Future gazing: tech predictions for 2024

As 2023 draws to a close, our team of tech devotees, from senior developers and testers to our new graduates, take a look into their crystal balls and tell us what they expect to see more of in 2024. 

In the past year, AI has dominated the headlines. What new things can we expect to see from this new technology - and which other areas of IT will enhance our working and personal lives? 

1. Virtual reality will become mainstream. For entertainment, education and socialisation. This will enrich our lives and help to connect us with more people from different backgrounds and cultures.
2. Devices will become more repairable. Fairphone, a device with interchangeable parts for easy repair and upgrade, is a great example of a company leading in this space.
3. Further progression in AI will reduce long working hours for many people. Due to remedial tasks being taken care of by tech. 
4. AI will undergo intense regulation. Currently, AI tools can steal original content, particularly from artists, writers and photographers, with individuals using AI tools to claim the content as their own. 
5. Tech will improve the quality of life for those in need. Impacting areas like renewable energy or healthcare Innovations for the places that really need it.
6. It will become mandatory for all content generated with AI tools to be labelled. As it stands, anyone can generate a picture, video, music or news article with AI tools, compromising trust and confidence in authenticity. 
7. Sustainable technology will grow. Resulting in better power efficiency, more recyclable tech and a reduction in carbon footprints. 
8. There will be exciting breakthroughs in pharmaceuticals. Due to machine learning finding chemicals that mix well in novel ways we've not thought about.
9. A rise in medtech innovation will drive cures for devastating diseases. such as cancer and Alzheimer's.
10. Accessibility to technology will improve. Companies will start to realise that technology shouldn’t be exclusive, and developments should be geared around making it affordable and user-friendly for all. 

What has been the most important thing that's happened in tech that's impacted the wider world over the past 12 months?

Large language models. The ability of large-scale language models to achieve general-purpose language understanding and generation has dominated the headlines this year, with generative AI being used much more widely than ever before -  and in almost every medium. 

People may be using models like ChatGPT to overcome challenges, such as writing clear professional communications, but AI applications have become integrated into many aspects of our daily lives, from virtual assistants and smart devices to healthcare and business processes. But with that comes questions about the ethical use of AI, such as plagiarism, fraud, privacy and security. 

Aside from AI. The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2023 will help us understand the universe and its origins, as well as search for signs of life on other planets.

What has been the most important thing that's happened in tech that has impacted your job over the past 12 months? 

AI has been a huge development with the potential to help develop our work even further. For example, AWS CodeWhisperer launched in 2023, which is an AI tool to help with coding. It speeds up repetitive tasks and makes suggestions based on comments and forms a useful tool to improve productivity.

Constant improvements in cloud computing have made it easier to access, store and share data from anywhere, anytime and deliver faster and better results. 

Our transition to NextJS frontend with .NET backend has streamlined our development process. We deliver faster than ever and can take on incredibly ambitious systems.

.NET 8 was recently released. Which brings a whole host of changes and improvements.

At Propel Tech, we believe change is the only constant. Technology is at the forefront of progress, guiding, enabling and facilitating tomorrow’s human and business needs. Our manifesto is a business-wide promise to always look ahead and work closely with our clients and each other to grasp every opportunity technology can offer. Read more on this.