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Despite many dark clouds in the sky, whether we are talking politics or economics, 2024 offers many possibilities. Opportunities to learn something new and exciting, to build new products and services, and simply to make the world a little better place. This is what Håvard Røste writes in a guest blog.
Håvard Røste jobber med “Teknologi og Data” i KildeGruppen (tidligere Hamar Media) og har i mange år vært aktiv i byggingen av et community for XR/AR/VR i Norge.
Håvard Røste's 7 points are about AI, collaboration, curiosity, personalization, cybersecurity, augmented and virtual reality and sustainable technology. Røste has over 20 years of experience from various roles at the intersection of technology, media and communication. Røste now works in the media group KildeGruppen (formerly Hamar Media), responsible for the area “Technology and Data”. Røste has also for many years been active in building a community for XR/AR/VR in Norway. The content of this guest blog was first published on Håvard Røste's personal blog.
There is no shortage of those who have preached that exactly this year will be the year of opportunity, but when it comes to 2024 I have no doubt!
Despite many dark clouds in the sky, whether we are talking politics or economics, there are now also many possibilities. Opportunities to learn something new and exciting, to build new products and services, and simply to make the world a little better place!
This blog post has been created on the basis of my work in media and technology, where I am the general manager of the technology and data department of the Inland's largest media company, Source, but the reflections will hopefully add value regardless of “position and position”, sector and industry.
Here are some of my thoughts around trends and opportunities for the coming year, summarized in a lighter tabloid 7-point list:
AI, or KI (artificial intelligence) as we shall call it here on land, generative AI, machine learning, deep learning and all the sub-categories are now at the top of the hype curve. It's been over a year since ChatGPT took the world by storm, and in the coming year, the use of AI, including generative AI (“GenAI”), will find ever more areas. Expect AI to be increasingly rolled out in all the tools and systems around you. We need to play, learn and test, but at the same time it becomes important to take AI “from biz to buzz”, as Salvador Baille so aptly puts it. The winners will be those who manage to use AI to create new value through new products, and not just use AI to drive optimization and efficiency.
We need to work together even more. Across departments, industries, nations and continents. The latter is more demanding than ever, but we need to force ourselves to see each other and the world with different lenses. My own industry, the media industry, should explore even closer collaboration. There is a lot of good work done by, for example, Amedia and The ALT InitiativeThis is probably just the beginning of an ever wider media collaboration here in the country. Remember to “zoom out” and put yourself in someone else's point of view! Empathy is a trait that will only become more and more important, also in 2024. Get an extra push behind by engaging with networks and clusters like Digital Inland!
Whether you are 7, 17 or 77 years old, you need to acquire new knowledge. Those who manage to maintain an inquisitive mind are tomorrow's winners. The world has never moved so fast before, but will never again move as slowly as it does in 2024. We are uncomfortable with changes and preferably we want everything to be as before. Unfortunately, the toothpaste will not drain back into the tube, so you should stop playing ostrich as soon as possible. Listen to podcasts, ask questions, play and learn, make mistakes, do not take everything so solemnly and keep an open mind!
“I don't want what everyone else gets, I'm special”! Everyone engaged in product and service development needs to work more with personalized services in 2024. The world is drowning in content and it is not possible to get everything that is of interest. The algorithms need to help us find out more. Show us the good content that is relevant to us, and display it in a way that engages us. Help us provide us with relevant information and services when we need it. Different users have different needs, whether we're talking about generation gap or other gaps. One size does not fit all! At the same time, the power of algorithms must be used wisely. No one is served by sinking deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole and going in ever new confirmation traps. And by all means do not forget to ask your users for feedback, during the product development process!
You may have seen the Netflix movie”Leave the World Behind” this Christmas? No matter the roll of the dice, the film offers cause for reflection. How dependent have we not become on the internet, mobile networks and satellites? Not to mention electricity? It is almost impossible to imagine an everyday life without it. Now there are far less dramatic incidents that are also bad enough, such as identity theft, data breaches, phishing and deep fakes. Digital attacks are now increasing in scope, both against individuals, businesses and states. The use of AI accelerates this further. We need more skilled professionals and solutions in the field, and adept clusters and environments that “The Cyber Cluster”But everyone also has a responsibility to stay up to date and have a source-critical sense.
Yeah, you know, AR and VR and stuff, often abbreviated XR, or even”metaverse“. I have talked a lot about it before, but in 2024, the focus on the “screens of the future” will be even greater. This is not least due to Apple's Intake in the arena, but also that more and more people are getting their eyes on Possibilities as even today's comparatively affordable products like the Meta Quest 3 provide. By placing screens directly on our eyes, we free our hands and gain a completely different flexibility around consuming content and information. A classic quote from Charlie Fink is “The world will be painted with data”. Those who understand these developments and are early in building services and content get a big advantage. In 2024, it's time to update on the field (sign up your company in VRINN)!
Sustainability is now such a worn word that I almost no longer want to take it in my mouth, but the point is that technology and digitization in and of themselves do not automatically equal sustainability. Globally speaking, the tech industry will soon be in 5 per cent of CO2 emissions, on par with the airline industry, and it increases at. Computing power and storage space is not an infinite and inexhaustible source arising in a magic cloud. It takes huge data centers and power to run all the services. Scarcity of raw materials and electricity will affect the world to a greater extent in the future, and the tech industry must take their share of responsibility. In 2024, we will have to ask ourselves more often questions like “does the world need this content”? “Do our customers need this movie in 4K quality on their home page”? “Does the company have to store and back up all this data”? At the same time, we know that digitalization removes many emissions and technology is the key to address many of the sustainability challenges of the future. There are plenty of challenges and opportunities ahead, both in 2024 and beyond!
So, those were some of my thoughts for the coming year! Thanks for being able to plow through. If there is something that appears to be disturbing or something very important that you think I have forgotten, I would be happy to hear from you in the comments section below (or in another channel).
Have a very happy new year, both with and without technology — and whatever the outcome, don't forget that it's going uphill!
The content of this guest blog was first published on Håvard Røste's personal blog. Kaupr's blog column is open for posts, analysis and debate. Send your article or article idea to morten@kaupr.io.