Prediction 4 – A Range of New Commodities and Services Flood Into The Market
It was of a trickle than a flood, but the indications of the nature of these new goods and services has become clear. As I wrote several years ago, and reiterated in the prediction, a central core of those new goods and services is going to be personalisation. That is the case whether it is in relation to health and social care, or more general personal care. Health care is the most obvious.
The wearable tech is now ubiquitous, in all its variety. Once upon a time, if you saw someone walking down the street talking loudly to themselves, it was an indication they had some mental problem, and probably, to keep your distance. Today, its quite normal, as people talk using hands free communication. Other wearable tech monitors vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and so on, not only for the purpose of ensuring that known health problems are monitored, but even just to facilitate the achievement of fitness goals, such as number of steps per day, amount of activity, or conversely, the amount of good sleep obtained. These products and related services are set to expand massively, especially as they become better and more reliable, and are linked to healthcare providers, and to the use of AI, and big data to monitor and predict health of the given individual. One thing Blue Labour has right, if only rhetorically, is looking to such technology as a means of reducing health costs, via a shift to prevention rather than expensive cures and interventions. Whether they will back that up with actual investment, and infrastructure, rather than simply using it as cover for cutting existing healthcare, or privatisation is another matter.
In homes the use of electronic assistants such as Alexa have become more common, with the potential for a much greater extension of their use, but also with the devices themselves controlling a far greater range of personalised services, connecting to health providers, security and so on. One development I have thought might have become more widespread, and its only a matter of time, is a much greater expansion of the number of domestic robots. It is a typical example of how technology developed during an Innovation Cycle, to deal with labour shortages and an overproduction of capital, creates industrial products, which in th later phases of the cycle, become adapted for use as consumer products.
One area that is expanding rapidly, in terms of such range, is that of genetic technologies. It seems like nearly every day, and certainly every week, a new MRNA based vaccine is announced for the treatment of some specific cancer. Again, these treatments are an example of a personalisation, as they are based upon the specific DNA of the cancer cells affecting the given individual. In addition, there are similar genetic technologies being rolled out that restore sight and hearing. And, the growing area of epigenetics, is resulting in a range of technologies to slow down, or even reverse the ageing process of cells.
Indeed, the meme for next year, I believe is going to be “rejuvenation”, and I will be writing about that, in the new year.
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