Tech predictions for 2023 & beyond

Will the year 2023 witness the building of Society 5.0.?... With the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), especially as applied to related technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and digital twins, are so broad that it is impossible to predict all the innovations we as humans will come up with over the next year. However, much of the industry has yet to realize what AI truly is and what it is capable of, not to mention how to use it.

To offer just a taste of what technology can do, social media companies can use AI to personalize social feeds; the government can use AI to better understand citizen feedback; and businesses can use AI to get the job done with low-skilled personnel, overcoming the current tech talent shortage, and to circumvent language barriers.

One of the most promising applications is with IoT technology, which allows a complex ecosystem of physical objects to be interconnected via their sensors, softwares, or other technologies. Over the course of our existence, humans have seen society transform with the invention of electricity leading to electronic devices and the Internet.

This has pushed forward the current stage of digital transformation that we've been in for the last two decades. This includes cloud migration, digital customer experiences, hybrid work, etc. The Internet is the most innovative and massive network ever created by humans, and it is evolving to connect beyond just humans but to everything on the planet and beyond, creating a new network - the IoT network.

IoT will drive the new age of digital transformation that will forever alter how we interact with the physical world beyond manual capability, enabling collaboration between humans and machines and transforming business models into everything-as-a-service.

While IoT as a concept has existed for many years, 2023 will be the year that business and governments embrace the technology to move toward building society 5.0. as per subject matter expert, Syam Madanapalli.

One of the essential digital technologies that industry and governments have missed utilizing so far is the use of digital twins. A digital twin represents its physical twin in the cyber world and models its physical behaviour using data and a set of computing algorithms.

In addition to behaviour modelling, digital twins can store past behaviour (historical data) and help predict future behaviour, enabling its users to make model-driven decisions. In 2023, it is believed that institutions will begin to realize the potential of digital twins’ technology and utilize it to organize, manage, and process data. Digital twins will be used as the single source of truth.

Another emerging technology that shows continued promise is augmented reality (AR). The data and insights from the virtual world will enhance human experiences beyond what humans can experience with their five sensory systems.

In 2023, AR will be seen less as a novelty, and we will start to see it used for day-to-day activities in the workplace, in public places, and for private consumption. AR will drive the convergence of the physical and virtual worlds, resulting in new transformations.

In society 5.0, where we embark on creating new digital transformations, sustainability will also become an integral part of our day-to-day activities and business and government operations. If something cannot be reused, repurposed, refurbished, or recycled, we will not produce them.

IoT, digital twins, and AI can help achieve sustainability by providing accurate data and analytical insights into how resources are being used, guiding actions that save the consumption of natural resources and helping optimize operations toward a more sustainable world.

Going forward, as governments and businesses start to realize the true transformative value of emerging technologies like AI, IoT, digital twins, edge computing, and AR, they will start to invest more heavily in these solutions, creating a more connected world for all of us. No one knows where the next age of digital transformation will take us, but its potential is unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA