Predictions From IEEE’s 2024 Expertise Megatrends Report

It’s time to start out making ready your group and workers for the consequences of synthetic normal intelligence, sustainability, and digital transformation. In line with IEEE’s 2024 Expertise Megatrends report, the three applied sciences will change how firms, governments, and universities function and can have an effect on what new abilities workers want.

A megatrend, which integrates a number of tendencies that evolve over 20 years or so, is anticipated to have a considerable impact on society, know-how, ecology, economics, and extra.

Greater than 50 consultants from Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Center East, and the USA supplied their views for the report. They characterize all 47 of IEEE’s fields of curiosity and are available from academia, the general public sector, and the non-public sector. The report contains insights and alternatives about every megatrend and the way industries may gain advantage.

The consultants in contrast their insights to know-how predictions from Google Traits; the IEEE Pc Society and the IEEE Xplore Digital Library; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace.

“We made predictions about know-how and megatrends and correlated them with different normal megatrends comparable to economical, ecological, and sociopolitical. They’re all intertwined,” says IEEE Fellow Dejan Milojicic, a member of the IEEE Future Instructions Committee and vp at Hewlett Packard Labs in Milpitas, Calif. He’s additionally a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Fellow.

The advantages and downsides of synthetic normal intelligence

Synthetic normal intelligence (AGI) contains ChatGPT, autonomous robots, wearable and implantable applied sciences, and digital twins.

Training, well being care, and manufacturing are a few of the sectors that may profit most from AGI, the report says.

For academia, the know-how may help increase distant studying, probably changing bodily lecture rooms and resulting in extra personalised schooling for college students.

In well being care, the know-how might result in personalised medication, tailor-made affected person remedy plans, and quicker drug discovery. AGI additionally might assist cut back prices and enhance efficiencies, the report says.

Manufacturing can use the know-how to enhance high quality management, cut back downtime, and enhance manufacturing. The time to market might be considerably shortened, the report says.

Right this moment’s AI techniques are specialised and slender, so to reap the advantages, consultants say, the widespread adoption of curated datasets, advances in AI {hardware}, and new algorithms might be wanted. It is going to require interdisciplinary collaborations throughout laptop science, engineering, ethics, and philosophy, the report says.

The report factors out drawbacks with AGI, together with a scarcity of information privateness, moral challenges, and misuse of content material.

One other concern is job displacement and the necessity for workers to be retrained. AGI requires extra AI programmers and information scientists however fewer assist employees and system directors, the report notes.

Adopting digital applied sciences

Digital transformation tech contains autonomous applied sciences, ubiquitous connectivity, and sensible environments.

The areas that may profit most from increasing their use of computer systems and different digital gadgets, the consultants say, are development, schooling, well being care, and manufacturing.

The development business might use constructing data modeling (BIM), which generates digital variations of workplace buildings, bridges, and different constructions to enhance security and effectivity.

Instructional establishments already use electronics comparable to digital whiteboards, laptops, tablets, and smartphones to boost the training expertise. However the consultants level out that faculties aren’t utilizing the instruments but for persevering with education schemes wanted to coach staff on learn how to use new instruments and know-how.

“Most schooling processes are the identical now as they have been within the final century, at a time when we have to change to lifelong studying,” the consultants say.

“We made predictions about know-how and megatrends, however we correlated them with different normal megatrends comparable to economical, ecological, and sociopolitical. They’re all intertwined.” —Dejan Milojicic

The report says the digital transformation will want extra workers to oversee automation, in addition to these with expertise in analytics, however fewer operators and staff liable for sustaining outdated techniques.

The well being area has began changing to digital information, however extra might be performed, the report says, comparable to utilizing computer-aided design to develop medicine and prosthetics and utilizing BIM instruments to design hospitals.

Manufacturing may gain advantage through the use of computer-aided-design information to create digital representations of product prototypes.

There are some issues with digital transformation, the consultants acknowledge. There aren’t sufficient chips and batteries to construct all of the gadgets and techniques wanted, for instance, and never each group or authorities can afford the digital instruments. Additionally, folks in underdeveloped areas who lack connectivity wouldn’t have entry to them, resulting in a widening of the digital divide. Different folks may resist due to privateness, spiritual, or way of life issues, the consultants notice.

Addressing the local weather disaster

Expertise may help engineer social and environmental change. Sustainability functions embrace clear renewable power, decarbonization, and power storage.

Practically half of organizations around the globe have a company-wide sustainability technique, however solely 18 % have well-defined objectives and a timetable for learn how to implement them, the report says. About half of firms lack the instruments or experience to deploy sustainable options. In the meantime, data and communication applied sciences’ power consumption is rising, utilizing about 10 % of worldwide electrical energy.

The consultants predict that transitioning to extra sustainable data and communication applied sciences will result in fully new companies. Blockchain know-how might be used to optimize surplus power produced by microgrids, for instance, in the end resulting in extra jobs, less-expensive power, and power safety. Early leaders in sustainability are already making use of digital applied sciences comparable to AI, huge information, blockchain, laptop imaginative and prescient, and the Web of Issues to assist operationalize sustainability.

Workers aware of these applied sciences might be wanted, the report predicts, including that engineers who can design techniques which can be extra power environment friendly and environmentally pleasant might be in demand.

A number of the challenges that would hinder such efforts embrace a scarcity of laws, an absence of incentives to encourage folks to grow to be eco-friendly, and the excessive price of sustainable applied sciences.

How organizations can work collectively

All three megatrends needs to be thought of synergistically, the consultants say. For instance, AGI strategies may be utilized to sustainable and digitally reworked applied sciences. Sustainability is a key side of know-how, together with AGI. And digital transformation must be regularly up to date with AGI and sustainability options, the report says.

The report included a number of suggestions for the way academia, governments, industries, {and professional} organizations can work collectively to advance the three applied sciences.

To deal with the necessity to retrain workers, for instance, business ought to work with faculties and universities to teach the workforce and practice instructors on the applied sciences.

To advance the science that helps the megatrend applied sciences, academia must work extra intently with business on analysis tasks, the consultants recommend. In flip, governments ought to foster analysis by academia and not-for-profit organizations.

Corporations ought to advise authorities officers on learn how to finest regulate the applied sciences. To realize widespread acceptance of the applied sciences, the dangers and the advantages needs to be defined to the general public to keep away from misinformation, the consultants say. As well as, processes, practices, and academic supplies must be created to deal with moral points surrounding the applied sciences.

“As an entire, these megatrends ought to give attention to serving to business,” Milojicic says. “Authorities and academia are vital in their very own methods, but when we are able to make business profitable, every thing else will come from that. Trade will fund academia, and governments will assist business.”

Skilled organizations together with IEEE might want to develop technical requirements and highway maps on the three areas, he says. A highway map is a strategic take a look at the long-term panorama of a know-how, what the traits are, and what the chances are.

The megatrends affect which initiatives IEEE goes to discover, Milojicic says, “which might probably result in future highway maps and requirements. In a manner, we’re doing the prework to arrange what they may ultimately standardize.”

Dejan Milojicic discusses findings from IEEE’s 2024 Expertise Megatrends report.

Dissemination and schooling are essential

The group encourages a broad dissemination of the three megatrends to keep away from widening the digital divide.

“The velocity of change might be quicker than most individuals can adapt to—which might result in worry and aggression towards know-how,” the consultants say. “Broad schooling is essential for know-how adoption.”