Technologies that will have the biggest impact on how we communicate and organise in the next 5-10 years

1. The Internet of Things (IoT)
(Goldman Sachs, 2014) http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/outlook/internet-of-things/iot-report.pdf
• The implications of the (IoT) are predicted to exceed those of the Internet
• Enables information gathering and interaction between everything and anything, e.g. smart devices, smart homes, smart cities
• Unprecedented way of increasing efficiency, information and control (e.g. more efficient use of electricity via smart meters, remotely controlling machinery/appliances)
• Resulting in complex economic and social implications
• Links to wearable technology, Cloud Computing and Big Data

2. Wearable Technology
(PWC, 2014) http://www.pwc.com/us/en/press-releases/2014/wearable-technology-future.jhtml
• Forecast to be larger than the smartphone movement (Penna Powers, n.d.)
• It is already used by consumers and more than half of millennials and early adopters s are excited about the future of wearables (PWC, 2014)
• Offers opportunities in entertainment, media and communications health, retail and technology industries
• Further blurring the divide between human and digital
• Collects information about us (health, efficiency, consumer behaviour)
• Further contribute to the IoT and Big Data, connected to the Cloud

3. Big Data
(World Economic Forum, 2012) http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TC_MFS_BigDataBigImpact_Briefing_2012.pdf
• Sometimes referred to as the by-product of digitalisation
• Already has huge impacts on all spheres of society from agriculture to journalism
• Poses challenges around privacy, skills and capability necessary to work with it
• In the age of the IoT, Big Data will become many times bigger
• Will require access to large servers through the Cloud

4. Cloud Computing
(World Economics Forum, 2010) http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ITTC_FutureCloudComputing_Report_2010.pdf
• Already widely used at work and home (e.g. Dropbox, Spotify, Netflix)
• As information volumes grow we will continue to move away from local servers to the cloud (links to IoT and Big Data)
• Powers wearable technology “human cloud” (Beighton, 2013)
• Enables collaboration and collective knowledge

5. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
VR: (Total Immersion, 2015) http://www.t-immersion.com/augmented-reality/future-vision
AR: (Kaplan, 2015) http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/15/facebook-oculus-and-the-future-of-virtual-reality/
• Part of wearable technology (e.g. HoloLens and Oculus Rift are wearable)
• Shift mediated communication from seeing and hearing, to emerging and experiencing, changes the way we tell stories
• Blurs the real and the digital
• Changes retail, tourism, advertising, entertainment, education etc.
• Connects to the cloud

The Future of Work – a Prezi