Tech
The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives in 2023
Each year, I look ahead at what’s new in technology to predict the tech that may affect your life in a big way — and the tech that will most likely be a fad.
Before we get into that though, let’s take a quick look at 2022.
The hardware was very “me”. This year’s iPhone, with mostly subtle improvements, was an even more consistent upgrade than last year’s model. Separately, Meta released a $1,500 VR headset that Mark Zuckerberg envisions will change the way people work, though with two hours of battery life, most people will likely only use it for gaming.
Social networks have become very strange. Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, eviscerated staff and blocked the accounts of some journalists and technicians, prompting crowds of Twitter users to search for alternative sites.
And the fate of TikTok is in jeopardy as more than a dozen states, citing national security concerns, have banned the use of the app on state-owned devices.
Then towards the end of the year something truly remarkable happened. OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research company, has launched ChatGPT, a chatbot that can generate seemingly intelligent answers to questions. People pushed the bot to ask questions and quickly realized that it could write essays, write code, and write business proposals.
All this is just an example of what awaits us next year. We can expect many exciting advances in AI-based speech processing technologies, along with the same trends that have continued in recent years, including advances in electric vehicles and the metaverse. There may even be a resurgence of social media.
These are the technological developments that will invade our lives in 2023.
1. New chatty assistants
Early adopters who were in awe of ChatGPT’s linguistic proficiency were just as quickly overwhelmed by how wrong it could be, especially with simple arithmetic. Drawbacks aside, we can realistically expect AI companies to enhance the strengths of these chatbots with tools that simplify the way we type and read text, AI experts say.
Rise of electric vehicles
Battery recycling. As electric vehicle and truck sales soar, the race is on to recycle used lithium-ion batteries, but few will be available for reuse for a decade or more.
postal trucks. As a result of the Biden administration’s victory, the US Postal Service said it would spend nearly $10 billion to build one of the largest electric truck fleets in the country.
Moving into the mainstream: US battery-powered car sales jumped 70% in the first nine months of the year as low-income buyers turn to electric cars to save money on gas.
A bonanza for the red states: not a single Republican in Congress voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. But their states will benefit greatly from legally incentivized investment in electric vehicles.
First of all, it is very likely that in the next year you will have a chatbot acting as a research assistant. Imagine that you are writing a research paper and you want to add some historical facts about World War II. You can share a 100-page document with a bot and ask it to summarize the main points related to a certain aspect of the war. The bot will then read the document and generate a summary for you.
“If you want to enrich your writing with historical facts, you don’t have to go online and find them,” said Yoav Shoham, a professor emeritus at Stanford University who helps compile the AI Index, an annual report on the progress of artificial intelligence. . “It’ll be right there, at the touch of a button.”
This does not mean that we will see a flood of AI. independent. applications in 2023. Many of the tools we already use for work may start to include automatic language generation in their applications. Rowan Curran, a technical analyst at research firm Forrester, said applications such as Microsoft Word and Google Sheets will soon be able to integrate artificial intelligence. Tools for optimizing people’s workflows.
2. Virtual reality, also known as the metaverse
For much of the last decade, tech companies have been promoting virtual reality headsets like the Quest 2, HTC Vive, and Sony PlayStation VR for gaming. Now that technology has become more powerful and wireless, tech companies are promising that these headphones will eventually change our lives in the same way that smartphones have changed us.
Meta, for its part, imagines that the metaverse can be a virtual space where we work, collaborate, and create. With the introduction of the Quest Pro headset this year, the company envisioned the technology as a multi-tasking tool for employees who juggle meetings, check email, and perform other tasks. However, the device received lukewarm reviews upon release, and it remains to be seen if the Meta can bring its vision of the metaverse to life.
In 2023, V.R. the drum roll will continue. Apple, which has publicly said it will never use the word “metaverse”, is expected to release its first headphones. While the company has yet to share product details, Apple CEO Tim Cook chimed in, expressing excitement about using augmented reality to process digital data in the physical world.
“You will wonder how you lived your life without augmented reality, just as you wonder today: how did people like me grow up without the Internet?” Mr Cook told students in Naples in September.
However, he added that this technology cannot be perfected overnight. Wireless headphones are still bulky and used indoors, which means that the first version of Apple’s headset, like many others that came before it, will most likely be used for gaming.
In other words, there will still be a lot of talk about the metaverse and virtual glasses (augmented, mixed as you wish, silly looking) in 2023, but it is likely not yet the year when these headsets become wildly popular, said Carolina Milanesi. consumer technology analyst at research firm Creative Strategies.
Our technical issues have gotten more complex, so Brian H. Chen has reloaded his column to focus on the social implications of the technologies we use.
Personal technology has changed. So should our coverage.
November 2, 2022
“From a consumer perspective, it’s still not very clear what you’re spending a thousand dollars on when you buy a headset,” he said. “Should I date V.R.? With or without legs, it doesn’t have to be.”
3. Electric cars after Tesla
Tesla has continued to dominate EV sales this year, but 2023 could be a turning point for the industry. Tesla’s shares have tumbled this year and its brand has suffered since Musk took over Twitter. At the same time, competition in the market is intensifying as E.V. Manufacturers like Ford Motor, Kia, General Motors, Audi, and Rivian are ramping up production of their electric vehicles.
In addition, Tesla said in November that it would open up charging connector designs for other electric vehicles. This would allow drivers of other types of vehicles to charge their batteries at Tesla charging stations, which are much more common than other types of chargers.
On top of that, both California and New York have decided to ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. All of this creates the perfect storm for the electric vehicle industry, which will be much more than a brand by 2023.
4. More social media options
Twitter has been in chaos for most of 2022 and this is likely to continue into next year. In response to the backlash, Musk asked his Twitter followers in a “poll” this month whether he should step down as company leader. The majority, some 10 million users, voted in favor, but Musk said he would only quit after finding someone “dumb enough to take the job.”
TikTok is also in a dilemma after ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, said an internal investigation found employees improperly obtained data from American users, including two journalists. The revelation prompts the Biden administration to consider tighter restrictions on the app in the United States.
Regardless of what happens with Twitter and TikTok, it’s clear that big changes are coming to social media. Many journalists, techies and influencers have switched to Mastodon, a social network similar to Twitter. And many young people have already switched to newer apps like BeReal, where groups of friends stay connected while taking and sharing selfies at the same time.
It’s unclear which new social media app will make a big difference in 2023. (Mastodon’s servers are struggling to keep up with user growth.) But one thing is for sure: People who are feeling burned out by Twitter are looking for a safe and fun place to hang out. outside.
