If there’s anything we have learnt from 2022 is that we simply can’t predict tech. This time last year, there would be no way of telling that Elon Musk would take over Twitter, that musicians would do a Spotify storm out and let’s not talk about the FTX fall.
Not to be contradictory but we are going to give it our best shot, regardless, to try and predict some trends.
The Metaverse will become more attractive
Through its first year in the limelight, the metaverse was overshadowed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s own vision, which includes legless avatars, unwieldy VR headsets and massive take rates on the sale of digital assets. But the metaverse is much more than Zuckerberg’s project.
Conflating the metaverse with Meta is like conflating social media with Facebook – the potential is greater. Stuff like this is bound to happen in the early days but very soon, new platforms and developments will be coming onto the scene and will shed light on how expansive the metaverse can be.
The Future of Twitter is Wobbly
The lack of site maintenance on Musk’s Twitter renders its services unusable and Musk’s worsening attitude once and for all drives his leadership into the ground. As we read yesterday, over 55% of users want Musk out. The most infuriating part of this reality will be the absence of any competitive platforms that could scratch the itch created by Twitter. Mastodon was interesting for all of five days, but it’s too sober and too fragmented, while other alternatives like Post and Hive Social aren’t even worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as Twitter.
Of course, a social media heavyweight could step in and try to fill the void. Meta, apparently and unsurprisingly, has already considered doing so. Might TikTok or Snap step in with a new microblogging product? The answer is doubtful, especially as the promise of ad dollars remains unclear amid a tough economy.
Marrying AI with Physical Creation
Right now, AI feels rather intangible for the majority of us. But imagine this; standing in front of an AI system hooked to some kind of manufacturing arm, like a 3D printer, and querying it to produce an object that has never been produced before. It’s sort of a combo between the imaginativeness of DALL-E and the practicality of ChatGPT, but with its own physical twist. When everyday users see AI generating crazy items in the real world, there will be no going back.
