IBM Life Predictions by 2022
IBM 5 in 5 predictions are known to be quite grounded as
they are usually based on IBM’s own R&D work-in-progress. If they are
predicting it, it is very likely that they are going to invent it. Famous
inventions and developments by IBM include: the Automated teller machine (ATM),
Dynamic random access memory (DRAM), the electronic keypunch, the financial
swap, the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, the magnetic stripe card, the
relational database, RISC, the SABRE airline reservation system, SQL, the
Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code, and the virtual machine. According to
this IBM “5 in 5”, visualization technologies will stand-out in real life
applications by 2022 on both macro and micro levels to maintain the safety and
well-being of the human race.
First: With
AI, our words will be a window into our mental health
IBM envisions a possible future where speech detection
systems in smartphones can provide early warning of developmental disorders,
mental illness and degenerative neurological diseases or provide clinicians
with a tool for monitoring the progress of ongoing treatment plans. This will
be possible using cognitive computers that will analyze a patient’s speech or
written words to look for tell-tale indicators found in language, including
meaning, syntax and intonation.
Second: Hyperimaging and AI
will give us superhero vision
IBM anticipates that new imaging devices using hyperimaging
technology and AI will help us see broadly beyond the domain of visible light
by combining multiple bands of the electromagnetic spectrum to reveal valuable
insights or potential dangers that would otherwise be unknown or hidden from
view. Most importantly, these devices will be portable, affordable and
accessible, so superhero vision can be part of our everyday experiences.
Third: Macroscopes will help
us understand Earth’s complexity in infinite detail
IBM predicted that macroscope technology will transform many
industries while revealing new insights about some of the most fundamental
problems we face, such as the availability of food, water and energy. By
aggregating, organizing and analyzing data on climate, soil conditions, water
resources and their relationship to irrigation practices, for example, a new
generation of farmers will have insights that help them determine the right
crop choices, where to plant them and how to produce optimal yields while
conserving precious water supplies.
Fourth: Medical “labs on a chip” will serve as health
detectives for tracing disease at the nanoscale
IBM foretells us that new medical labs on a chip will serve
as nanotechnology health detectives – tracing invisible clues in our bodily
fluids and letting us know immediately if we have reason to see a doctor. The
goal is to shrink down to a single silicon chip all of the processes necessary
to analyze a disease that would normally be carried out in a full-scale
biochemistry lab. Lab-on-a-chip technology could be combined with real-time
health data from other IoT-enabled devices, like sleep monitors and smart
watches, and analyzed by AI systems for insights.
Fifth: Smart sensors will
detect environmental pollution at the speed of light
IBM expects that new affordable sensing technologies will be
deployed near natural gas extraction wells, around storage facilities, and
along distribution pipelines to enable the industry to pinpoint invisible leaks
in real-time by means of networks of IoT sensors that are wirelessly connected
to the cloud. This will provide continuous monitoring of the vast natural gas
infrastructure, allowing leaks to be found in a matter of minutes instead of
weeks, reducing pollution and waste and the likelihood of catastrophic events.
It seems that some industries will soon undergo major
business transformations to keep up with the new technologies arising in the second
wave of digital disruption to bring the world better healthcare equipment and
zettabytes of data about our endangered planet earth.
So Sources:
- The Power of Thinking Big: IBM Research’s “5 in 5"
- Wikipedia