For the purposes of this thread, we’re going to assume the human race survives the very-probably-tech-bubble-burst that is Let’s Put AI In Everything. What overhyped tech nonsense grift will take the world by storm, after that one bursts?
Bonus question: what was the most transparently stupid tech bubble, in retrospect? I think it’s got to be NFTs, right?
IMHO, IOT has got to be up there.
IoT gets bonus points for being a dumb name for Appliances with Pointless Wifi
Quantum computing. There’s already a lot of talk about it, but once it’s ready for the mass market (probably corporate first - for private consumers it’s still a stretch away), there’ll be a massive hype around it. Part of it is justified, of course - it’s pretty clear that the cryptographic algorithms that underpin pretty much the entire infrastructure for secure online payments won’t work in a world with readily available quantum computing power. But I’m sure there’ll be a lot of “let’s take our product to the next level with quantum computers!” bullshit.
Oh, that’s a good call
Ah, good one. It’s like parallel computing but not as generally useful. No amount of quantum computing will make 99% of what we do online go faster.
BTW I’ve seen papers on how you can preserve cryptography assuming quantum computers are available. Early days, but people are well aware of the problem.
In fact an entire field of study has developed around it called Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). I doubt however that quantum computers will be general enough (if indeed they can be built at all at the necessary scale) to constitute the next tech bubble. I predict the Next Big Thing will just be some other hare-brained scheme to use the internet in ways that nobody needs. We’re already far more “connected” than we ever needed to be, and studies have shown it to be unhealthy for kids’ social and emotional development.
I think it will be in collaboration software and social media groups.
How about genomically-optimized foods and drugs. Don’t take changes with your health - we have a breed of chicken that is perfect for your specific genome (Bob, grab a chicken off the rack - doesn’t matter which one)
I think the bubble part will come when VCs think quantum computing is close enough to throw all sorts of money at. That will happen when IBM or Google or someone demonstrates a quantum computer useful for some segment of the market. The start ups will claim that they can build more powerful QCs and/or that they have identified a bigger market segment, with a path to profitability. I think you know how this will crash as well as I do.
As for your suggestion, we already use the internet in ways no one needs. I can see fads - like real digital assistants - but nothing bubble like.
That could indeed be soon. Google announced a new quantum processor earlier this month.