Digital Pulse, a website of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (Australia), cites six emerging technology trends that it says will not replace humans but will rather make them more productive through technology.
Scott Likens, in charge of PwC’s new services and emerging tech business in the United States, Japan, and China, calls it “Human X.”
“It’s a belief that the next wave of tech innovation isn’t about taking humans out of the equation,” he writes on Digital Pulse. “Instead, it’s about multiplying our capacity to work better, smarter, and more seamlessly through technology.”
Citing a research study in which it asked 22,000 workers from around the world about the impact technology will have on jobs, PwC says about half of respondents believe automation will “significantly change or make their job obsolete within the next 10 years.” The report suggests the most workers welcome new technologies, with 60 percent responding that they were “positive about the impact of technology on their day-to-day work.”
Finally, the study reported that half of respondents believe that “automation presents more opportunities than risks,” with 20 percent saying the opposite.
PwC has identified six trends in new technologies that point toward the future of work: extended reality, automating trust, immersive interfaces, working autonomy, digital reflection, and hyperconnected networks. Behind these trends are essential technologies that PwC says converge to drive innovation: 3D printing, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, drones, internet of things (IoT), robotics, and virtual reality (VR).
In the infographic above, PwC details the six trends. Working autonomy can be seen implemented in mines, specifically with haul trucks working set and repetitive routes.
At the top of the infographic, PwC shows how eight essential technologies converge to drive the future of work. Although all of these new technologies have application in construction, some are closer to integration than others.
3D printing is being used to print parts and even to build structures. Artificial intelligence is being applied to machine data to drive predictive maintenance. Augmented reality allows technicians to view schematics as they are working on machines and components. Drones are used in site preparation, quarry management, and infrastructure inspection.
In a separate section of Digital Pulse, PwC explains the eight essential building blocks that the company says “matter most for business, across every industry, over the next three to five years.”
The video below highlights those technologies.
Source: Digital Pulse
