Each year, IBM releases its technology predictions for the coming five years. It’s a much anticipated happening, and this year Forbes columnist Greg Satell had a look at many of the tech innovator’s major prophecies. What will the next five years hold for technology? Here’s a short look at what may happen, as determined by IBM.
Schools get smarter
It’s a challenge: U.S. school children are falling behind their global peers, particularly in the important areas of math and science. IBM, though, sees a solution: tech-savvy classrooms. As Satell writes, IBM predicts that teachers will become more proficient in their use of classroom technology to reach a greater number of their students. Today, even though many students receive an excellent education, way to many others are left behind. IBM predicts that technology will make this less true.
Shopping gets high-tech
IBM predicts, too, that technology will dramatically transform retailers. How big of a change? IBM predicts that one day soon we’ll walk into a shop and have our smartphones automatically search the retailer’s inventory for the exact shoe or coat we are looking for. After that you can use your smartphone to send a message to a salesperson that will deliver you your items. Pretty neat, isn’t it?
Medicine gets smarter
Personalized medicine will be coming in the next five years, according to IBM. This is really important: Different people react differently to different medicines. IBM predicts that soon doctors will be able to sequence your DNA in a day. The doctor can then access cloud-based systems that offer medicine recommendations using the most up to date clinical and research information.