Seven tech trends to shape up in 2019: Telenor VP

ISLAMABAD: The visiting Telenor Vice President Bjørn Hansen on Thursday dwelt upon seven technological trends shaping up in 2019, arguing that the term of fake news could be overcome with better use of technologies.

“The working journalists will not replace by machines through artificial intelligence because computers and machines cannot replace humans in terms of expression and conducting analysis in any situation,” it was response of visiting Telenor Vice President Research who took a deep dive into the seven tech trends that will shape up 2019 here at company’s headquarters in suburb of federal capital on Thursday.

While referring study, he said that there were prediction of proliferation of green technologies, increased public scrutiny of artificial intelligence (AI), deep fake contents, beginning of larger-scale 5G pilots and trials, enhanced industrial use of IoT (Internet of Things), huge growth of voice-controlled chat bots and lowering of screen time in 2019.

To another query regarding renewal of license, Telenor Corporate Head Kamal Ahmed said that they would ask the government for level playing field on renewal of due licenses in 2019. “We along with other players have made request to the government to ensure level playing field for all players,” he added.

He also said that they asked the government to rationalize duty and taxes on smartphone in the upcoming mini budget because cars could not run without roads so technological advancement could not be achieved without cheaper availability of latest phone sets. He also proposed that the money of Universal Service Fund (USF) could be used for providing subsidy for getting latest smartphone living in rural and far-flung areas of Pakistan in order to enhance penetration of technology.

Earlier, on the topic of seven technologies, the Vice President Telenor said that these seven trends identify the upcoming global developments in the IT industry and how these will shape the way people interact, consume, connect and even perceive the world around us this year. Held at Telenor Pakistan Campus 345, the session showcased how responsibility resonates with these latest tech trends and how technology can fit into our lives safely and positively. Having studied the tech world advancements, setbacks and successes in the previous years’ enables Telenor Research to identify these trends for the year 2019.

This year, we’ll witness an enriched IoT ecosystem with the technology transforming various industries through smart solution integrations. 5G testing is also advancing with 5G islands appearing globally connecting selected communities and business networks from Europe to North America and northeast Asia. 2019 will also see a rise in mobile-driven green technology that will help people live and consume more smartly than ever.

Artificial Intelligence has been in discussion the past few years, however, this is the year we might see public and private bodies setting AI governance frameworks and adopting new codes of conduct to ensure that they operate with high ethical standards.

According to the study, we will see more of ‘deepfake’ content which is created when Deep Learning meets Fake News. This means more doctored photos and videos will surface making it harder to tell fact from fiction. Furthermore, while voice activated chatbots will see growth leading to smarter voice-recognition applications, universal screen time is going to decrease as a result of increased awareness and discipline. “It’s imperative that we know what developments have taken place in the recent past and what technology holds in store for our future, in order to harvest the benefits,” said Bjørn Hansen while speaking to the participants. “Our findings show that responsible tech is on the rise, even in the midst of technology’s rapid leaps. Tech used in the right way will contribute to the sustainable tomorrow.” he added.