2018: The Year Of Augmented Humanity, Predicts Isobar

For Isobar, 2018 will be the year where technology enhances and scales the most human attributes. In 2018, technological interfaces will become more natural and instinctive, technology will automate repetitive tasks to free up time for creativity and compassion, and artificial intelligence will meet emotional intelligence. Isobar dubs this as ‘augmented humanity’.

Isobar defines five key trends that explore the evolving relationship between humanity and technology and predicts a harmonious future. Augmented Humanity explores the ways in which technology enhances and fuels the most human attributes – the ability to recognize and trust, to adapt to changing circumstances and the power to deliver true creativity.

“Artificial intelligence is great, but humans score on emotional intelligence. The power of being human is in empathy. This cannot be automated or outsourced. Augmented Humanity will use technology to scale everything that is best and most powerful about human interaction,” commented Jean Lin, Isobar’s Global CEO in a company statement.

The report argues that the era of anonymous, one size fits all transactions may be viewed as a temporary blip in evolution, and that as technology advances it will become more human, not less. It will return consumers to a time where voice will be the primary way people interact with the world, where people will be recognized and rewarded in stores, and where they will buy more directly from trusted suppliers.

The first key trend, Body Talk, explores the body as an interface, as people’s eyes and ears replace touching and tapping.

Powered by People is the second trend. It tackles the shift from customers to communities as technology turbocharges the sharing economy.

Isobar defines the third trend as ‘The Economy of Me’. This observed the power of AI to deliver ever more personalized products, prices and places.

The year 2018 will also be the ‘Ethical Algorithm’ that tackles technology as a force for good. In a world of fake news and algorithm bias, is there such a thing as moral code?

The fifth trend, ‘Makers and the Machines’, explores the extraordinary union of art and technology to create outputs we could never before imagine.

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