Mobile technology of all varieties took the world by storm with its many debuts.
It was a completely revolutionary idea to be able to have portable phones, computers, music devices, and the like.
They swept over the population like the plague. They consumed our possessive minds like an addiction. And every bit of it was wonderful because they simplified life in so many ways.
Speculations of the next advancements in mobile technologies encompass every possible, and even impossible, inch of the modern imagination.
Many resources predict the coming technological advancements in a year-by-year sequential fashion, with each product promising to win over consumers with its immensity and grandiose style of innovation.
With promises such as free unlimited data storage, updated gadgets and gizmos, and even better and faster networks, consumers are anxious to see if tech companies will deliver on these far-fetched ideas.
However, some are claiming that there will never again be a groundbreaking, earth-shattering invention like that of the iPod or smartphone.
Even the ever-beloved smartphone has found its way onto the technological endangered species list, nearing extinction perhaps quicker than most realize.
But change is evident and it is happening… it just might not be what we were expecting
The Extinction of the Smartphone is Nigh
According to a survey performed by researchers commissioned by Ericsson, many consumers believe that by 2021, smartphones will no longer be part of modern, everyday life.
Among other survey questions, responders were asked what they wish to see in the future. The majority responded that they hope to see the smartphone will no longer be in use.
Why? Because they believe that developments in the artificial intelligence sector will have replicated and surpassed many functions that were at one point singular to the smartphone.
Ericsson researcher Rebecka Cedering Ångström claims this concerning the future of our favorite in-hand device:
A smartphone in the hand, it’s really not that practical. For example, not when one is driving a car or cooking. And there are many situations where display screens are not so good. Therefore, one in two think that smartphones will belong to the past within five years.
Head of research Michael Björn explained that there is solid “consumer interest in new interaction paradigms such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, as well as in embedding the Internet in the walls of homes or even in our bodies.”
He states this despite the fact that trend forecasts appear too futuristic.
Ed Fernandez, a venture capitalist with CNBC, agrees with the notion that smartphones are on their way out.
Industry specialists say that even though the smartphone has pulled in over $380 billion to date and is even expected to climb upwards of $450 billion come 2018, its time is basically done.
The smartphone market has reached maturity. Yearly growth is steadily declining, which makes competing in the market that much more difficult, especially when smaller manufacturers are already confronting giants like Apple.
Their time in the popular sphere is concluding.
The smartphone soon will be exchanged for a bigger and more easily accessed entry to the online world.
An Artificial Intelligence Takeover
In recent months, the smartphone could very well be surpassed by an artificial intelligence takeover.
Artificial intelligence has been stigmatized by the notion of a completely anti-human, utopian, techno-world that is coming to relinquish and replace all of humanity.
However, that could not be more untrue. This common misconception about artificial intelligence has sprung from its use as a common trope in films such as Terminator, iRobot, and so forth.
Most don’t realize that we see artificial intelligence in many ordinary, everyday devices already. It’s not the completely unreachable form of technology it was once painted to be.
We can see it at work in technology such as Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Now.
These are all versions of natural language processing software combined with artificial intelligence that are replacing typing and screen access through their voice command portals.
We should expect to see more advancements in this type of technology in TVs, smartphones, smartwatches, and other wearable technologies.
There has even been talk about smart glasses that will blend displayed virtual images and the physical world into one that understands typical gestures.
The best part is that this technology will become commonplace and easy to take wherever you go.
James Hendler is director of the Rensselaer Institute for Data Exploration and Applications and an artificial intelligence activist.
Hendler says that artificial intelligence, or AI, is no longer a heavy-handed specialist thing. A class he teachers has undergraduates doing projects like creating a chatbox able to answer questions pertaining to all things Harry Potter in just a matter of weeks.
A few years ago, technology of this magnitude would have been the substance of PhD theses, not undergraduate work.
“We’re going to see a huge amount of innovation in small companies for deep learning, vision, and language tasks,” says Hendler.
The progress is expected to come from these smaller companies over larger ones such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google.
Some of the small companies that Hendler mentions are already on the cusp of the latest breakthrough advancements.
A company called Snips uses AI technology called “context aware” to build an alter ego–like memory on a user’s mobile device.
It will do so by sorting through data such as a user’s contacts, messages, emails, calendars, photos, etc. It learns what is important to the user over time, serving as a single portal to everything on the mobile device.
“It’s about using [Snips] AI to make technology disappear in a way that you can just go about your day and not care about it anymore,” said Rand Hindi, CEO and founder of Snips, during a TEDx Talk in 2015.
We as consumers should expect to see this technology supplementing our mobile devices in a matter of months.
The Future of Wearables are Implantables
Wearable technology could already be set aside for an even more futuristic alternative.
However, wearables have received an impressive facelift, so to speak. With Bluetooth and cordless headphones to the AI-integrated smart glasses briefly touched on earlier, consumers have not yet seen the last of wearables.
They were the stepping-stones that led to the creation of implantable technologies: devices actually embedded into the skin of the user.
These micro-monitoring devices are innovating health care practices. They’ve been used in the care of those with heart conditions, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. Their uses are only going to expand.
Researchers at the University of Illinois partnered with colleagues in Singapore to develop what they call a smart tattoo.
They have figured out how to embed flat, durable, and flexible electronic sensors into a temporary tattoo that can withstand the varied movements of the skin and body.
They can be used to provide irritation-free monitoring of the electric signals produced by the wearer’s brain, heart, or muscles.
Applications for this crazy medical innovation include, but aren’t limited to: heart arrhythmias, sleep disorders, heart activity of babies, stimulation muscle function, and so on.
But implantable technologies won’t be limited to medical use. There are rumors circulating that the first implantable mobile phone will become commercially available as early as 2025.
The idea is to implant the device cranially and have it interact directly with the brain.
As artificial intelligence and virtual reality are becoming more commonplace, this idea is not too far off.
Implanted smartphones are an artificial intelligence device that will completely change human life.
These will liberate mankind from the small handheld device that revolutionized the world just a decade ago.
Now, rather than having a computer in your pocket, it will be in your brain!
What’s Next?
In an industry as lucrative as mobile technology, there’s just no possible way to imagine what consumers will be using next.
Just a few years ago, cordless everything and pocket computers were for the Jetsons. It was simply too futuristic for people to wrap their minds around.
But now, they’re completely normal.
They’re an integral part of the ritualistic social cultures that make up our world. We’re a technology-driven people.
Perhaps flying cars will be next…
Until next time,
Jennifer Clark
Pro Trader Today