a minute-by-minute, second-by-second basis.
Food Retail
Ever see a retail worker walking around with a handheld device scanning the shelves? What they’re doing is monitoring stock levels so that there are as few shortages as possible. Smart shelves are cutting this part of the process out, allowing stores to independently make supply chain orders so that the shelves never run empty.
Hospitality
The middleman is being cut out again. IoT enabled devices are being used to allow customers to order items in restaurants and bars, but also to handle things like welcoming guests into hotels.
In Summary
Technological spreads fast and it doesn’t need much by the way of encouragement, apart from the promise of reducing costs and improving outcomes. In terms of viral technology trends though, AI remains at the top of the pile and will do for some time yet.
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