Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Ledger Technology are the current hot topics on the innovation agenda. In our future outlook for 2019 and beyond, we made 10 bold predictions for the upcoming development of these two key technologies.

1. TECHNOLOGY
PREDICTIONS
FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR AI AND DLT
TOP 10

2. 2
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
After mobile, social and search the
next two decades will be characterized by
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
1

3. 3
TIME IS RUNNING
Broad productive mainstream adoption
of AI will start from 2022, while DLT will go mass
market somewhere between 2025 and 2027.
2

4. 4
DAVID VS. AMAZON
The next emerging big players will be networks
with multiple reinforcing business models
along the supply chain (Amazon is a prototype).
3

5. 5
PLEASE HIDE THE CODE
User experience is key to mass adoption of new
technologies.
User Interfaces for AI and DLT will evolve to work
productively with digital twins and include AR/VR
and voice control.4

6. 6
WTF?
Three new KPIs will emerge:
▪ DRC = data readiness costs
▪ NTC = network transaction costs
▪ REQ = robot employee quotient
5

7. 7
RPA EATS YOUR JOB FOR BREAKFAST
Intelligent robotic process automation (RPA) will
have substituted the majority of low-cognitive skill
jobs by 2030.
RPA will additionally support almost all human
employees in enterprise functions such as
accounting, procurement, compliance, HR and legal.
6

8. 8
TEST, TEST, D-L-T
Distributed ledger technology will become an
integral part of industries characterized by:
▪ Asset-light business models (mobility, travel)
▪ Digital asset exchange (music, advertising)
▪ Trade networks with razor-thin margins (energy, banking)
▪ Identity and compliance issues (insurance, government)
7

9. 9
ROUND ONE – FIGHT!?
The U.S. players will win domains, where technical
AI problems and improvements of the core
algorithms dominate.
(reasoning, multitasking, transfer learning)
Chinese companies will win domains, where it’s
about implementation, smart infrastructure or
policy adoption.
(robotics, medical diagnosis, person tracking, behavior-based services)
8

10. 10
BIG DATA IS SO 2014…
AI will gain the highest benefits in industries with
easy accessible high volumes of processable,
unique data, contextually captured through:
▪ IoT sensor networks (industrial IoT, robotics, smart home)
▪ Digitization of standard forms (logistics, insurance, retail)
▪ Direct digital transactions (FinTech, e-commerce, travel)
9

11. 11
STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH
Today‘s AI movement is all about processable data
volume, the next wave starting from 2025 will focus
on efficient data models and data quality.
This gives newcomers a chance to disrupt the
existing data “coal mines“ (Facebook, Google etc.).10

12. 12Disclaimer: All information presented were prepared by Appanion with great care. For the presented opinions and predictions Appanion cannot assume any warranty of any kind. Appanion is not liable for any damage arising from the use of information and opinions provided in this publication.
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