Sequel to my writeup on "Paradigm Shift; A New World Order", which has arisen as a result of what is perceived by great thinkers on changes that would likely occur globally after this current Covid19 pandemic, I have come again from the angle of IT/technology. The resultant effect of these changes would be felt on our political, economic, religious & social activities.

So, in this piece, how the world would change with new ideas & technological inventions come 2025, as perceived by the World Economic Forum (WEF), is discussed.

1) AI-optimized Manufacturing: as at today, manufacturing processes involve paper recording, large workforce, opaque supply chains (using trucks for materials transport & delivery), etc. All these have resulted to large amount of wastage - especially in terms of energy, materials & time. In fact all these effects have now been accelerated by the long-term lockdown of COVID-19. But by 2025, intelligence algorithms will be available that will enhance manufacturing to higher levels of output, higher quality products, faster production, safer environment and overall waste reduction to about 50%.

2) Biology-based Healthcare System: by 2025, global healthcare systems will adopt more preventive health approach, in addition to the present-day curative & promotive approaches. This will be enabled by AI-powered machines & biology-based technologies, which will result to efficiency in telemedicine, diagnosis, pandemic forecasting, prevention & control, health-related researches, etc. Also, there will be aggressive awareness on feeding on plants-rich & nutrients-based diets (all those cucumber, cabbage & the likes instead of the usual akpu, pounded yam, eba, etc). With this achievement, major ailments & diseases will be drastically reduced to a high percentage.

3) 5G-enhanced Global Economy: presently, we've been enjoying delivery of some services through online platform, though still limited. With 5G networks in place, goods & services will be delivered safely within hours. Thus, easier transactions & economy-boost across different countries.

4) Robotic Retail: even though some establishments (e.g automobile, military, construction, etc) are now making use of robots, robots are still under-used. With the latest discovery in robotic engineering, a new robotic software, called "microfulfillment" is now developed, and this software will change a lot of things in retailing/supermarketing. This development will reduce the existence of retailing in "block & cement buildings" to a "virtual one-room store", which would be centrally located within neighborhoods. Aside enhancing delivery efficiency, it will also bring about reduction in business startup/capital & easy access to virtually all human needs (and not restricted to only basic needs like foods, clothings, electronics as found in present-day Jumia, Konga & the likes).

5) Drastic Reduction in Global Warming: with the coming of industrialization era, there has been high emissions of oxides of Carbon & other ozone-depletion gases. By 2025, modern tech will remove a large amount of these gases, and in turn will limit global warming. Car manufacturers now transitioning from fossil-fueled cars to solar-powered cars.
Also, heavy carbon industries will use machine learning & AI technology to reduce carbon emission during production.

6) Pervasive & Prioritized Privacy: By 2025, privacy & data-centric security would have reached "commodity status" i.e it would have become a foundational element of privacy & security strategies for IT companies (like phones, computers, app developers, etc) rather than an added-on component on the devices/services they produce/render. In a simpler language, any device/electronic product without adequate security for data & other information would not get good patronage from people & business owners. This feat would be achieved by Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET), and by 2025, this PET will become a mainstream (globally accepted as a condition for IT companies). So, people's privacy, data, information, etc will be more secured as the world is becoming more global. WhatsApp now provides something similar with its end-to-end encryption on chats. No more e-eavesdropping!

7) More IT-related jobs, more income: with all these itemized changes & more to come, a new phase of life & source of livelihood would be ushered in. This is because there would be need for creation, development, maintenance, review, analysis, etc of apps, softwares, data, devices and other IT-enabled technologies. And all of these won't be brought from space but developed by man. However, only those who have acquired & mastered the skill or who would have incorporated these changes into their line of business would be able to benefit immensely from this great opportunity.

In conclusion, while Covid19 pandemic has brought to the world difficult lessons, it has also necessitated global collaborations, re-awakening, data transparency, and speed to our spheres of lifes. All these will enhance efficiency & effectiveness in research & development, governance/administration, business, inter-boundary interactions, individual homes, etc.

Omoalhaja O. ALAKO
OAU, Ife.

This is not far from the truth. A lot has changed during this pandemic of which some things won't go back to the way they are especially in Technology.
Technology has evolved and it will keep being so. Truly, only those who have mastered the art and skills in technology will reap the immense benefits.