Massachusetts Tech Review: How the numbers will be revolution

One symbol of capitalism is the tendency to produce and embrace technological innovation-a fact that is also mentioned at the same time by the harsh critics of capitalism, such as Karl Marx, and loyalists such as Friedrich Fan Hayek. Waves innovation brought mechanization, electrification, dynamism and industrial revolution. Technologically advanced product models have created a sharp increase in productivity and higher profits for innovative start-ups. The inevitable structural changes and the challenges associated with structural adjustment will generate new industrial standards, safety regulations, intellectual property rights, and education and related training.

Disruptive it innovations-such as the Internet, social media, mobile phones and applications, cloud computing, Big data, e-commerce and it consumerism-have transformed products, services, and business processes around the world. Outstanding new technologies-including smart dust, quantum computing, brain-computer interaction, driverless cars and 3D printing-are becoming discrete, highly relevant things. The virtual and realistic it world is being integrated into a computer-driven, simpler, smarter manufacturing, healthcare and construction environment, which is expected to change long-standing business models and existing trading patterns.

The ongoing digital revolution and the new techno-economic paradigm will challenge organizations and individuals to redefine and upgrade their systems and develop new ideas while acquiring new skills.

Emerging Technologies

The spread of mainstream technology and organizational innovation will profoundly transform economic structures, people's careers and skills, and management systems. Important topics related to the new wave of digital revolution still need further study. What kind of new industries and businesses will emerge in the future? What are the great changes in the nature of the job? Will significant social change and unrest occur? Will people seek new economic models?

Table 1 To table 4 lists the new technologies that led the revolution, based on the length of time required to be widely adopted (the technology list is adapted from Gartner's "Hpye Cycle for Emerging Technologies"). It practitioners should be aware of these technologies and their potential and limitations, so we can take their advice in a timely manner and use it in the development of intelligent, innovative applications.

It trends: associating

The so-called "combination of multiple forces"-the unity and mutual reinforcement of social media, mobile computing, cloud computing and information (large data)-evolve in the combination of Internet of things. Social media and mobile apps provide a platform for efficient social and business interaction, while cloud computing provides a convenient and inexpensive infrastructure for computing and messaging. Cross-geographical connectivity, ubiquitous mobility, industry-level computing services, and the ability to instantly access massive amounts of data are making these forces quickly narrowing the gap between creativity and action. Our world is being reshaped, and the way we live and work is changing dramatically. New business and personal opportunities are emerging that will ultimately help us connect consumers, patients, employees and members of society.

Cloud computing platforms can support a range of application services, and rich applications can be accessed via the Internet by "thin clients" (thin clients, such as mobile devices). In order to keep pace with the diversity of mobile devices, the policy of using employee-owned hardware must be thoroughly reviewed, updated, and expanded, while maintaining the flexibility of confidentiality and privacy requirements. The current policy of accessing corporate networks only through the equipment owned or managed by the Organization should be changed to accommodate the growing variety of devices, calculation types, user contexts, and interaction paradigms.

As everyone has their own personal cloud, the idea that everyone has a private computer is reappearing. Users can decide what data to store on the cloud and who to share it with. They can also decide what kind of cloud services to use. This will lead the digital revolution's focus from personal devices to personal services, and devices are no longer necessary access ports. Personal cloud provides secure data storage and access to the Internet of things through a privately managed or vendor-managed host to provide a way for machines, people, and organizations to interact. Through large-scale interconnected devices, organizations and individuals are able to access the vast amounts of data associated with their environment and their own. The internet has been extended to corporate assets (such as field equipment and robots) and consumer goods (such as vehicles and televisions) outside computers and mobile devices.

Prospects and impact

The hybrid cloud is evolving from an integration of internal private cloud and public cloud services into a combination of private cloud and external private services. The private cloud will be designed to be easy to handle the aggregation, consolidation, collaboration, and customization of future services. Companies should be prepared to handle cloud overdraft (overdrafting) and cloud explosions (cloudbursting) and be ready to act as cloud service brokers when implementing these clouds.

With the advent of intelligent machines, cognitive computing and the Internet of things, the relationship between humans and machines is changing. Humans and machines will work together, using EQ and power to deal with the unknown quickly and efficiently. For example, oncologists use IBM's Watson computer to fight cancer.

In addition, wearable reinforcement can increase human capabilities. Complex wearable devices, for example, can capture the user's feelings by responding to biological rhythms. In some situations, robots can completely replace humans, automating physical and mental processes. For example, a context-aware, intelligent virtual personal assistant can help a user make a decision, an unmanned vehicle will automatically be placed on a different inventory, and future drones may be able to send online orders or scan sharks to protect people swimming in the sea.

Machines can do what people do in faster and cheaper ways, which quickly destroys established companies and triggers economic restructuring and adjustment. Although machines become more intelligent, we must learn how to balance human endeavor with the computational intelligence of machines; we do not want people to lose the power to make decisions.

The large-scale adoption of 3D printing technology will drive the digital revolution, which provides a more popular way to produce digital models and material products. 3D printing will help reduce costs by improving the design and improvement of prototypes, but ease of use inevitably undermines intellectual property rights, which could increase economic conflict and political debate.

3D bio-printing will affect social and individual life and create huge business opportunities. Significant improvements in the printing of replacement bones, tissues and organs will reduce mortality, reduce organ waiting time and greatly eliminate the problem of organ compatibility. However, while making living tissues and human organs very friendly, this can also bring a wave of social and regulatory debate-for example, athletes may use 3D to print out muscle tissue to enhance their performance. In addition, longer life expectancy can lead to an increase in the best retirement age.

The trend department will focus on the impact of these technologies on the ongoing digital revolution in the form of phased thematic articles. Each article will focus on a specific part of the industry, focusing on breakthrough technologies that have a significant impact on the industry and IT professionals. The article also examines the current state of the technology, potential breakthrough changes, opportunities for new business activities, important social impacts and the inevitable risks of later adoption.

(Responsible editor: Lvguang)