Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Augmented Reality — a look back at the big digital topics of 2018.
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies
Blockchain, a very topical subject — but what is it really? Generally, we understand that it is a technology that makes it possible to secure exchanges and that it involves cryptocurrencies such as the famous Bitcoin. If you do not really understand what it is about, we recommend reading our article on blockchain. In a few words, blockchain is a “technology for storing and transmitting information that is transparent, secure and operates without any central control body” (definition given by Blockchain France).
Lucrative prospects for blockchain
So, even though digital currencies and blockchain are linked, some companies intend to use the technology for other purposes. Smart contracts can be set up using this revolutionary technology! These contracts use programs to trigger monetary actions. The example given by Blockchain France is the automated reimbursement of insurance policyholders. That is right: if your flight is cancelled tomorrow, smart contracts could get you reimbursed without you having to file a claim. It is therefore conceivable to imagine applications in a wide range of fields such as banking, insurance, real estate, the pharmaceutical industry, energy, and so on. In addition, the decentralised web brought about by blockchain could provide solutions in terms of data protection, or even give users of decentralised applications the ability to monetise their personal data. That would certainly shake up a situation made more fraught by the GDPR.
The enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies
The first example of a blockchain ever created was the digital currency Bitcoin. It was precisely this creation that set the framework for the technology. Did you know that there are cryptocurrency mining farms? “Growing Bitcoin” happens in exactly this way. It is worth remembering that anyone who feels they have the soul of a nerd can create their own digital currency. All they need is to plan for enough graphics cards to meet the necessary requirements. Coming back to Bitcoin, its main drawback is its slowness. It can sometimes take several hours to complete transactions. A solution called the Lightning Network was presented in 2018 in order to speed up the currency’s transaction process. There are also more and more cryptocurrency projects linked to the IoT (connected objects).
Apple is reportedly considering creating its own exchange currency for its App Store. The American outlet Cheddar has also announced that Facebook is taking a close interest in cryptocurrencies — watch this space.
Artificial Intelligence: the technology at the heart of innovation
A fast-growing technology, Artificial Intelligence is making progress and is even capable of learning by itself! This technique, known as machine learning, uses data to analyse it and draw conclusions. This makes progress possible in a wide variety of fields. From the mass processing of data to human prosthetics (bionic limbs), by way of the automotive industry with cars that are becoming ever more autonomous, AI is at the heart of innovation! Examples of AI are already part of everyday life — expect to encounter intelligent products more and more often.
Voice assistants and voice search
Voice technology was the subject of many articles this year! Although Apple took the first step with Siri in 2011, Amazon has this year been offering a French version of its voice assistant. With Google Home, intelligent personal assistants — as Wikipedia calls them — have reportedly already won over more than 30 million people worldwide. A growth driver for SEO, voice queries use the content of featured snippets * to serve it back, dictated, to their users. According to Olivier Andrieu, it seems that being on the podium in terms of organic search results gives your content a chance of being read aloud in turn.
*featured snippet: a highlighted box displayed above the natural results, also known as position zero.
Chatbots: an interface that puts the customer relationship first
Not very common before, chatbots multiplied in 2018. Aimed more at e-commerce sites, these messaging assistants can answer the many questions of your prospects, or even your customers, 24 hours a day. They are often very much appreciated by their users, in particular because they enable an ultra-personalised experience and smoother communication. Thanks to an algorithm of simple pre-programmed answers, chatbots are able to understand your intention and therefore work out whether you want to be coached, receive advice or even find out about a product. Chatbots know everything about you: your stock, your products and even your solutions. They represent a genuine search engine capable of steering your customers towards a solution during the course of the conversation. Also, when their ergonomics are optimal, they are intuitive to use. You simply click on suggested answers to query the bot. And what if, in the future, our artificial friends were to replace FAQs?
Big Data and personal data
We have all heard of Big Data, especially recently with the tightening of its framework by the GDPR when it comes to the use of personal data. How would you define this term that was used so much in 2018?
First, let us recall what it is! It is a large volume of data, made up of several types of content found on the web. The nature of this data is also varied; it can include:
- biometric data
- text
- images
- videos
- figures
- and so on
Data can be submitted voluntarily via social networks, forms and forums, or collected using tracking solutions such as cookies on websites. In short, this data can be analysed and used to understand user behaviour, detect sociological trends and thereby make marketing decisions. It is in fact thanks to the data collected about your browsing that personalising the content of a page is possible. By cross-referencing data, it is possible to draw very precise and high-quality conclusions. Using machine learning, the technology mentioned earlier, it is now possible to process and analyse larger volumes of data. Whether the data is structured or not, cognitive technologies can deliver highly valuable performance indicators. By cross-referencing predictive and descriptive data, it is possible to make better predictions. This year also saw the seventh edition of the Big Data trade show. Join us on 11 and 12 March at the Palais des Congrès in Paris for the next one.
Augmented or virtual reality: computer-generated images make their way into everyday life
VR for marketing
Whether for gaming or even for testing your reflexes, virtual reality offers us an exceptional immersive experience. It is even finding its way into marketing — and it has to be said that it is a formidable way of making a customer want something.
Car manufacturers, for example, use virtual reality headsets to present cars. The advantage is that the vehicle may be physically incomplete or even absent, and yet you can examine it from every angle. Likewise, if you are planning to buy a kitchen, you can wander around your future room virtually. A boon for the user experience, which thanks to this trend is moving more and more towards omnichannel commerce.
Indeed, because it will soon be possible to use VR in your web browsers. Some have even already started to tackle the question. Firefox is venturing into it with its open source project Firefox Reality. Supermedium has also started working on the subject. This VR-dedicated browser intends to offer 3D sites thanks to the WebVR framework. To hope to enjoy an immersive experience in your browsers, you will need to equip yourself with an augmented reality headset. Facebook recently filed a patent to upgrade its Oculus Go headset. The headset’s new feature would aim to deliver an image definition similar to that of the human eye. How? The connected device would use eye tracking to concentrate the image definition at the precise place the user is looking. The rest would then be displayed at a lower definition.
Augmented reality: an increasingly ambitious technology
Augmented reality, for its part, superimposes the real (what you see) and computer-generated imagery. This is the mechanism the game Pokémon Go is based on. You allow your smartphone camera to view reality live, and the app adds an artificial universe on top of it.
Ultimately, any medium can become an object of interaction for augmented reality. That opens up prospects in many fields. It will then be possible to carry out work with great precision. In some cases people even talk about mixed reality. This is what surgeon Thomas Gregory explained when he presented its use in the surgical field at the Virtuality trade show on 8 February. To perform an operation, the scientist used Microsoft’s HoloLens headset to superimpose a patient’s medical images onto the operating area.
A little more high-tech, Bose is presenting augmented reality sunglasses. The glasses are intended to replace your headphones. Yes, really — glasses that let you hear are what the brand is aiming for by incorporating speakers into the frame. The connected accessory would give you contextual information relating to what you are looking at. Paired with your smartphone, the glasses could use a voice assistant to guide you as you navigate. The device could then serve as a tourist guide by describing the elements in front of you. The product should normally be available in January 2019. Will it be a 2.0 way of searching, an alternative to voice search?
