What will 2022 bring for Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon?
After a year in which the terms WFH (Work from Home) and Metaverse became immediately recognizable to many people, there are a number of new technological trends in this direction for 2022.
Here is a selection of how technology could change life in the coming year:
Meatless meat
Meat alternatives have become common in more U.S. households, thanks in part to the plant-based products from Beyond Meat and Impossible Food, which are much closer to the texture and taste of beef or pork.
As products improve and prices have fallen, environmental concerns have fueled demand: Raising animals for food is responsible for a whopping 14.5 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN.
The global plant-based meat market is projected to be worth $ 35 billion in 2027, up from $ 13.5 billion in 2020, thanks in part to expansion beyond the United States, according to a report by Research and Markets.
“2022 will be the crowning year for food made from vegetable proteins,” says David Bchiri, President of the US consultancy Fabernovel. “The products are mature and good. They are going mainstream.”
‘Web 3.0’ and crypto
The first phase of the Internet was the creation of websites and blogs that enabled the emergence of companies such as Yahoo, eBay or Amazon.
The next iteration was Web 2.0, defined by social media and user-generated content on websites like Facebook and YouTube.
Meat substitute products like Beyond Meat will boom in 2022.
These platforms “get the money and control it, they leave you on their platform,” summarized Benedict Evans, an independent analyst specializing in Silicon Valley.
So is Web 3.0 coming?
In this iteration, “users, creators, and developers would have shares and votes” in one platform, much like a cooperative, Evans said in his Another Podcast.
Such a revolutionary step would be made possible by blockchain technology, in which computer programs run in networks of thousands or millions of computers.
So far, the blockchain has enabled the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and, more recently, the unique digital objects like drawings or animations called NFTs.
“We talk a lot about decentralized finance, but I think we’ll see more localized use cases moving into everyday life in 2022,” said Bchiri of consulting firm Fabernovel.
As highly volatile digital funds like Bitcoin hit record highs in 2021, a wide variety of gamers have jumped into the game, including versions introduced by the cities of Miami and New York.
Ransomware, everywhere
The surge in record-breaking ransomware attacks and data leaks in 2021 is likely to spill over into the coming year.
Cyber extortion attacks break into a victim’s network to encrypt data and then demand a ransom, usually paid via cryptocurrency, to unlock it.
A participant in the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a cryptocurrency conference in Miami, Florida.
A clash of factors has fueled the trend, including the booming value of cryptocurrencies, victims’ willingness to pay, and the difficulty of authorities in catching attackers.
Cyber security firm SonicWall wrote in late October: “With 495 million ransomware attacks logged this year to date, 2021 will be the most expensive and dangerous year ever.”
“When I think of 2022, ransomware is still the most important thing for me and my colleagues. It’s just too lucrative, ”wrote Sandra Joyce, executive vice president and head of global intelligence at cybersecurity firm Mandiant.
Big Tech Regulation?
It’s hard to say if 2022 will be the year big tech will finally face significant new rules, but a number of regulatory and legal threats introduced in 2021 will provoke major battles.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook poses a real threat to the social media giant, despite a court dismissing the case before.
More lawsuits and a federal investigation – and maybe even finally new laws – are possible after the devastating whistleblower leaks revealed Facebook executives knew its websites could do harm.
Some critics say the company’s biggest foray in making the Metaverse – a virtual reality version of the Internet – an attempt to change the subject after years of criticism.
Apple dodged a bullet in 2021 when a U.S. federal court said Fornite maker Epic Games hadn’t shown the iPhone giant had an illegal monopoly, but the company was still ordered to take control of its app store to loosen. Both sides have appealed.
New rules could be introduced earlier in the EU as new laws such as the Digital Services Act are enforced, which would create much tighter oversight of harmful and illegal content on platforms like Facebook.
USA sanctions crypto exchanges for ransomware links
© 2021 AFP
Quote: Tech 2022 trends: Meatless Meat, Web 3.0, Big Tech Battles (2021, December 1), accessed December 1, 2021 from https://techxplore.com/news/2021-12-tech-trends-meatless-meat -web.html
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