The ten tech trends of 2017

2016 is the sixth year that Ericsson, a leading information technology services company, has published"The 10 hot consumer trends for 2017", a report in which it explains the direction that new technologies will take in the coming year.

The general consideration is that the Internet has officially transformed from a text-based source of information to one that is 70% video. More and more, then, videos are seen in real time, and user generated content is increasing (as for example with Facebook Live).

Let's see from first to last the trends for 2017, according to Ericsson Costumer Lab's survey results:

1. Artificial intelligence everywhere:That artificial intelligence can support people in everyday life is almost a given. What's new is that people increasingly think artificial intelligence can help companies at work: more and more people want an AI-powered advisor in the workplace.
2. Internet of things:Sometimes it seems like an abstract thing but in reality more and more of our devices are serving us through apps. Two out of five people believe their smartphones will learn their habits

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3. Autonomous cars:65% of respondents would like a car that drives itself. 1 in 4 people believe that roads would be safer if all cars were autonomous.
4. Merged Reality:According to the majority of respondents, within the next three years virtual reality will be indistinguishable from actual reality.
5. Body-Device Synchronization:Self-driving cars risk increasing the discomfort of those who already suffer from motion sickness, so it will be necessary to take action.
6. The paradox of device safety:On the one hand, smartphones make us feel safe, thanks to their notifications. At the same time, however, those who use these tools fear for their privacy.
7. Social networks? Silos:Users use social networks as a means of accessing information, and increasingly tend to eliminate - aided by algorithms - opinions that differ from their own.
8. Personalized Augmented Reality:Most of the respondents said they would use smart glasses to improve their personal safety (e.g. to illuminate the surrounding reality) or otherwise modify elements around them.

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9. Bye Bye, privacy?Respondents are divided on the issue of privacy: 2 out of 5 would use only encrypted services, a third thinks that in any case the concept of privacy in the next three years will no longer be the same.
10. Tech Monopoly:Half of the respondents believe that in the next five years they would buy all products from the 5 most advanced companies in the IT field.

Ericsson ConsumerLab CEO Michael Björn said,"More than real time, we should talk about reality time. What we call reality is increasingly becoming something personalised and subjective".

Photo credit: Leo Laporte via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-SA