TECHNOLOGY

Weekender

Tech trends for 2020

Will we start the journey to a better, kinder internet?
Which countries are best placed to win the AI (artificial intelligence) race? And should Ivanka Trump be speaking at a tech show? Just some of the questions we address in the first edition of Tech Tent this year.

LAST month, the creator of the World Wide Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee, told us of his plan to put it back on the right track. His Contract for the Web aims to get companies, countries and individuals to work together to combat cyber-bullying, misinformation and other online harms.
Catherine Miller of the think tank dot everyone, which describes its mission as championing responsible technology for a fairer future, gives us her assessment of how likely it is that we will make the web a better place in 2020. She stresses that better regulation will be key, changing the economic incentives that mean the tech giants fight to keep people hooked to their platforms, and reward damaging behaviour.
When it comes to the race to build what is arguably the key technology of our times – artificial intelligence – the consensus has been that the United States is in the lead, but China is catching up fast. Now a new global AI index produced by the online news site Tortoise has come up with a more nuanced picture.
It found that, yes, the US and China were one and two in AI, with the UK in third place. But Alexandra Mousavizadeh, the data scientist who led the project for Tortoise Intelligence, tells us that China was much further behind than they had expected.
It scored well in research and development, but its 18th position in having the people with the right skills held it back.
“This race is going to be won in many different ways,” says Mousavizadeh, stressing that the free market bottom-up approach of the US had proved very fruitful so far, but the top-down Chinese strategy also has its strengths.
But she says that around the world a government strategy for developing human capital – “preparing a workforce for working with and being part of AI driven growth” – will be key.
We also look less far ahead – to CES, the huge annual gadget-fest which opens in Las Vegas on Tuesday. No doubt we will see all sorts of products promising to use AI to give consumers better experiences.
But one of the keynote speakers looks likely to provide the biggest headlines from the show. On the opening day, Ivanka Trump will be discussing the future of work in a session with the Consumer Technology Association’s CEO Gary Shapiro. The invitation to the president’s daughter has sparked controversy, especially as female keynote speakers from the tech industry have been thin on the ground in previous years.
Shapiro tells Tech Tent that the show is about more than gadgets. It addresses key issues such as the impact of automation on work – and he says as the co-chair of the American Workforce Advisory Board, Trump has significant things to contribute to this debate.
But back to technology. I have just been looking back at a blogpost I wrote on New Year’s Eve 2009 as I prepared to head off to the 2010 CES in Las Vegas.
I was very excited about a British firm called Plastic Logic that was going to unveil a radical new e-reader.
“It could be one of the show’s stand-out products,” I wrote, “or it could end up buried under an avalanche of hype about a forthcoming rival device from a better-known firm.”
That rival device turned out to be Apple’s iPad, unveiled later that month, and Plastic Logic’s Que device did indeed end up dead and buried.
So, expect to see some startling new products emerging from Las Vegas in the next few days – we are promised a talking frying-pan and a self-driving sofa – but world-changing devices are few and far between, and are likely to be unveiled elsewhere. – BBC


Blackberry in deal to create superbike

Damon Motorcycles is using BlackBerry QNX technology to make their flagship bike potentially one of the safest on the road. –AFP Relaxnews

DAMON Motorcycles’ upcoming flagship bike, whose CoPilot warning system was created with Blackberry technology, is set to debut at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2020.
In an era where Blackberry phones are essentially viewed as a device of the past, the Canada-headquartered company has announced that it will be providing Damon Motorcycles’ complete electric bike lineup with technology that will serve as the basis for the vehicles’ CoPilot advanced warning system.
The flagship bike by Canadian-based Damon Motorcycles, the Hypersport Pro, will debut with the Blackberry QNX tech at this year’s CES conference. Visitors will be able to experience this all-electric bike – which features “patented rider ergonomics” – at the Las Vegas show by testing out a stationary but leaning model whose performance can be simulated through a virtual reality experience.
The CoPilot warning system keeps riders safe by using a series of sensors, radars, and cameras to understand the movement of the bike itself and its surroundings, including moving objects. Thanks to this tech and the resulting collision warning system, Damon Motorcycles claims that this flagship model “will be the safest, most advanced electric motorcycle in the market.”
Reservations for the limited edition Hypersport Pro will be open to the public at 10am PST on Jan 7 (2am Malaysia on Jan 8), the day CES 2020 kicks off. Performance specs will likewise be revealed as the bike goes on display. The model is slated to go on sale in mid-2020. – AFP Relaxnews


World’s first 5G tablet to launch this year
A Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 with 5G connectivity will be launching in South Korea during the first quarter of this year. – AFP Relaxnews

THE latest generation of Samsung’s Galaxy tablet series, the Galaxy Tab S6, will launch with 5G connectivity during the first quarter of this year.
With smartphone manufacturers worldwide adding 5G connectivity to their flagship devices, Samsung is set to be the first to equip a tablet with the technology. Though the company touts that it will be launching the device in the first quarter of this year, this is only for the South Korean market.
Upgrading the device to 5G will improve the quality of gaming, video conferencing and streaming live or pre-recorded content, thanks to increased speed and overall performance.
According to a study conducted by Counterpoint Research, 5G-equipped devices only made up about 1% of global smartphone sales; however, that amount is predicted to grow 1,687% in 2020. With this major growth expectation, it’s likely that non-smartphone products, too, will see an increase in 5G integration. While Samsung is the first to launch such a product, similar devices by other companies are surely in the works.
Though the 5G Galaxy Tab S6 will be launching in South Korea during the first quarter of 2020, there’s no word on when the device will be coming to other markets. – AFP Relaxnews