What will we remember 2020 for?
2020 will go down in history as the year of Covid, but can it be said that this is the only thing that has happened in this long year?
Certainly, the main topic was the virus with the irreversible consequences that have fallen on the population of the entire planet, but perhaps it is also appropriate to dwell on how we have managed to counter forced isolation, social distancing and everything that derives from it. How every single reality has had to find a way to continue living despite everything. In fact, our greatest ally has been technology, without it we would not have been able to face the health emergency that suddenly took us by surprise, we would not have been able to continue working, teaching online, shopping from home, or simply seeing the faces of our friends.
In short, it can be said that 2020 could also be remembered as the year of technology, if only for the immoderate use that has been made of it in its thousand variations. So in this article we want to try to summarize some of the technological challenges of 2020.
5G
There was talk of 5G as early as 2019, the evolution of 2G was supposed to be widespread in 2020, but it seems that the global population will have 220 million 5G subscriptions available by the end of the year (according to the Ericsson Mobility Report). By the end of the year, Europe will reach 1% of global 5G subscriptions. Thanks to the ultra-fast mobile network, it will be possible to download audio, video and images in a few seconds. Waiting time will be reduced, the connection between sensors will make it possible to manage roads and airports, it will be possible to remotely control cars, robots and household appliances.
Podcasts
They weren’t born in 2020, but this was certainly the year of the “boom” for podcasts. A new audiovisual product that is rediscovered and re-evaluated and takes on multiple functions. It can deal with information, in-depth analysis, training, history, science, entertainment, current affairs and above all in any language. The strength of the podcast is certainly that it adapts to any situation, it can be listened to while working, while doing sports. In fact, podcasting in the last year has become almost a new habit for Italians, in fact according to Nielsen research for Audible (presented at the third edition of the United States of Podcasts) the number of podcasters in 2020 increased by 15%, 14 million more than in 2019.
The video call: the Zoom case
The video conferencing platform owes its success to the pandemic, in fact in 2020 it grew both in terms of users and use. Adopted not only for video calls between friends and family, but also by educational institutions for distance learning, Zoom has had a sudden increase that leads it to look at future projects that go beyond virtual meetings. This year, the company also
An agreement has been signed with Amazon Web Services
aimed at developing new solutions for smart working.
E-commerce and on-line sales
What would we have done without online shopping this year? According to Netcomm research carried out in collaboration with The European House – Ambrosetti, in 2020 e-commerce generated revenues of 3.5 billion euros, an increase of +6.3% compared to 2019.In fact, e-commerce has been a good ally useful in dealing with the health emergency, just think of how much online shopping has avoided crowding in supermarkets or shops.
The Bitcoin Boom
For Bitcoin, this was the year that gave the most space to a currency that has now existed for 10 years, but which has never been so much taken into consideration. The cryptocurrency traded for €18,000 in December, while in March, its value was just €3,000. According to the latest news, the currency has risen to almost $30,000 and will continue to rise in the coming year. Will Bitcoin’s positive trend in 2020 continue next year or will the possible return to normality give the virtual currency a new setback?
Social media at the time of the pandemic
In these months that have forced us to stay at home or to social distancing, social networks have been a showcase of expression not only for those who work on these platforms as a rule, but also for those who had never landed there. Hashtags, challenges, videos have been a way to pass the time, especially during the lockdown period, to stay connected with friends and relatives and to give a semblance of normality in the “different” everyday life. Among the social networks already known to all, the pandemic has given space to one in particular: Tik Tok, previously used mainly by younger people (Gen Z). According to We Are Social, the Tik Tok platform has undergone an increase of 11% in 2020 alone, although the novelty is given by the fact that it has opened up to a wider demographic.
Live Stream: Twitch
Another social phenomenon of 2020 is the Twitch video channel
, a live-streaming platform popular with video game enthusiasts, which Amazon bought for just under $1 billion in 2014. It all starts in March with Twitch Stream Aid, a 12-hour global event that combined gaming and music and in which two million dollars were raised to address the health emergency. From then on, Twitch was flooded with streamers with the most varied interests, cinema, sports, video gaming, music and much more.
Alpha Fold 2
2020 was also a turning point, especially in the field of research. In fact, the company DeepMind has developed an artificial intelligence system capable of predicting protein folding starting from the sequence of amino acids. Thanks to Alpha Fold 2 software
it will be possible to see and reproduce in 3D the protein folding in a short time. Knowing the structure of proteins is the first step in intervening on diseases and viruses by creating targeted drugs and treatments.
AI fights Covid
Artificial intelligence has also been used this year in the fight against the Coronavirus. The 4cE Project, by the Maugeri of Pavia, has made it possible to explain how big data, the collection of information on citizens’ health transformed into computer data, can save the lives of Covid patients. Artificial intelligence has made it possible to identify clinical parameters on which to act to prevent serious patients from worsening to death.
Artificial intelligence identifies more than 100,000 lunar craters
Apparently, artificial intelligence has also been exploited in the aerospace sector, in this case thanks to software it has been possible to identify more than 100,000 lunar craters and the same software could also be used to study the solar system. The study was designed by China’s Jilin University, with Chen Yang’s group, and conducted in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Based on China’s previous Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 lunar missions, the software was able to detect craters that had so far escaped and are mainly distributed in the middle and low latitudes of the lunar surface.
Il Quantum Computing
The latest innovation in quantum computing comes from China, where the Jiuzhang quantum computer developed by the University of Science and Technology of China has been created. Jiuzhang is able to perform in just 200 seconds a calculation so complex that it would take a traditional computer 600 million years. By now, many of the major technology players are busy building their own quantum computers, and as a result, doubts about the security of our data are increasing more and more. There is, therefore, a growing awareness that the advancement of quantum studies on computers could cause the change in the cryptography used to prevent hackers from creating unauthorized transactions.
The Expansion of Cloud Providers
The technological trends mentioned so far confirm the continuous expansion of Cloud Computing, as confirmed by the continuous expansion of the giants of the highlight including AWS which in the last year, despite the difficulties related to the health emergency, has opened a new Region in Italy, in
Milan
. The frontier of cloud computing has now been crossed.
