Over 300 million smartphones, or more than one fifth of smartphone units sold in 2017, will have machine learning capabilities within the device.
This is according to Deloitte Africa's 16th edition of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions report which found mobile devices will be able to perform machine learning tasks even without connectivity, which will significantly alter how humans interact with technology across every industry, market and society.
However, the report adds machine learning on-the-go will not just be limited to smartphones. These capabilities are likely to be found in tens of millions of drones, tablets, cars, virtual or augmented reality devices, medical tools, Internet of things (IOT) devices and unforeseen new technologies.
"Machine learning is fascinating as it will revolutionise how we conduct simple tasks like translating content, but it also has major security and health consequences that can improve societies around the world. For example, mobile machine learning is a strong entry point to improve responses to disaster relief, help save lives with autonomous vehicles, and even turns the tide against the growing wave of cyberattacks," says Mark Casey, Deloitte Global Media & Entertainment and Technology and Media and Telecommunications Africa leader.
Technology, media and telecommunications are set to become even more mobile in 2017, predicts Casey.
"Combined with smarter and faster capabilities, these innovations will force businesses, governments and consumers alike to evolve how they operate and create opportunities for wide-spread transformation across industries," he continues.
Deloitte Africa says another innovation with the power to transform the world is autonomous braking, a safety technology that is able to automatically brake the car if the driver fails to respond to the conditions. Deloitte Africa predicts that in 2022, in the US alone, fatalities from motor vehicle accidents will have fallen by 6 000, a 16% decline in 2017. Deloitte Africa expects that automatic emergency braking technologies will be so widely adopted, affordable, and successful at helping to save lives that they may even slow down the movement towards full self-driving cars.
In the cyber security space, the report further found that distributed-denial-of-service attacks will become larger in scale, harder to mitigate, and more frequent.
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