Tech trends 2019: 'The end of truth as we know it?'

More than 200 firms contributed to our request for ideas on what the global tech trends will be in 2019. This year it's all about data - a small, rather dull word for something that is profoundly changing the world we live in. New technologies, from voice-controlled speakers to "internet of things" (IoT) sensors, connected cars to fitness wearables, are vastly increasing the amount of digital data we produce. And artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cloud computing are transforming the way we store, analyse and apply it. "In 2019 smart sensors will start to be found everywhere, automating data collection to satisfy the voracious appetite of AI," says Tim Harper, a former European Space Centre engineer and now founder of G2O Water Technologies.