It’s no secret there’s an incredible future out there for tech; after all, we’re constantly surrounded by new technologies. And as technology expands and advances, the world becomes increasingly interconnected, meaning we need to have a solid understanding of the progress of tech around the world, not just what’s next door to us.
But it’s also important to remember that while advances in tech are moving rapidly, so are concerns and threats of which we should be aware. As the “good” side of tech releases new inventions and technologies, the “dark” side is right there as well, advancing and coming up with new ways to hack systems or access information.
In this article, we’ll take a look at new and rapidly advancing areas of tech, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, their international impact, and what the global nature of technology means for the future of tech careers.
International Insights on Artificial Intelligence
It seems like everyone is talking about artificial intelligence these days. From fun answers they received on ChatGPT to concern about AI taking over jobs, it’s clear that artificial intelligence has had an overwhelming impact across the globe. It’s important to note, however, that this impact depends heavily on the exact location of the user. Let’s explore some of the biggest international impacts of artificial intelligence:
Artificial intelligence will impact how companies function
As more and more companies adopt artificial intelligence tools in their daily practices, the overall way they function will shift drastically, with some roles completely eliminated and new ones created. But these changes aren’t to be expected immediately; as artificial intelligence technologies are so new, the learning curve can be quite steep and it will take time for companies to fully adopt and become proficient in these tools. What does this mean? Well, although the impact of artificial intelligence might seem small at first, companies around the world will need time to collect the resources they need to ensure proper functioning of these tools (such as skilled artificial intelligence professionals); however, once the learning curve has been overcome and the technologies are in full force, we can expect to see a significant impact.
The impact of artificial intelligence will likely be uneven
As you probably already know, the digital divide is the difference between the digital access and skills of a country compared to others; developing countries typically fall behind here as they lack the resources to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies. As artificial intelligence is fast-moving, expensive, and new, keeping current with what’s going on can pose quite the challenge:
Countries will need to adopt different artificial intelligence strategies based on their specific needs; for example, countries with high-paid labor roles will see more benefit in substituting machines for people than developing countries where wages are low.
Countries that fall behind in the early stages of artificial intelligence development might not see the value in trying to catch up because it’s moving so incredibly fast.
Countries with a low percentage of digitally-proficient residents may not see artificial intelligence technologies as a reality and instead focus on improving the basics of digital proficiency before moving on to AI, therefore slowing the progress and impact of AI in specific regions.
The adoption of artificial intelligence technologies will significantly affect workers
You’ve heard about artificial intelligence stealing jobs and we’re not going to lie–it will definitely take over some of the more repetitive jobs that humans currently hold. However, due to the complexity of artificial intelligence tools and processes, it will create even more jobs, opening up an entire new area of tech. We anticipate that the jobs that AI takes over will be those that are automated and humans in the field will be expected to have more digital and social skills, filling in the holes that AI is far from achieving.
On paper this might seem good; after all, more jobs will be created, right? The answer is yes, but these jobs will require a high level of proficiency and skills when it comes to both general digital tech skills and artificial intelligence, meaning one job cannot be substituted for the other.
International Insights on Cybersecurity
We mentioned above how the increase in available technologies affects cybersecurity; both the good and bad people in tech are advancing their skills, creating a continuous race to protect data and information before hackers gain access to the system. Today, the world is increasingly interconnected, with the majority of companies operating internationally. Data breaches are no longer limited to just one area; the impact of a cyber attack can have global consequences. We’re able to see the following trends worldwide:
Communication between countries is crucial
As the importance of cybersecurity gained traction, the creation of organizations focusing solely on emerging cyber threats helps ensure that certain protections or skills are not limited by region. In addition, international regulations that set standards about data protection and system security help guarantee all countries follow the same regulations and no one region is more susceptible to threats than another.
The introduction of artificial intelligence poses new cybersecurity challenges
While the global population was fascinated by ChatGPT’s human-like ability to answer questions and respond to a conversation in late 2022, these incredible developments in NLP technology pose a significant threat to cybersecurity. Ten years ago, phishing attempts were incredibly obvious thanks to poor grammar, spelling issues, and strange sentence structure; with the introduction of tools that can mimic a native speaker, however, these attempts are increasingly more realistic, causing more and more people to fall for them.
The emergence of new technologies leads to new concerns
As more and more people become digitally skilled and release fun tools that techies can use and play with, cybersecurity risks will grow significantly. Lots of new websites that use your computer’s data to predict what you’ll want to search next or tools where you enter your own information to gain access aren’t fully developed from a security perspective when they’re first released to the public. Although it can be tempting to jump right in and check out what they have to offer, it’s important to properly evaluate security concerns beforehand.
International Insights on Professional Development
Gone are the days of going to university, choosing a career path, and advancing through the pre-decided ladder of your career. Because of how fast technology is developing and changing, employers are in search of professionals who are experts in what’s going on today in technology, not four years ago. When you add in the increased global reach of basically everything, professional development today is extremely different than that of a few years ago.
The following international professional development trends include:
An added emphasis on people skills and diversity
Companies can no longer focus on just what your resume says and your hard skills, a widened global perspective means employees must work with people of all cultures and know how to handle cultural differences and expectations properly and appropriately. In addition, more and more companies are focusing on prioritizing diversity and inclusion efforts in the office by both changing how they hire and ensuring all employees feel safe and respected in the workplace.
A new acceptance of remote work
Entirely remote jobs used to be a distant dream; working from another country or city was also seen as something that was impossible. With the COVID-19 pandemic, however, came the overall acceptance of remote work and the realization that many jobs can be successfully carried out from places other than the office. Not only did this create higher job satisfaction and retention rates among employees, but it also expanded potential candidate pools, allowing employers to seek out skilled employees outside of their city or region.
Expanded networking and connections
Sites like LinkedIn have been helping people meet like minded professionals for years; however, the recent transformation of the tech sector to be more remote and travel friendly has led to even more possibilities for a global network. Through conferences that now offer scholarships to those who previously were stopped by a barrier to entering the tech field to companies who let their companies float between offices in different countries, the global tech network has never been this extensive.
We could go on and on and on–the truth is that many tech professionals are set to reach new heights, thanks to the global impact that technological developments have had on the tech industry. Whether you’re interested in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, or simply becoming a global citizen that’s well-versed in what’s going on around the world, the future impact of tech is undeniable and is something that will continue to astound.
At Ironhack, we know that employers are in desperate need of skilled and talented tech professionals to meet these emerging needs; our bootcamps are designed for this exact purpose: filling the gap in the market through diverse, inclusive, and intensive courses designed for absolutely everyone.
If you’re interested in seeing what tech could offer you, take the first step and check out our bootcamps, find what sparks your interest, and make your dream a reality.
