AS we rush into the new year, many technologies hyped up in 2021 are continuing to grow in novel new ways.
One of the most awaited next-generation technologies – 5G – is finally accessible to the general public, albeit limited to certain areas.
Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) has temporarily offered wholesale 5G services at no cost to all telcos integrated into its network, allowing them to offer 5G to their customers.
DNB, the state agency in charge of the 5G rollout, said the trial, which began on Dec 15, will end on March 31.
Telekom Malaysia (TM) has confirmed a pilot trial to offer 5G to its Unifi mobile postpaid customers and YTL Communications’ Yes announced two plans – Prepaid FT5G Unlimited and Postpaid FT5G RM49 – that will allow its users to enjoy 5G.
Customers on both of the Yes plans will enjoy unlimited data when surfing on 5G, and the telco is also offering device bundles for those who don’t own a certified 5G smartphone.
During the trial, the 5G services offered through DNB will be limited to selected areas within Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.
Live testing done in Putrajaya showed that 5G speeds ranged from 700Mbps (megabits per second) to 800Mbps for downloads and 100Mbps to 130Mbps for uploads while indoors.
While outdoors, the speeds hit 850Mbps to 1Gbps (gigabits per second) for downloads and 100Mbps to 150Mbps for uploads.
Virtual reality
A poll by British firm LEK Consulting found that between 70% to 80% of retail customers are interested in using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for shopping.
AR, for instance, can be used to check if a sofa would fit in a living room while VR could be used to demonstrate how a product, say a coffee machine, works.
Many other companies are also finding novel uses for VR – outdoor equipment brand The North Face, which offers durable clothes and bags for climbing, has created a VR climbing experience for customers to try out its apparel and accessories.
To make VR more immersive, companies are also adding different types of input and feedback systems.
Some startups are working on a haptic bodysuit that will allow people to feel what they are bumping into in a virtual space, giving them better awareness of their surroundings.
They have even attached scent bottles to the headsets so that a virtual seaside stroll actually smells like the sea.
Futurist Bernard Marr predicts that VR and AR consumer devices will proliferate in 2022, noting that headset manufacturer Oculus sold close to two million of its Quest 2 headsets last year.
VR headsets will also be the ticket to entry for the metaverse, a persistent 3D environment that the tech giants are building.
The metaverse elevates user experience by giving people a shared sense of space despite not being in the same room, making everything from gaming to virtual concerts more immersive.
It’s also expected to benefit businesses – Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group (IDG) predicts that the metaverse will become essential as people move from “work from home” to “work from anywhere”.
Its research found that 83% of IT leaders expect half of future work to happen outside of the office.
To assist this, it said workers will need immersive VR/AR workplaces with artificial intelligence (AI) that can remove background noises like dogs barking or car alarms.
Smarter AI
Mercedes-Benz is pushing ahead of Tesla in the self-driving vehicle sector – it has become one of the first to gain regulatory approval for a “conditionally automated driving system”.
Its Drive Pilot, a system powered by AI that will debut next year, will allow its cars to drive on their own at up to 60kph even in heavy traffic.
The system is said to be able to handle unexpected traffic situations and take evasive action when necessary.
However, Drive Pilot can only function on pre-mapped, geofenced and controlled-access highways in Germany, though there are plans to roll it out in Europe, Korea, Japan, Australia and Britain.
Another AI that’s expected to level up is generative AI which is able to analyse existing text, audio and images to find an underlying pattern and create new content.
Gartner predicted that generative AI will be able to discover new drugs and chemicals, accounting for 30% of such discoveries by 2025.
The market research firm said generative AI can even help mitigate data scarcity by creating new data for researchers to work on.
Unfortunately, AI is not always used for good.
Improved AI capabilities are powering the creation of increasingly realistic Deep Fakes in which a person in a photo or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness.
Industry players and exponents are saying the tech is reaching a pivotal point, as general viewers are starting to struggle to distinguish between fake and real videos.
The hardware requirement to create Deep Fakes is also dropping as even mobile apps are able to generate convincing fakes.
Bitcoin: boon or bane
In spite of its volatility, bitcoin’s value has consistently gone up over the last few years and is anticipated to hit US$100,000 (RM422,750) by early 2022.
And it’s being adopted not just by organisations but also governments.
In September last year, El Salvador became the first country to accept bitcoin as legal tender alongside its other official currency, the US dollar.
And just this month, Myanmar’s National Unity Government – an alliance of leaders from the ousted civilian government and pro-democracy groups – recognised the cryptocurrency tether as an official currency.
However, the Myanmar Central Bank does not recognise the cryptocurrency as legal tender and has prohibited financial institutions from using it.
Closer to home, Singapore is taking a cautious approach to this technology.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is exploring applications for blockchain and has allowed several cryptocurrency exchanges to operate in the country.
However, its managing director Ravi Menon said the central bank still doesn’t see a need for it to introduce its own digital currency.
Likewise, Malaysia’s Securities Commission – the statutory body that oversees investments – has recognised four digital exchanges operating locally, allowing Malaysians to legally trade with cryptocurrency.
However, cybersecurity firms warned that the decentralised nature of cryptocurrency offers anonymity.
And this anonymity has led to a rise in ransomware attacks as hackers can get paid without jeopardising their identities, according to cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks.
“As the currency is not tied to any central bank or financial institution, it makes it hard for regulators to trace it back to the criminals,” it said.
No to cookies
While reducing cookies in the new year is typically tied to one’s resolutions, cutting down on the use of Internet cookies has become increasingly important.
Internet cookies are small files that enable web browsers to track, personalise and save information about how a user interacts with websites.
This info makes it easier for websites to recognise returning users and is used to generate customised ads.
However, this also allows companies to track a user across the Web and create a profile of the person’s habits.
Several technologies are in the works to combat this, including the Privacy Sandbox initiative by Google, revealed in 2019.
The open-source effort hopes to eliminate personal tracking by lumping users into anonymous cohorts of people with similar web surfing habits.
The company says this effectively hides individuals “in the crowd”. The tech also uses on-device processing to keep a person’s web history private.
Also, massive fines in the European Union for breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could deter companies from abusing users’ data.
Tech companies slapped with heavy fines this year include Amazon (€746mil or RM3.56bil), WhatsApp (€225mil or RM1.07bil) and Google (€50mil or RM238.7mil).
Consumer credit firm Experian found that users in Asia Pacific have become weary of their data being abused, especially as they embraced more digital technologies during the pandemic.
Consumers in India (79%) and Singapore (70%) were the most concerned, it said.
“In the wake of the widespread shift to digital banking and e-commerce, organisations around the world have seen a sharp increase in cybercrime.
“As consumers become more worried about their wider digital footprint which comes with greater exposure to security risks, businesses have to instil confidence in how they are protecting customer data and how it is being used,” said Experian Asia Pacific CEO Ben Elliott.
Also, marketing site The Drum warns that some tech companies may be going too far with their privacy policies, creating “walled gardens” that can frustrate advertisers, publishers, developers and even their own consumers.
Poland’s anti-monopoly watchdog, for example, launched an investigation into Apple’s rules on privacy and personal data processing for iOS devices which is designed to limit advertisers from tracking iPhone users.
The Polish regulator said Apple’s new rules may be aimed at eliminating competition while allowing it to retain access to users’ data.
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