Tech Industry Trends Going Virtual in 2022

The Future of Tech

Let’s admit it – most of us have spent way too much time online the last couple of years. Especially with many in-person activities being so limited due to the global pandemic. The balance between our real and virtual lives has surely been skewed. So, it’s likely that you’ve heard about the latest trends to be expected in 2022 while spending time online. All the buzz is about NFTs, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Let’s get into the facts about each of these developments. What we can expect from each within the next year?

NFTs

If you’re any amount immersed in the world of digital tech, then you’re aware of the term NFT, or Non-Fungible token. An NFT (also known as crypto art) is a cryptographic token that is unique for individual intellectual property tracing. They can’t be replaced, and they’re validated and stored using blockchain technology.

Let’s Break It Down

In terms that are a bit easier to understand, NFTs are a form of digital asset that can be used to represent real-world artifacts. This includes art, music, video, and in-game items. It’s an original and innovative way for people to use their creativity to make money and gain online popularity. No NFT is comparable to another NFT. For example, there are about 18 million bitcoins in circulation. All bitcoins are the same. But, unlike Bitcoin, NFTs have unique individual qualities that set them aside. So, in other terms, they are not interchangeable (1).

In 2021 alone, NFTs soared to the top of the tech industry with nearly $41 billion in sales (2). Let’s put it into perspective how popular these online items can be. In February of 2021 a GIF of the Pop-Tarts®-bodied cat meme sensation Nyan Cat sold for 300 ETH. This was worth an estimated $590,000 at the time). A month later, in March 2021, a digital card displaying an image of a morph between Homer Simpson and Pepe the Frog called Homer Pepe sold for 205 ETH (equivalent to $320,000 at that time). (3)

The Future of NFTs

Experts estimate that within the next five years, crypto art will have outpaced traditional art markets. Factors such as the cult aspect behind NFTs along with the scarcity are what’s making them so prominent today. The fact that it is a new technology and the feeling of being part of such an early stage plays its role as well. Cherie Hu described it best: “NFTs help close the stubborn gap between the emotional value and market value of art in a digital world.” (3)

NFTs as digital collectibles will undoubtedly continue their impact on the crypto market in 2022. Feeling creative? Try designing a unique image or gif, and see if you could be one of the people who makes a pretty penny selling your designs! You never know, your creation could be the next Homer Pepe.

2. Metaverse – Virtual Like You’ve Never Seen Before

The Facebook Company surprised us all last year when they announced their new name and overall new virtual concept. The Metaverse became a $50 million commitment that shocked us (4). The main idea of the Metaverse is that we will all be using virtual reality (VR) more and more in our everyday lives. VR devices are still relatively new, and the majority of people do not have them in their homes quite yet. However, that will most likely change in 2022. Grab your virtual headset (or go buy one), because the way you work and play is about to be transformed!

Avatar Expression

Radical self-expression will be one of the highlighted benefits of the Metaverse. People will quickly learn to manipulate the virtual world around them as avatars. We will have the ability to try on different ‘skins.’ This will allow us to mold our avatar to be as much like our ‘real’ selves as we want. We will learn how to express pieces of ourselves through these avatars in ways that we may not have been able to visualize or do before.

The ability to create and switch avatars will make it difficult for people to hold biases. Many will begin to understand that someone’s outer skin doesn’t reflect their full state of being (5). Unfortunately this can be hard for some people to grasp in today’s daily life, and unconscious bias is still a very real thing. Imagine a world with radical acceptance where someone’s outer appearance and every little action they do doesn’t reflect their full state of being. We could start to be looked at as more “whole.”

The Workplace Transformed

Another area where the Metaverse will transform us is in the workplace. It’s very possible that we could be virtually teleporting ourselves to a meeting with our boss soon. Instead of just choosing a fake background on our Zoom or Google Meets meeting screen, we will actually be able to feel like we’re somewhere else.

We will get to experience places like we never have before. The creative power that would come with this will definitely change the way we do work with each other. Think about going across the country or world to meet with the president of your company instead of just seeing their face on a screen or speaking on the phone. Companies of all sizes will be able to create a desirable employee experience tailored more to their employees. Say goodbye to the old, boring conference rooms. Get ready to go to a place you’ve never been before while getting work done.

It will be important for us to balance our experience of what Earth has to offer in the real world while we use technology to learn more about the world we have yet to experience. As our world changes with technology and we go into the metaverse, there is no question: technology will be at the forefront (5).

Artificial Intelligence

AI and machine learning already play a larger role in our daily lives than you might realize. Alexa, Siri, Amazon’s product recommendations, Netflix’s personalized recommendations, Spotify’s customized playlists, every online search you make, security checks for credit card fraud, dating apps, fitness trackers… the list goes on and on. All of these things are driven by artificial intelligence.

Impacts of AI

Over the next few years, artificial intelligence (AI) will become even more omnipresent and inescapable, especially when it comes to devices such as cars and household appliances. Its presence will also enter more into the realms of navigation, health care and many areas of research.

AI is increasingly used to do things like diagnosing health problems from various data sources, enhancing digital maps by analyzing satellite images, and driving vehicles with little to no human assistance (7). Because of this, there will be more emphasis on the security and privacy aspects of data and digital ethics. More resources will ultimately be dispersed toward developing and implementing policies, strategies, principles and guidelines all focusing on AI risks, security and ethics. This will be done by tech companies, the federal government, state agencies, research organizations and universities.

So, is AI going to replace in-person work and personal experiences? Maybe in some aspects, but what it will surely do is change the way we do work and interact with each other. From a work perspective, specialized AI systems tend to be task-oriented. In other words, they execute limited sets of tasks, more than the full set of activities constituting an occupation (8). Still, all occupations have some exposure. For example, reading radiographs is a key part of a radiologist’s job, but just one of the dozens of tasks they perform. AI in this case can allow doctors to spend more time on other tasks, such as conducting physical exams or developing customized treatment plans.

Contemporary Tech Trends

One thing we can conclude is that our lives are about to become even more virtual, ranging from digital art-buying to using artificial intelligence and virtual reality in both our personal lives and work environments. At this point, the Metaverse is just going to advance and gain popularity. As mentioned earlier, if you don’t already have a virtual headset, you might want to think about purchasing one. In the near future, it could be the only thing standing between you and a virtual work meeting in the tropics of Hawaii!