After a 12 months that made the phrases WFH (do business from home) and metaverse immediately recognisable for many individuals, there are a brand new set of technological tendencies headed this manner for 2022.
Here’s a collection of how know-how could change lives within the coming 12 months:
Meatless meat
Meat alternate options have change into frequent in an growing variety of US households, thanks partly to Beyond Meat and Impossible Food plant-based merchandise that come far nearer to the feel and flavour of beef or pork.
As the merchandise have improved and the costs edged downward, demand has been boosted by concern in regards to the surroundings: elevating animals for meals is answerable for a whopping 14.5% of human-linked greenhouse gasoline emissions, in accordance with UN information.
The world marketplace for plant-based meats is anticipated to be price US$35bil (RM146.44bil) in 2027 – up from US$13.5bil (RM56.48bil) in 2020, thanks partly to growth past the United States, in accordance with a report from Research and Markets.
“2022 would be the crowning 12 months of meals constructed from plant-based proteins,” stated David Bchiri, president of US consulting agency Fabernovel. “The merchandise are mature and good. They’re going to change into mainstream.”
‘Web 3.0’ and crypto
The web’s first part was the creation of internet sites and blogs, which allowed the emergence of firms like Yahoo, eBay and Amazon.
The subsequent iteration was Web 2.0, outlined by social media and consumer generated content material on websites like Facebook and YouTube.
These platforms “get the cash and management it, they allow you to on their platform,” summarised Benedict Evans, an unbiased analyst specialising in Silicon Valley.
So, is Web 3.0 coming?
In this iteration, “customers, creators and builders would have stakes and votes” in a platform in a lot the way in which a cooperative works, Evans stated on his “Another Podcast.”
Such a revolutionary step could possibly be made attainable by blockchain know-how, the place pc applications run on networks of 1000’s or thousands and thousands of computer systems.
So far, blockchain has enabled the rise of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and extra lately, the distinctive digital objects similar to drawings or animations referred to as NFTs.
“We speak lots about decentralised finance, however I believe that in 2022 we are going to see extra localised use instances, which can enter on a regular basis life,” stated Bchiri of consulting agency Fabernovel.
As highly-volatile digital monies like bitcoin have hit file excessive values in 2021, an enormous vary of gamers have gotten into the sport, together with variations launched by the cities of Miami and New York.
Ransomware, all over the place
The spike towards file ransomware assaults and information leaks in 2021 appears to be like more likely to spill over into the approaching 12 months.
Cyber-extortion heists break right into a sufferer’s community to encrypt information, then demand a ransom, sometimes paid by way of cryptocurrency in trade to unlock it.
A confluence of things has fuelled the pattern, together with the booming worth of cryptocurrencies, victims’ willingness to pay and the issue authorities have in catching attackers.
Cybersecurity firm SonicWall wrote in late October: “With 495 million ransomware assaults logged by the corporate this 12 months up to now, 2021 would be the costliest and harmful 12 months on file.”
“When I take into consideration 2022, the factor that is prime of thoughts for me and for my colleagues continues to be ransomware. It’s just too profitable,” wrote Sandra Joyce, govt vp and head of worldwide intelligence at cybersecurity agency Mandiant.
Big Tech regulation?
It’s troublesome to say if 2022 is the 12 months Big Tech will lastly be hit with important new guidelines, however a sequence of regulatory and authorized threats launched in 2021 will provoke main battles.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission’s anti-trust lawsuit in opposition to Facebook represents a real menace to the social media big, although a courtroom has already dismissed the case as soon as.
More lawsuits and a federal investigation – and possibly even lastly new legal guidelines – are attainable within the wake of the damning whistleblower leaks displaying Facebook executives knew its websites may trigger hurt.
Some critics say the agency’s main push into realising the metaverse – a digital actuality model of the web – is an effort to vary the topic after years of criticism.
Apple dodged a bullet in 2021 when a US federal courtroom stated Fornite maker Epic Games failed to point out the iPhone big held an unlawful monopoly, however the agency was nonetheless ordered to loosen management over its App Store. Both sides have appealed.
New laws could come sooner within the EU because it pushes by way of new legal guidelines, such because the Digital Services Act which might create a lot stricter oversight of dangerous and unlawful content material on platforms like Facebook. – AFP
