We can’t be certain of the future, but we are fairly certain that there are four technology trends you will be hearing about in 2016. Each year, technology that seemed nascent, or far from mainstream, suddenly becomes BIG. This is what we think will be big next year:

Bots

Bots are software applications that run automated tasks, and we believe 2016 will bring a host of creative bots designed to boost productivity, keep us focused and give us insight into what everyone else is doing. For example, Microsoft’s experimental Mandarin-language bot, Xiaolce, lives inside your phone and is able to give you reminders, provide directions, write emails and have intimate conversations with you (Xiaolce can remember previous conversations). 

But there is more to bots than just getting you places on time and conversation. News organisations will soon be able to use bots to sort and tag articles in real time. Bots will be able to update social media and stocks simultaneously. And there is talk that the intelligence community may deploy bots for surveillance and digital diplomacy.

Glitches 

Almost everyone is familiar with software bugs, but what we are seeing now are not really “bugs”— they are “glitches”. Bugs can be tested and rectified. Glitches are a more recent phenomenon, relating to newer technologies that we are learning to break in unexpected ways. 

In 2013, technical glitches caused a three-hour stop at the Nasdaq. Last year a glitch caused 5,000 United flights to be grounded for two hours. And technical glitches halted trading at the New York Stock Exchange recently.

The worst part is they are difficult, if not impossible, to predict.

Backdoors

Backdoors are lines of code developers intentionally install in firmware so that manufacturers can safely upgrade devices. Essentially, it is how developers are able to get into your system to fix a problem without stopping service. The problem is that backdoors can also be used to access everything from our webcams to our personal data.

Some government officials are advocating for a set of “golden keys,” which would allow law enforcement to use backdoors as they wish. So it is possible that in 2016, that any US company that stores customer data could be asked to create a backdoor. This would include banks, travel sites, and social media amongst others types of organisations that most of us use.

Blockchain

The blockchain is a sort of distributed consensus system, where no one person controls all the data. Its claim to fame is that it is the technology behind bitcoin.  Blockstream (a technology company) recently launched its first prototype “sidechain,” which functions as a separate ledger with its own code. Sidechains allow for easier authentication.

Blockstream and the sidechain projects that follow will turn the blockchain into a universal platform that can be used for anything requiring signatures or authentication. Put simply, it will disrupt entire industries, and has the potential to eliminate thousands of supplier-buyer intermediaries like payment services companies.

And finally, while we won’t officially add it to the list, we do expect that the world will hear more about VoIP technologies and advancements in business phone systems. As fibre optic connectivity becomes increasingly available in remote areas, and as more businesses move out of city centres, VoIP business phone sytems, and the abilities they offer from international phone numbers to mobile twinning, will make the technology truly mainstream.

But then, who are we to try to predict the future? Technology is changing so fast, and trends that we thought were certain end up overshadowed by things we never saw coming. The only thing we can do, is watch this space.

2016: we can’t wait.