Predictions for a connected 2018 – Arm – Medium

Bitcoin and blockchain entered the consumer lexicon in a media frenzy that saw it hit $19,000 USD per coin (albeit for only 20 minutes) and led thousands of new hopefuls to Google'what is bitcoin and how will it make me rich?' And the WannaCry cyberattack saw consumers' cherished photos and documents held to ransom, crippling Britain's NHS and reminding everyone that cybersecurity isn't just for big corporations or spy agencies. With all of that in mind, along with Niels Bohr's observation that prediction is very difficult (especially about the future), here are our six predictions about how these key themes -- AI and Machine Learning (ML), IoT, security, blockchain -- are likely to begin to make a real difference in the way all of us interact with technology in 2018… Ever tried to use Siri offline? Suddenly, your knowledgeable little friend becomes rather dumb. In 2017, AI fed consumers content on Facebook or Netflix while assistants such as Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant identified what song was playing or what the weather would be like tomorrow.