Life in 2022
The increasingly growth of new technologies brings up new questions of how our future looks like. This article thinks 5 years ahead.
2022 is only 5 years ahead of us. But what will it bring? According to the New York firm, IBM, we should expect to see advancements in smart sensors, telescopes, artificial intelligence, and medical devices. Humans with superhero vision or entire medical labs built on a computer chip. In 2012 IBM predicted that 16% of customers using social media to connect with brands would grow exponentially. And it did. With more than 60%. Therefore, it is not such a surprise that the world took notice of its new tech-focused forecast for 2022.
IBM released its ‘5 in 5 list’ that will make a huge impact on the world. These predictions are made by current technologies and research that are developing right now. The predictions reveal new innovations that change the way we interact with each other and the way we work over the next five years. Making our invisible future world visible. From the macroscopic level down to the nanoscale. The ‘5 in 5 list’, 5 predictions within the next 5 years, focuses on innovations that enable us to dramatically improve farming, spot harmful pollution, enhance energy efficiency and so on.
Dario Gil, vice president of science and solutions at IBM Research states the following:
“With advances in artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, we aim to invent a new generation of scientific instruments that will make the complex invisible systems in our world today visible over the next five years”
Of course, there is no way of knowing what else might come up the next five years. But for now, take a look at this near future vision, and check it again in 2022. Just to see if nowadays scientists of IBM were right.
The ‘5 in 5’ list
- With AI,our words will be a window into our mental health
Artificial intelligence will be so advanced that it will analyse patterns in text and speech that could hold clues to mental illness. It helps medical professionals to identify and treat underlying diseases. You could think of conditions like ADHD or autism, but also Parkinson and Alzheimer.
- Hyper-imaging and AI will give us superhero vision
The entire electromagnetic spectrum is invisible to our naked eye. Hyper-imaging combines artificial intelligence with a camera and other electromagnetic sensors to see beyond visible light. We are able to spot potential dangers that are hidden from our own view.
- Macro-copes will help us understand Earth’s complexity in infinite detail
This initiative will help gathering valuable insights on global conditions. For example the availability of resources on earth, space situations, and state of our planet. The advanced machine learning algorithms and software connects billions of devices to analyse complex and massive data. The data brings a better understanding of the physical world.
- Medical labs ‘on a chip’ will serve as health detectives for tracing disease at the nanoscale
Stopping your disease before it even progresses? It will be possible in 2022. Developments in technology will allow tiny devices, together with AI systems and real-time data, to analyse and capture minute bioparticles. This provides a detailed view of our health and can directly alert us.
- Smart sensors will detect environmental pollution at the speed of light
Methane is a clean energy source, but contributes as a major pollutant when released in the air. New affordable, connected sensors can setup a wireless network of autonomous drones to detect and report leakage of pollutants at the moment they happen. The aim is to continuously monitor and pinpoint leaks in real-time to protect environmental pollution.
IBM is not the only one who is trying to sketch our future. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researched fully artificial kidneys. Leading a prototype model in 2010 and clinical trials beginning 2017, they predict to launch the world’s first artificial kidney within the next five years. In The Netherlands, the first flying car PAL-V has been launched at the end of 2015. It was a deluxe limited edition and costs € 499,000. It was a prototype designed by the University of Delft. PAL-V is now working on a less exclusive version for ordinary people planned in 2018. The Terrafugia TF-X is also going to launch a fully autonomous flying car in 2021, available for ordinary people. The company is one of the first movers to create cheaper flying and hovering vehicles. The flying car can avoid other air traffic, restricted air space, bad weather and navigate its way to pre-specific landing zones. Predictions say that it becomes more widely available later this century.
Will all these predictions will come true? Time will tell. But with all the increasingly growing technologies, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
The videos below show the prototype version of The Terrafugia TF-X and the PAL-V.