With all the priority surrounding synthetic intelligence, it’s no shock that prime tech leaders surveyed by IEEE selected AI as a very powerful know-how for 2024.

“The Impression of Know-how in 2024 and Past: An IEEE World Examine” consulted 350 CIOs, CTOs, IT administrators, and different know-how leaders in Brazil, China, India, the UK, and the USA.

Among the many applied sciences they have been requested to rank, AI got here out on prime. Prolonged actuality was second, and cloud computing got here in third.

The executives recognized telecommunications, manufacturing, and banking and monetary providers because the areas which might be most definitely to be affected by know-how subsequent 12 months.

The leaders additionally weighed in on what areas are apt to learn most from 5G, and so they mused on the way forward for quantum computing.

AI to enhance cybersecurity and introduce efficiencies

Fifty-four % of the tech leaders stated the highest functions for AI will likely be figuring out cybersecurity vulnerabilities and stopping cyberattacks. Like within the IEEE 2023 survey of tech leaders, the executives stated they’re involved about ransomware assaults, phishing, and insider threats. The considerations about ransomware elevated to 37 % for 2024 from 30 % the earlier 12 months. Phishing considerations rose to 35 % from 25 %, and insider risk worries elevated to 26 % from 19 %.

“AI helps detect and predict occasions shortly, equivalent to outbreaks, unauthorized or unsafe drone operations, bias, cybersecurity threats, and malicious actions, driving innovation and competitors in a variety of software domains,” IEEE Fellow Houbing Track stated in an interview with IEEE Transmitter in regards to the outcomes. Track is a member of the IEEE Laptop Society.

Greater than 40 % of the tech leaders stated they anticipate AI to make the availability chain and warehouse automation extra environment friendly. Companies additionally will use AI to cut back the time it takes to display résumés and recruit workers, the tech leaders stated.

AI will assist speed up software program improvement as effectively, in line with 38 % of the respondents.

“AI in software program improvement can present a major productiveness increase,” IEEE Senior Member Nicholas Napp advised IEEE Transmitter. “It may possibly additionally lead to higher merchandise. For instance, AI can be utilized to finish duties that the majority engineers dread, equivalent to offering detailed documentation and creating unit checks for his or her code.”

The advantages of prolonged actuality, digital twins, and 5G

Greater than 60 % of the executives stated they anticipate prolonged actuality and digital twin applied sciences to assist advance extra environment friendly design, improvement, and testing of product prototypes and manufacturing processes. Prolonged actuality contains digital actuality, augmented actuality, and blended actuality. Digital twins are digital fashions of a real-world object or system that can be utilized to evaluate how the real-world counterpart is performing.

When requested what areas are more likely to profit most from 5G, respondents cited telemedicine, private {and professional} day-to-day communications, and distant studying and schooling.

IEEE Senior Member Ayesha Iqbal advised IEEE Transmitter that 5G will influence industries that depend on quick connections—equivalent to well being care, schooling, and transportation—due to “superfast broadband, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, large machine-type communications, high-reliability/availability, and environment friendly power utilization.”

Quantum computing to take off?

A majority of the respondents stated quantum computing will develop in recognition due to its considerably larger computing energy: a trillion occasions larger than immediately’s supercomputers.

“The race for quantum applied sciences is getting sooner,” IEEE Member Marcos A. Simplicio advised IEEE Transmitter, “and there are numerous enormous gamers excited about it even when most, or all, outcomes could have no rapid influence. The hunt for functions within the subsequent few years is more likely to form [quantum’s] future.”

Sustainability stays a precedence

Utilizing know-how to make enterprise extra sustainable continues to be a precedence for greater than 90 pe­­­rcent of the tech leaders, because it was in final 12 months’s survey.

Virtually 55 % stated they strongly agreed that any new methods their firm implements should be power environment friendly and assist to cut back the enterprise’s carbon footprint.

You’ll be able to learn extra about IEEE members’ insights on IEEE Transmitter.