10 Tech Trends That Will Dominate The Market In 2023
I cover the emerging tech trends that will shape our digital world in the next year as a futurist.
Are there any emerging technologies that business leaders should be aware of?
These are the top 10 tech trends everyone should be aware of in 2023
Here are the ten essential tech trends you need to know about in 2023.
There is AI everywhere.
No-code AI, with its easy drag-and-drop interfaces, will enable businesses to leverage its power to create more intelligent products and services by 2023.
This trend is already evident in retail. Stitch Fix recommends clothes based on its customers’ sizes and tastes using AI-enabled algorithms.
In 2023, contactless, autonomous shopping and delivery will also be a huge trend. Artificial intelligence will make payments and deliveries easier for consumers.
Nearly every job in every business process will also be enhanced by artificial intelligence. Retailers will use AI to automate and manage complex inventory management processes that occur behind the scenes, so convenience trends like buy-online-pickup-at-curbside (BOPAC), buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), and buy-online-return-in-store (BORIS) will become increasingly popular.
Metaverse parts will become real
Metaverse is becoming shorthand for a more immersive internet where we can work, play, and socialize on a persistent platform.
There is a prediction that the metaverse will add $5 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and 2023 will define the direction of the metaverse for the next decade.
In 2023, I predict that we will have more immersive meeting environments where we can collaborate, brainstorm, and create together, thanks to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
Microsoft and Nvidia are already developing metaverse platforms for collaborative digital work.
Avatar technology will also get more advanced in the new year. With motion capture, our avatars could even adopt our unique body language and gestures as we communicate with others in the metaverse. An avatar could look exactly like we do in the real world.
AI-enabled autonomous avatars may also develop to act as our representations in the metaverse, even if we aren’t logged in.
The trend of using metaverse technology like AR and VR to conduct training and onboarding will accelerate in 2023. Accenture has already created a metaverse environment called the Nth Floor. New hires and current employees can perform HR-related tasks without having to be in a physical office with this virtual world, which includes replicas of Accenture offices.
Web3 progress
As companies create more decentralized products and services, blockchain technology will also advance significantly in 2023.
In the present day, we store everything in the cloud, but if we decentralize data storage and encrypt it with blockchain, our information will not only be safer, but also easier to access and analyze.
The use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will increase in the coming year. For example, NFT tickets to concerts could give you access to backstage experiences and memorabilia. Our NFTs could be our key to interacting with many digital products and services, or they could be contracts we enter into.
Bringing the digital and physical worlds together
This trend will continue in 2023, as digital twin technology and 3D printing merge the digital and physical worlds.
To test new ideas in a safe digital environment, digital twins can be used to simulate real-world processes, operations, or products. By creating virtual twins of physical objects, designers and engineers are able to test them under all conceivable conditions without paying the high costs of real-life experiments. From factories to machinery to cars to precision healthcare, digital twins will be used more and more in 2023.
Engineers can tweak and edit components in the virtual world, and then create them in the real world using 3D printing.
A Formula 1 team, for example, currently collects data from sensors during races, along with track temperatures and weather conditions, to understand how the cars change. Then they stream the data from the sensors to digital twins of the engines and car components and run scenarios to make design changes on the fly. Based on the results, the teams 3D print the car parts.
Nature is becoming increasingly editable
The use of nanotechnology will enable us to create materials with completely new features, such as water resistance and self-healing capabilities.
We’ve been using CRISPR-Cas9 technology for a few years, but in 2023 we’ll see gene editing technology accelerate to give us the ability to “edit nature.”
Like word processing, gene editing allows you to take out some words and replace them with others — but with genes. In addition to correcting DNA mutations, gene editing can help cure food allergies, improve crop health, or even alter human characteristics like eye colour and hair colour.
The quantum progress
There is a worldwide race to develop quantum computing at scale right now.
With quantum computing, we’ll be able to process and store information a trillion times faster than traditional processors, using subatomic particles to create new ways of processing and storing information.
If quantum computing is developed at scale, any nation that develops quantum computing could break the encryption of other nations, businesses, security systems, and more — making our current encryption practices obsolete. As countries like the US, the UK, China, and Russia invest in quantum computing technology, it is a trend to watch closely in 2023.
The progress of green technology
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world right now, so we need to put a brake on carbon emissions.
In 2023, expect continued progress around green hydrogen, a clean-burning source of energy that produces near-zero greenhouse gases. The first major green pipeline from wind farms in the North Sea is being built by Shell and RWE, two major European energy companies.
We’ll also see progress in the development of decentralized power grids. Distributed energy generation using this model provides a system of small power generators and storage that are located in communities or individual houses — so they can provide power even if the main grid is not available. Right now, our energy system is primarily dominated by huge gas and energy companies, but decentralized energy initiatives have the potential to democratize power worldwide while decreasing carbon emissions.
Robots will become more human-like
In 2023, robots will become even more like humans — in appearance and capability. These robots will be used in the real world as event greeters, bartenders, concierges, and companions for older adults. Moreover, they will work alongside humans in manufacturing and logistics in warehouses and factories to perform complex tasks.
A company is working on creating a robot that mimics a human. Elon Musk revealed two humanoid robot prototypes at Tesla AI Day in September 2022, and said the company was ready to take orders within 3 to 5 years. The robot can perform simple tasks like lifting items and watering plants — so perhaps we’ll be able to have “robot butlers” in the house soon.
The progress of autonomous systems
A number of factories and warehouses have already become partially or fully autonomous. Business leaders will continue to make progress in creating autonomous systems, particularly for delivery and logistics.
In 2023, we’ll see more self-driving trucks and ships, as well as delivery robots — and more autonomous warehouses and factories.
Thousands of autonomous robots sort, lift, and move groceries in Ocado’s highly automated warehouses, which describes itself as “the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailer.” The warehouse also uses AI to place the most popular items within easy reach of the robots. Ocado is now rolling out the autonomous technology behind their successful warehouses to other grocery retailers.
Technology that is more sustainable
Finally, in 2023, we’ll see a push toward more sustainable technology. Many (if not most) of us are addicted to technology such as our smartphones, tablets, and computers — but where do these gadgets come from? In the future, people will think more about how rare earth components are made and where they come from for things like computer chips.
Cloud services like Netflix and Spotify still run in huge data centers that consume a great deal of energy.
Supply chains will continue to become more transparent in 2023, as consumers demand energy-efficient and sustainable products and services.