The internet is changing. Which new business opportunities will it create?
The Internet of today is a far cry from what it was 25 years ago. We’ve come a long way since the ‘90s, when logging onto the web meant sitting in front of your computer with a modem and a few gigantic books of numbers called “IP addresses” to find the website you were looking for.
These days, with broadband internet available in most urban and suburban areas, most of us simply open up Google Chrome or another browser, type in the website we’re looking for, and voila! Logging into the internet usually takes less than five seconds.This ease of use is just one reason why the Internet has grown so much over the last few decades. The number of websites has exploded, new social media platforms have popped up left and right, and researchers are even developing ways for computers to communicate directly with each other without human intervention.
So what does this mean for the Internet of tomorrow? Where will it be in 25 years? And how will astute business people benefit from it? Read on to discover more about how fast-growing technologies like AI and AR will further revolutionize our access to information online.
Augmented reality will make human-computer communication even easier
In the future, augmented reality will make it even easier for us to communicate with computers. AR, as it’s called, is a technology that lets you interact with virtual objects that appear to be part of your physical environment. So, for example, if you’re using an AR app to build a piece of furniture from scratch, you can project a 3D computer model of the finished product into your room so you can see how it’ll look in real life.
This type of technology has been around for years, but recent advancements in processing power and software design mean that AR is only going to become more advanced and complex in the future.
One example of an AR technology that’s likely to become more popular in the future is augmented reality glasses. Products like the Microsoft HoloLens and the Magic Leap One are a couple of examples of AR glasses that have started to emerge in the market. These glasses will allow people to combine virtual elements with their real-world surroundings, making human-computer communication even easier and more seamless than ever before.
Virtual reality will be a standard way to communicate online
Similar to how we will use AR to view information in real time, we will also use virtual reality to communicate with other people online. This will give us an even greater sense of being present with one another, further removing the abstraction of communication as we know it today.
Virtual reality communication platforms will be a great way to conduct business meetings, talk to friends and family members who are far away, or even to meet potential love interests face-to-face before you decide to actually meet in person. As virtual reality becomes more and more prevalent, we will also see this technology integrated into other online platforms, like social media.
AI assistants will help us find the information we need
Future AI assistants will help us discover and collect the information we need, without us even having to think about it. Take Google’s new Google Duplex technology, for example. This AI program is designed to mimic human speech patterns and conversation styles, so it can make appointments on your behalf over the telephone. This technology also has the potential to revolutionize the way we search for and collect information online.
AI assistants are already helping us discover information through voice-based searches, but as AI assistants become more sophisticated, they’ll be able to gather all the information we need in the same way that a human assistant would. So, for example, if you want information on a certain topic, your AI assistant will call up various websites, read their content, and then summarize it for you in a clear and easy-to-read manner.
Autonomous Vehicles and Connected Devices
Autonomous Vehicles are cars that are computer-operated to operate without a human driver. While autonomous vehicles are already being used in some areas, experts predict that in the next 25 years, autonomous vehicles will become an increasingly common way to get around.
There are several benefits to autonomous vehicles, including reduced traffic congestion, fewer accidents, reduced emissions, and improved access for people who can’t drive a car. However, the biggest benefit of autonomous vehicles is their ability to be networked with other autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles can communicate with each other to avoid accidents, create a detailed log of road conditions, and even reroute to avoid traffic jams.
These vehicles will also be connected to the Internet, meaning you will be able to use them for a variety of purposes, such as for work, for entertainment, or simply to get from point A to point B.
Voice-Based Services Will Become the Norm
Thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning, voice-based services will become the norm in the Internet of the future.
Today, we use phones to call people, send and receive texts, and sometimes use apps like Siri to perform tasks like scheduling meetings or setting reminders. In the future, the internet will play a larger role in our communication, with voice-based services becoming the norm.
So, for example, if you want to schedule a meeting with a colleague, you may simply use a virtual assistant to call them up, or send them a text with your preferred meeting times. And if you want to schedule an appointment with your doctor, you may use your virtual assistant to call their office and book the appointment over the internet.
Gaming and Entertainment
Currently, the gaming and entertainment industries are huge; in fact, gaming is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. It’s projected that by 2020, gaming will be a $100 billion industry. However, in the future, gaming and entertainment will be even bigger than they are today. Virtual and augmented reality technologies will allow us to experience interactive worlds like never before. In addition to virtual and augmented reality, experts predict that another gaming technology called “cloud gaming” will play a large role in the future of entertainment and gaming.
Cloud gaming is a service that lets users play video games without having to download the game onto their computers. This will allow people to play more complex games on lower-end computers, which could lead to more people playing games online. In addition, more game developers will be able to create more complex games that can be played on multiple devices.
Internet of Things: Everything Will Be Connected
The Internet of Things is the idea that everything will be connected to the Internet. This includes everything from your coffee machine to your car. When everything is connected to the web, we will be able to use our smartphones to do almost anything, including triggering the release of coffee from our coffee machine. When our cars are connected to the Internet, we will be able to use our voice to trigger commands, such as turning on the heater, closing the windows, and driving to a specific destination. This will make our lives easier by reducing the need to manually interact with different devices. It will also make life more convenient by saving us time by performing tasks for us automatically.
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to all devices that are connected to the internet. While IoT has been around for a while, it’s expected to grow significantly in the next decade. The IoT can be broken down into six categories:
- Wearable devices - fitness trackers, smartwatches, etc.
- Home devices - smart appliances, smart speakers, etc.
- Transportation devices - autonomous vehicles, connected cars, etc.
- Infrastructure devices - meters, sensors, etc.
- Sensory devices - cameras, microphones, etc.
- Cloud-based devices - servers, etc.
Summing up
The Internet of the future will be bigger and better than ever before. Augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence will make communication and information-seeking easier. Autonomous vehicles, connected devices, and the Internet of Things will allow for more efficient transportation and communication. Voice-based services will become the norm, and gaming and entertainment apps will rule the internet. The Internet of the future will be a lot more engaging than it is today, and those who recognise the way that things are going will be the ones able to reap the biggest rewards.