Technology shifts to watch in 2023
I'm keeping an eye on the following technological shifts happening now that will continue in 2023.
AI
People used to say that creativity was only capable by humans.
Generative AI has proven this wrong in 2022. Tools such as Dall-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT, and more make incredible things with simple instructions.
I've started using ChatGTP daily lately. It helps speed up the creative process and generates ideas, articles, poems, code, and more. It’s sometimes even better than Google at answering questions. It's not perfect yet, but it's impressive and surprising, and about to disrupt many industries.
In 2023, we'll continue seeing AI tools evolve and improve.
Web3
You could say 2022 was a terrible year for Web3. People got scammed, and crypto markets only fell in one direction — down.
But don't count Web3 out yet. It's more than the prices of digital currencies and NFTs. There are compelling use cases and thousands of enthusiasts working on its future.
In 2022, the Etherium merge went through successfully. Ethereum is the second largest web3 platform in the world (after Bitcoin), with a smart contract ability to infuse logic into the distributed trust platform.
After the merge, Etherium is now 99% more environmentally friendly, taking away the most compelling argument against its existence. It will be exciting to see how things evolve in the upcoming year.
VR/AR
Metaverse, Metaverse, Metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg recently made big claims and has spent a little $15B annually to evolve his vision. How the Metaverse will pan out is yet to be seen. It’s unclear when, if ever, VR will reach mainstream adaption. We probably won't all be living in an alternative universe anytime soon.
But this field is growing with easier-to-use devices and compelling use cases in gaming, architecture, team collaboration, and more. If you’ve ever put on VR headsets, you’ll know how the brain totally believes it’s inside a real world.
AR, however, is more likely to reach mainstream adaption before VR since it enhances reality and fits better into people's daily lives.
The first step is getting compelling AR glasses to the market that are easy to wear. Apple had plans to launch AR glasses in 2023 but it seems those plans might be delayed further. Potentially, another company will beat them to it.
UPDATE: The Latest on the Apple XR news:
Apple is to unveil its mixed-reality device this spring.
— Hjörtur (@hjortureh) January 24, 2023
7 years in the making, with over 1500 engineers on the project, it's Apple's next big thing.
It's a pro product (ca $3000 price tag), but cheaper versions releasing late 2024 or early 2025.
It will be fun to follow these shits in 2023 and see where we stand at the end of the year.
Happy new year!