Trends Identified

The End of Typing
ComScore says that 50% of searches will be done by voice by 2020. Gartner believes that by 2020, 30% of searches won’t involve a screen at all. At present, Google says that 20% of searches in the U.S. on Android devices are done by voice. In the UK, Deloitte found that 36% of smartphone owners are aware of voice search and 11% use it regularly. 60% of people using voice have started in the last year, according to Mindmeld. Voice searches are three times more likely to focus on a local topic than a text search. And people are shifting to voice for the obvious reason: It’s easier and more efficient than typing.
2018
Key digital trends for 2018
Ogilvy
The incredible rise of artificial intelligence (AI)
Computers are now able to learn in much the same way as we humans do, and this leap in AI capabilities has been made possible by the massive increases in data and computing power. It’s the incredible explosion in data that has allowed AI to advance so quickly over the last couple of years; the more data an AI system has, the quicker it can learn and the more accurate it becomes. This huge step forward in AI mean computers can now undertake more and more human tasks. In fact, it’s AI that allows computers to see (e.g. facial recognition software), read (e.g. analyzing social media messages), listen (e.g. Alexa standing by to answer your every command), speak (e.g. Alexa being able to answer you) and gauge our emotions (e.g. affective computing).
2017
9 Technology Mega Trends That Will Change The World In 2018
Forbes
Deep learning for visual tasks
Computers are beginning to recognize images better than humans. Thanks to deep learning, an emerging field of artificial intelligence, computer-vision technologies are increasingly being used in applications as diverse as driving autonomous vehicles, medical diagnostics, damage assessment for insurance claims and monitoring of water levels and crop yield.
2017
These are the top 10 emerging technologies of 2017
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Virtual and augmented reality
Computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image overlaid to the physical world (AR) or a complete environment (VR).
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
VR
Computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or a complete environment, within a defined and contained space (unlike AR), that viewers can interact with in realistic ways. VR is intended to be an immersive experience and typically requires equipment, most commonly a helmet/headset.
2016
Tech breaktroughs megatrend
PWC
Perfect Online Privacy
Computer scientists are perfecting a cryptographic tool for proving something without revealing the information underlying the proof.
2018
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2018
MIT Technology Review
What business are you in
Competition In the face of an ever-growing set of concerns, the question CEOs are asking is this: How do we manage the day-to-day business while having the confidence and vision to explore a much wider range of opportunities than we’ve ever considered before? .
2015
18th Annual global CEO survey
PWC
Trends in population growth
Compared with the recent past, the world population growth rate has slowed down. While 10 years ago the global population was growing by 1.24 percent per year, today it is growing by 1.18 percent per year, or approximately an additional 83 million people annually (Ibid.). With this population growth rate, the world population is projected to increase by more than 1 billion people within the next 15 years, reaching 8.5 billion in 2030.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Delayed Demographic Transition
Compared with other parts of the developing world, Africa’s demographic transition is delayed and highly variable across countries. Africa’s population is projected to peak at 2.7 billion in 2060, compared to 1.0 billion in 2010 (Figure 12). The projections show the population growth rate declining, following a similar trajectory to other major global areas.
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
The skills challenge
Companies that reinvent their own talent will gain an edge.
2018
Top Policy Trends of 2018
PWC