If automation seemed like a threat to jobs before, in the post-pandemic world, the pace of change will only accelerate. With the rise of remote work, our decision-making, processes and workflows are becoming more digital. That could be a double-edged sword for many employees. True, working from home saves you the time and hassle of a commute into the office. But it is arguably also much easier to replace a human making a decision or completing a task with clever software, when most of the organization’s interactions are now via messaging, video calls and emails. But don’t panic, just yet. What if there was a new job inside your old one?

We need a new approach to AI. I'm not talking about new data sets, machine learning models, or chip designs. It has been a long and strange road from pioneers like Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing to cheap smart speakers that can order you a pizza, tell you the weather, and read you the news. But now - with encroaching surveillance, pervasive adtech, and cybersecurity threats - is it time to consider an alternate path? How do we want to use AI; how should our data be collected and used, and ultimately who stands to benefit in an algorithmic society run by a handful of platforms?

If you have been wondering what the post-pandemic world might be like, an excellent place to start is South Korea. Years before the coronavirus, they embraced a concept known as 'Untact', a vision for a highly automated society that required little or no human contact. Not only does that idea now seem prescient in a world still struggling to re-open, it is a glimpse into just how different our society may become when our apps, algorithms, and automatons combine to create operating systems for daily life.

You might be skeptical about the future of virtual and augmented reality, having heard about it for a good quarter-century already. That said, 2020 has been a turning point. The pandemic drove demand for VR headsets as an escape from everyday reality. With 5G connectivity and edge AI powering a new generation of lightweight, wireless headsets - we may soon see extraordinary new concepts in everything from retail and gaming to enterprise analytics and data visualization. I say 'may' because the barriers to disruptive XR innovation and adoption are likely to be cultural rather than technological.

The most dangerous phrase in the world right now is 'the new normal.' It is a seductive idea - that out of all the chaos and upheaval unleashed by the pandemic, a new stability might emerge. But what if the new normal isn't normal at all? It is a divisive question. For some, the current crisis is but a brief time out on 'business as usual.' But for others - the rapid adoption and spread of automation, robotics, data surveillance, virtualization, and machine intelligence - is neither temporary nor reversible. It is a one-way trip to an entirely new, Cyberpunk-themed reality. What will it take to survive and thrive in such a world?