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What lies ahead in 2023 – A new social media, Metaverse, and more AI?

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life

 

Source: IE

 

Direction: The article highlights new technological breakthroughs that await in 2023 and the opportunities and challenges they pose. The article also covers a study that points out the adverse impact of social media.

 

Context:

  • Around the same time last year (December 2021), India was on the verge of a major technological shift – the transition to 5G.
  • Because the year 2022 has only reinforced our reliance on technology, we will try to figure out what big tech breakthrough awaits us in 2023.

 

Trends to look out for in 2023:

 

More intelligent, more pervasive AI

  • ChatGPT has shown the world that conversational artificial intelligence (AI) is an idea whose time has come.
  • ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is an OpenAI chatbot that was released in November 2022.
  • It is based on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 family of large language models and is customised using both guided and adaptive learning techniques.

 

Fig: Application of ChatGPT for classifying reviews

 

Time for post-social:

  • As Facebook’s user base becomes older by the year, younger users are preferring new platforms like Discord, where conversations happen more in closed groups than in virtual town squares.
  • The evolution of such platforms is already challenging traditional methods of monetising social media engagement.

 

 

Internet becoming more regional:

  • As the Internet spreads to new users, especially in countries like India, it is also becoming more localised and multilingual.
  • The English language internet appears to have peaked around the world, prompting companies like Google to focus more on the potential to serve smaller, regional languages.
  • Provides an opportunity to test new technologies that can solve more localised problems and the one-size-fits-all features will be limited.

 

 

Metaverse:

  • The Metaverse is defined as a spatial computing platform that offers digital experiences as an alternative to or replica of the real world.
  • It also offers key civilizational aspects such as social interactions, currency, trade, economy, and property ownership – all built on the foundation of blockchain technology.
  • Expect a more commercial version of the Metaverse to be accessible to regular users during the year. However, the big disruptor could be an affordable device (say, a smartphone) that logs users into the Metaverse easily.

 

Related news: Social media prevents ‘profound boredom’ and that is harmful

Source: IE

 

Context: According to a new study, using spare time with senseless scrolling through never-ending social media feeds may be preventing people from discovering new passions and meaningful activities.

 

Background: The research was carried out at a time when governments enforced several restrictions on people’s movement due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and they were forced to stay home.

 

Findings of the study:

●        Constant usage of social media does not allow consumers to enter a state of profound and severe boredom, which promotes creative and innovative thinking.

●        Instead, it confines them to a state of superficial fatigue.

 

Insta Links: Metaverse

 

Mains Links:

Q. COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are being availed readily to win over the crisis. Give an account of how technology was sought to aid the management of the pandemic. (UPSC 2020)