The rise of the robots

This blog has previously addressed the future of robotics. One book that has recently been published that addresses this topic very well is "Rise of the robots" by Martin Ford. Ford carefully examines the rise in robotics and AI and addresses the likely impacts on the future of the professions. One point he drives home is that robotics will not simply disrupt blue-collar jobs i.e. factories, manufacturing, but also white-collar jobs i.e. accountancy and dentistry. Robotics will revolutionise the world as we know it. But although this will bring many desired changes, it will also pose a threat to the future of our economy. For instance, when robotics disrupts the global economy and millions of jobs are threatened, how will we respond as a society? Will we simply bury our heads in the sand and hope the problem goes away or will we be proactive in terms of helping people whose jobs are threatened, find employment within the new economy? One thing is for sure. Robotics and AI will lead to huge career opportunities for coders in the likes of R or Python. Data analysts will also be highly sought after. Training and upskilling people for careers in these areas will certainly help some people to remain employed. But not everyone wants to be a Python coder or a Data scientist. What roles will those individuals fulfil in the new economy? This question has yet to be adequately addressed but it is one we must tackle as we move forward with technology. Ultimately, technology is about making people's lives better. But we cannot achieve this goal if we do not carefully assess the negative impact of future technology and seek a viable solution. "Rise of the robots" is strongly recommended for anybody interested in this area.

10 big European tech stories

Ten big European tech stories occurred recently that could have significant repercussions over the coming year. These were:

1. Barcelona based Smartphone games developer Social Point was acquired by Take-Two for $250 million.

2. European lawmakers agreed to cap the wholesale charges mobile service operators pay each other, thus paving the way for the abolition of roaming fees in Europe in June of this year. This could open more opportunities for Smartphone developments.

3. Spotify has considered delaying its IPO until 2018.

4. UK-based Zoopla has agreed to buy data company Hometrack for £120 million.

5. Uber has announced a partnership with German firm Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks. Daimler plans to produce its own self-driving Mercedes-Benz into Uber's fleet.

6. U.S event management platform Eventbrite has acquired Amsterdam-based Ticketscript to strengthen its European presence.

7. Spotcap has announced a new partnership with New Zealand's Heartland bank.

8. A German consumer group has sued Whatsapp in Berlin over the collection and transfer of user data on the platform.

9. U.S recruitment software company SmartRecruiters has acquired job search company Jobspotting.

10. Lego has launched a new app for under-13s called Lego Life.

The future of coding

There is no doubt that coding will play an integral role in the technology economy of the future. In his excellent book "The industries of the future", author Alec Ross predicts that in the coming years, coding languages like Python will be taught in schools to children starting from an early age. This is already happening in one country - Estonia. This tiny Eastern European country radically transformed itself in the mid-1990s from an ex-Soviet backwater to one of the most tech savvy nations on earth.The Estonians demonstrated extraordinary prescience by teaching their children how to write software code. This greatly helped Estonia develop the skilled workforce it required in order to build its competence and reputation. Could this become a feature of all schools worldwide in the future? Possibly. But it will take time for education departments to latch on. Certainly this would be a judicious move by any forward-thinking country, to invest in teaching young children how to code. However, it will take a huge amount of convincing to make education departments make a radical change to their curriculum. But software coders will be a highly sought-after commodity in the future and the more we can do to meet this need the better.  

Japanese robots

Robots will play a critical role in the future, of that there is no doubt. But certain countries will be more reliant upon robots than others. One country that will rely very heavily upon robots is Japan. In recent decades, the birth rate in Japan has steadily decreased. For many different socioeconomic reasons, increasing numbers of young Japanese couples have chosen not to have children. This alarming trend does not bode well for the future of the Japanese economy. As Japan's population ages, there will be fewer and fewer grandchildren to support their grandparents. This will be of particular concern in the healthcare profession. Elderly people need young, able-bodied nurses to assist them through the day. With fewer and fewer young people  in Japan, the number of nurses and care assistants in Japan will decrease significantly. Added to this, Japan has one of the tightest immigration policies in the world, so it's extremely unlikely that Japan will benefit from an influx of young people from other parts of the world. This, coupled with the declining birth rate means that the future Japanese economy will urgently require some means of supporting its elderly population or the country will run into severe problems. Thankfully, there is some reason for cautious optimism.

For many years, Japan has been a world leader within the field of robotics. Japanese scientists and developers have been at the forefront of robotics research, particularly robots aimed at consumers. It is entirely conceivable that Japan will be able to mass-produce reliable robotic nurses and carers to support it's ageing population. Robots at your service are likely to become a key feature of Japanese society in the future. This short video below provides some insight into the kinds of developments currently underway within Japanese robotics. This is an exciting area to keep on eye on for the coming years. What is happening in Japan is likely to spread throughout the rest of the world. 

Edtech

Education has become a hot topic these days. The web has irrevocably changed education by providing unfettered access to voluminous mountains of information to millions of people worldwide. Millions of people now take online courses every day to earn degrees or upgrade their skillsets in order to make a career change. Classrooms of the future will be very different to what they are today. Classrooms will be much more engaging and interactive and there will be AI programs that function as teachers/lecturers. Edtech is attracting enormous interest globally and is likely to do so for the immediate future. Nobody knows what exactly the future of education will look like. But what we can say for sure is that traditional schools and universities are about to undergo a radical rehaul. The video below features an interview with the CEO of Bibblio. It gives some idea of what to expect within Edtech. 

Biometrics, the future of passwords?

The field of biometrics is growing exponentially. One very practical application of biometrics is in regard to password security. As this article on Finextra makes clear, this could have significant effects within payment technology. Nobody wants to type in a password whenever they need to authorise a payment, so biometrics could help facilitate smoother payments. 'Paying by selfie' could become the new norm, with eCommerce giants like Alibaba and Amazon expressing interest in it. Huge advances are also being made in relation to sensory technology i.e. voice, heartbeat and vein recognition technology. But as biometrics advances, so too will security concerns. Hackers will become more adept at creating duplicates for biometrics. Therefore, biometrics will need to stay one step ahead of hackers in regard to keeping consumers safe. The video below provides some interesting information on the future of behavioural biometrics. 

The future of eCommerce

What is the future of eCommerce? Here are some things to expect.

1. Retail spaces will effectively become showrooms. Shopping centres of the future will be quite different to what they are now. Rather than loading up shopping trollies with goods, consumers will sample goods in shopping centres that they are interested in. They will then scan and purchase them with their Smartphones and have them delivered home within hours. 

2. Curation and personalisation will be a huge part of eCommerce in the future. These will facilitate a more direct relationship with consumers. The fashion industry will probably account for one third of all eCommerce.

3. Mobile commerce will be central to eCommerce. Companies that understand mobile commerce the best will reap the biggest returns.

4. Content marketing will be key. This will include video, Social Media, reverse guest blogging, newsletters and infographics.

5. Near Field Communication may become the future of eCommerce. NFC technologies like Google Wallet enable consumers to tap their phone with their credit card to pay for an item. Technologies like these will make for smoother and faster eCommerce transactions. Expect to see exciting developments in NFC technology.