NEW DELHI: AI is being used in almost every sector, but in the near future, it will itself contribute to discoveries and breakthroughs.
In just a few months, the world will be showcasing even more incredible technologies. The World Economic Forum’s latest report has released a new list of the top 10 emerging technologies.
Perhaps most impressive is the ability to genetically engineer organs for transplant into the human body. Transplants have been possible for decades, but the ability to create organs would fundamentally change the face of medicine. The main challenges in transplantation have been the availability of organs and matching them to recipients.
AI is used in almost every field, but in the near future, it will itself be instrumental in discoveries and breakthroughs. The WEF report states that AI is emerging as a transformative general-purpose technology in scientific research, capable of unearthing previously hidden discoveries. At the current rate of innovation, these discoveries could lead to advances in the fields of disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention; new materials that enable the next generation of green technologies; breakthroughs in life sciences that expand our current understanding of biology; transformative leaps in how we understand the human mind; and much more (see box for a full list).
Beyond this list, there are many other exciting technologies that have already entered the mainstream: Consumers can now make calls using their voice;
Smartphone app TrueCaller is currently developing a digital voice feature that will allow it to take calls on users’ behalf. “The personal voice feature allows users to use their own voice and the digital assistant will sound exactly like the user when handling incoming calls. This groundbreaking feature not only gives users a sense of familiarity and comfort, but also demonstrates the power of AI to transform how we interact with digital assistants,” said Raphael Mimoun, product director and general manager at Truecaller Israel. TrueCaller has partnered with Microsoft Azure for the feature.
This is the latest development among many advancements in voice technology. Voice management technology has come a long way since the 1980s, when answering machines were the only way to leave a message for callers.
In the age of AI, voice-based solutions have spawned a vibrant market. According to a report by Grandview Research, the key factors driving the growth of the voice recognition market are the increasing demand for voice biometric systems for user authentication and the growth of in-vehicle voice recognition systems. Increasing adoption of voice-enabled applications on smartphones and growing use of voice recognition in mobile banking, home appliances, and IoT devices will drive demand, Grandview said.
The speech recognition market is expected to more than double to $53 billion from the current $20.25 billion, with several global technology leaders and startups investing heavily in solutions. Google has developed a universal voice model that aims to recognize more than 1,000 languages. Google says that its automatic speech recognition works for widely spoken languages such as English and Mandarin, as well as under-resourced languages such as Amharic, Cebuano and Assamese.
Voice technology is getting smarter through the use of AI. From personal digital assistants to smart speakers to voice-based search, the technology’s applications are expanding.
Apple offers a suite of voice-based features that Apple says can help users with cognitive disabilities use their iPhone or iPad easier and more independently with Assistive Access, and for those who can’t speak, Live Speech lets them type and speak during calls and conversations.
Apple also has a feature that allows people at risk of losing the ability to speak to use Personal Voice to create a synthetic voice that sounds like them to contact family and friends. “For users who are blind or have low vision, Magnifier’s discovery mode includes Point and Speak, which identifies and reads text that the user points at, helping them interact with physical objects like home appliances,” an Apple statement reads.
There are also concerns. Many artists are already at odds with technology companies that use or copy their voices. Many professionals, including not only celebrities like Scarlett Johansson but also artists and voice actors, are concerned about the impact of this technology. Scams using fake voices are on the rise. Professionals have been duped by people who made phone calls that sounded like their boss’s voice. Many have lost money or made decisions that harmed them. Entire industries, including voice, podcasts, and movies, could be transformed by AI-generated voices. Like most technologies, it will have both good and bad effects.
The healthcare sector will benefit most from voice technology. Voice has become a key biometric that supports and enables human activity in unprecedented ways. Companies across industries are experimenting with voice for customer engagement and more. As the speed of innovation and applications accelerates, the rules surrounding voice technology will need to evolve rapidly to maximize benefits while minimizing harm.
As the world braces for increasing climate disruption, Earth observation and agricultural technologies are making incredible advances.
Two recent reports by the World Economic Forum provide a roadmap for the future: Earth Observation (EO) is the collection of environmental data using remote sensing techniques. This information is about natural and man-made activities and properties on Earth, including physical, chemical, biological and anthropogenic (human) systems as part of the overall ecosystem.
“Data collected from space and other sensors can contribute to a wide range of business benefits, both through enhanced financial performance and assisting in compliance with environmental regulations,” the WEF report states. “EOs can play a useful role in helping organizations advance their climate and nature goals through validating carbon reductions, understanding organizations’ impacts and dependencies on nature, and identifying strategies that contribute to nature-positive and net-zero economies.”
This information captured and deployed by industry could generate $3.8 trillion in economic benefits while helping combat climate change, the study said, with the largest impacts likely to be in sectors such as agriculture, power and utilities, government, public and emergency services, insurance and financial services, mining, oil and gas, and supply chain and transportation.
EO data can be divided into several categories, including measuring the geometry of natural and man-made structures, measuring radio waves and ultraviolet radiation, identifying plant species, identifying chemicals in land, water and greenhouses, and delineating coastlines and land cover.
If properly processed and applied, this information can help with consumer insights, supply chain monitoring, early warning and vulnerability analysis. The shipping industry can use EO data in conjunction with global navigation satellite systems to dynamically plan and optimize shipping routes. For example, the Finnish Meteorological Office uses data from the EU’s Copernicus programme to help ships navigate icy waters. Satellite and airborne sensors can monitor greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane. The increasing accuracy of these platforms has demonstrated the ability to pinpoint emission sources such as oil and gas pipeline leaks, the study said.
A specialized satellite was launched just to study the increase and impact of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere. MethaneSat combines high spatial resolution imagery with a wide field of view, providing unprecedented precision in identifying and tracking methane emission sources. More detailed and accurate information will help governments track emission sources and take mitigation measures quickly.
Another report from the WEF focuses on agritech efforts. “Agritech solutions have been available for nearly a decade already and have gone through cycles of research, development, adoption and scale-up. However, to date, these agritech offerings have yet to achieve scale compared to the market potential offered by emerging economies,” the report states. Industry players are coming together under the WEF’s AI for Agri Innovation platform to increase the impact of agritech at scale.
The report includes two case studies from India: Agri Stack, developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and ADeX, developed by the Telangana government in collaboration with WEF and the Indian Institute of Science. AgriStack facilitates digital services to farmers by governments, agritech startups, the private sector and other institutions by providing information on farmer identities, geotagged farm locations and crop sowing data. The ADeX platform is linked to the Agriculture Data Management Framework, a policy that allows governments to share data with the private sector if farmers consent.
The food industry is adopting biosurveillance techniques that use AI-based sensors on farms to detect harmful chemicals in soil. According to the US government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, “biosurveillance is a systematic process of investigating the environment or place of interest for bacteria, fungi, viruses, or other biological entities that may cause disease in humans, animals, or plants, in support of detection and identification efforts, and the corresponding public health or safety.” The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is also promoting the use of blockchain, AI, and machine learning for food safety.
Societies, businesses and governments will have to continually reassess their use of technology in all their functions. Cycles of adopting new technologies and rejecting old ones will become much more rapid.
Pranjal Sharma is an economic analyst and author of The Next New: Navigating the Fifth Industrial Revolution.
