Year 2018 to bring newer opportunities in AI and IoT

S Mohini Ratna
Editor
VARINDIA
 

The Internet has no single owner and is a simple connecting infrastructure. It's not the technology that makes something good or bad but with 7 billion people living together, there will be a lot of good as well bad uses for everything. But it is all about how people are using it.

Every innovation is a double-edged sword. It enables millions of new opportunities, some good and some bad. Lots of basic preparedness has to be done before getting into the attempt to rope in cutting edge technology. Technology transformation and disruption is a regular process - like Google has acquired Redux, Salesforce has bought Attic Labs, Accenture now owns Mackevision, Verizon has got its hands on threat detection start-up Niddel, iam+ has purchased Earin, Ring has snapped up Beams, and Cyxtera has splashed out for Immunity Inc. GoPro is getting out of the drone business and may be up for sale and the list goes on and on.

There was a recent rumour about security breach wherein login ID and password was given away after a gateway was created and anyone can access the UIDAI database. It is an absolute necessity to implement a robust information security protocol and also to penalize offenders. The Government is also exploring how artificial intelligence can be used to integrate bots with Aadhaar. However, UIDAI has announced the introduction of Virtual ID (VID) to safeguard Aadhar card holders’ data. VID will be a 16-digit, randomly generated number that can be used for authentication instead of the original Aadhaar number. 

The most recent news is that UIDAI will enable facial recognition as an additional means of Aadhaar authentication. It is to be used only in combination with existing options of biometric authentication such as fingerprint or iris scan. The facial recognition will be made available on registered devices from 1 July.
Technology is improving public services. In 2018, IoT will be seen as a driver of improvements across businesses and applications. However, consumer devices have drawn the most attention so far — organizations are already using IoT to reduce risk, cut costs, create new revenue streams, improve employee productivity and enhance customer experience. We can see investments going into the IoT security already.

Another technology that will emerge is IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things). The application of the IoT to the manufacturing industry is called the IIoT (Industrial Internet or Industry 4.0). The IIoT can greatly improve connectivity, efficiency, scalability, time saving, and cost saving for industrial organizations. Business leaders are using IIoT data to get a full and accurate view of how their enterprise is doing, which will help them make better decisions.

Lastly, the year 2018 will be a promising year with IoT and smart cities that are going to transform modern life and smart cities with the ongoing structural reforms in India that will begin to deliver efficiency and scale economies. India is at the forefront of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, where the consumer spending has also been on the rise over the years. A rise in tech adoption has given rise to the analytics industry in India. It is creating lot of buzz, in the drive towards less pollution, safer streets and better quality of life for residents.