The Metaverse will become more real
With the recent Meta layoff announcements, it might be easy to assume that the metaverse is off the cards. But this is not so. Firstly, it’s important to remember that the metaverse is much more than just Meta’s widely touted vision of it. It is much better defined as the ultimate goal of a whole suite of virtual and augmented reality propositions that will change how we interact online. What’s more, experts predict that the metaverse will add $5 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and 2023 will be its defining year.
With this, in the new year we’ll see more brands take advantage of metaverse-ready experimental and immersive technology such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) as a way to interact with consumers in more meaningful ways. This will likely include metaverse use cases to follow the examples set by video games, such as Roblox, about how to create a digital economy for in-universe items.
We might also see further development in businesses posting themselves at key virtual locations, even through developing their own platform or using an existing virtual arena. In the corporate world, this may include virtual representations of real-world offices, operations and systems where businesses can complete specific tasks without needing to be present in a physical office.
Automation here, there and everywhere
It is estimated that businesses and employees waste hundreds of hours a year completing repetitive, often mundane tasks which could easily be automated. 2023 will see more business leaders address this by deploying automation technologies – such as robotics, machine learning and language-learning models – at scale.
In keeping with this year, a large chunk of this will be seen in delivery and logistics as businesses ramp up the pace of autonomous vehicles, as well as delivery robots to build efficiencies. But we’ll also see it in other areas too – for example customer service. This will be revealed through self-service resources, proactive messaging, or simulated chat conversations either in-part or throughout the entirety of the customer journey.
The AutoML train will gain traction
In the last year, Automatic Machine Learning (autoML) tools and services have become more popular in part due its potential to bring the power of artificial intelligence to businesses that it might not have previously been accessible to due to resource, talent, and budget constraints.
2023 will see these types of autoML off-the-shelf models become increasingly sophisticated and more widespread as a way to increase the productivity of data science teams and make machine learning more cost-effective. This will enable better and much more accurate forecasting and predictions, even more important amid current economic uncertainty.
Also, tools like Azure Machine Learning and DataRobot will continue to make it possible for users with limited coding experience to work with Machine Learning to unlock these benefits in the way of data scientist shortages.
Your proposals could write themselves
If you’re unfamiliar with Large Language Models (LLM) tools such as GPT-3, they are basically silicon brains that can produce and analyse vast amounts of language to produce human-like text. Given an initial prompt – for example ‘write a blog article about digital learning’ – the result is text that usually, with a little editing, can be suitable for use.
Inherently though, complexities surrounding prompt engineering (i.e. creating the right input to get the right output) has presented a major drawback. In most cases, this will be why LLM text writing style can be poor and even contain inherent bias.
2023 will see this all change. With the introduction of new AI capabilities that do all the heavy lifting for you when it comes to prompt engineering, LLM-based writing will become easier and more effective than ever before. By the end of the year, you may even find yourself in the position where your proposals, emails, blogs and are able to virtually write themselves.
ESG will become a ‘Tech Issue’
ESG isn't anything new. For years, businesses have been aware of the importance of making decisions that are better for the environment and society. It is only more recently though, that factors such as the pandemic, the climate emergency, and the D&I mandate have propelled ESG to new levels of significance.
But this shift is not so straightforward. While standardised governed measures, say financial reporting, can be conducted in a standard, formalised way, the complexities and wide variables associated with ESG make it a very different matter. Cue tech's emerging role as a leading force in the ESG space. Over the next year we will see more and more tech experts flooding the ESG space to combine ESG and tech knowledge and build viable solutions to the problems companies face. Initially this determinable industry shift will take time and require new ways of working and thinking for all involved. However, the end result will be a positive transition from ambition to more concrete action.
Alistair Dent is Chief Strategy Officer at data science consultancy Profusion.
