Medical: Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer more accurately than humans can and drafts a care plan. Facebook now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans. Computers will become more intelligent than humans.
There are companies who will build a medical device (called the “Tricorder” from Star Trek) that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, your blood sample and you breath into it – these type of health indicators and diagnostics will become more ubiquitous. And people will live longer so that means secure jobs in the medical and therapy and geriatric care industry.
Law: In the US, young lawyers find it increasingly hard to secure employment because IBM Watson provides legal advice (thus far still basic) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. Law will become increasingly specialist oriented.
Competition: The integrated world means translucent demarcation in industries too: In a recent interview the MD of Daimler Benz (Mercedes Benz) said it is less focused on its competitors being other vehicle manufacturers, and much more on what Tesla (obvious), Google, Apple, Amazon and other ‘unpredictable’ players are up to.
Digitised world: Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years – that means new skills will be required; Uber does not own any cars, yet it is now the largest taxi company in the world; Airbnb does not own property yet is now the largest “hotel company” in the world; computers become even more clever; self-drive cars an even self-drove aeroplanes will start appearing for the public / in concept format; 3D printing will take off – shoe companies have already started 3D printing shoes. The smartphone will be the key enabler.
Transport: Owning a car will become unnecessary: People will hail a car by phone and it will come to drive you to where you want to go: No need for fuel, parking, insurance, financing etc. So the repercussions will be wide: Imagine the impact on parking areas, car insurance, medical insurance (in the case of motor vehicle accidents), on motor vehicle manufacturers (evolution by traditional manufacturers versus disruption by revolutionary players like Tesla)
Lifestyle: If traffic is no longer a problem and ICT advances provides us with the opportunity of working from and in any place including a self-driving / driven car we no longer need to live in urban areas. We will choose where to live and how to engage in a business and social sense.
Energy: Advances in alternative energy resources will mean more ubiquitous and cheaper alternative energy (mainly solar and wind) and more independent power producers (IPP). Electric cars will become mainstream and traffic noise will decrease.
The list goes on…
Researched and submitted by Marie-Luce KUHN, IBIS Business and Information Services / OEC24