Forrester’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies for 2023 and Beyond

In a detailed Forrester report on the top 10 emerging technologies of 2023, it’s no surprise that generative AI topped the list, followed by autonomous workplace assistants and conversational AI.

These three technologies are “… ready to deliver a return on investment soon”, which Forrester defines as less than two years. “Generative AI and conversational AI (which replace NLP) and autonomous workplace assistants (which replace intelligent agents) now show promising short-term results,” the report said.

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1. Generative AI

Forrester defines generative AI as a set of technologies and techniques that take advantage of massive amounts of data to generate new content such as text, video, images, audio and code in response to natural language prompts or other non-code and non-traditional inputs.

According to the report, the benefits of using generative AI include better digital experience through natural language interactions, faster knowledge retrieval, faster content generation and better content quality.

Still, there are risks to be aware of. The report states that generative AI is prone to “… consistent nonsense, security threats and harmful generation” and that “… companies are not able to quickly test the rapidly growing amount of new capabilities.”

Look: TechRepublic’s ChatGPT cheat sheet

“It will take years to resolve governance, trust and IP issues in customer-facing or security-related uses,” the report warns, although generative AI will reap the benefits in less than two years.

2. Autonomous Workplace Assistant

Forrester defines autonomous workplace assistants as “… software that can make decisions, act without approval, and provide service based on environment, context, user input, and learning in support of workplace goals”.

Brian Hopkins, Forrester vice president of emerging technologies, explained that, with AWAs, in comparison to intelligent agents, “… we’re looking at (a) mix of RPA (robotic process automation) and digital process tools” and the ability to create a software “… agent that is able to learn and answer more complex questions and act in a non-deterministic way.”

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The report states that the benefits of AWA include lower cost of answering questions, reduced process inefficiencies, and better customer service. Risks, which will challenge enterprise skill levels, include the need to integrate key automation building blocks such as RPA, conversation and decision management.

Hopkins is clear that this year we have reached an inflection point, and chatbots and AWAs will “explode.”

3. Conversational AI

According to the report, conversational AI tools are not new, although they have not worked well in the past. The technology was placed third on the list because the combination of advancements and reduction in licensing costs “…enables this technology to deliver ROI in the near term, while still leaving plenty of room for future advancements and innovations,” It is said in the report.

Benefits of conversational AI include increased sales, automated customer service, employee self-service, and a frictionless shopping experience. Risks include poorly designed chatbots that provide poor customer experiences and undermine trust, as well as inflexible platforms that cannot evolve quickly enough to keep up with the pace of innovation.

Look: TechRepublic’s Google Bard Cheat Sheet

Other Emerging Technologies in the Top 10

Here is Forrester’s list of top emerging technologies:

4. decentralized digital identity Is a solutions and identity network that provides decentralized, distributed, verifiable and revocable credentials and claims based on trust between issuers, validators and users. Forrester estimates it will deliver significant profit in two to five years.

5. cutting edge This includes streaming analytics, edge machine learning, federated machine learning, and real-time data management on intelligent devices and edge servers. Forrester estimates it will deliver significant profit in two to five years.

6. explainable AI The technology and software capabilities are in place to ensure that people understand how AI systems arrive at their outputs. Forrester estimates it will deliver significant profit in two to five years.

7. turingbot AI-powered software that leverages the intelligence and ability of developers and their teams to design, build, change, test, and refactor software code and applications in automated and autonomous ways. Forrester estimates it will deliver significant profit in two to five years.

8. extended reality Augmented reality is a technology that overlays computer imagery over a user’s field of vision, in common with mixed reality and virtual reality technologies that are supported by the same developer tools, sensors and cameras, and simulation engines. Forrester estimates that it will take five years or more for augmented reality to deliver its expected value.

9. web3 A concept that promises a World Wide Web that will not be dominated by big tech or other established firms like banks. Forrester estimates that it will take five years or more for Web3 to realize its expected value.

10. zero-reliable edge Is a solution that securely connects and transmits digital information using zero-trust access principles in and out of remote sites using mostly cloud-based security and networking services. Forrester estimates that it will take five years or more for the zero-trust edge to achieve its expected value.

Leaders must act on this emerging technology

For organizations that are just starting to pay attention to these emerging technologies, Hopkins advises that they develop a framework for rapid experimentation so that they understand what it can do for their business and Can evaluate risks versus rewards.

Forrester advises technical executives to “pilot” and then commercialize generative AI, AWA, and conversational AI “with … modern technology management strategies.”

“Mainstream companies with reasonable expectations of quickly measurable gains should start investing or continue investing,” the report said.

Even though it will take at least five more years for extended reality, Web3 and the zero-trust edge to reach their potential, the report advises organizations to “keep them on your watch list, but also to partner with more passionate advocates in your business.” Expectations need to be set.”

Hopkins said the zero-trust edge combines zero-trust security with different types of networks, depending on what applications are running on them.

“Networking has always been separate from security, so we are seeing the emergence of security vendors buying networking capabilities and embedding security into networking capabilities, or vice versa,” he explained.

This is why it will take years before zero-trust tools are available for enterprises to purchase and implement.

“We’re a little skeptical about Web3. Not sure what will happen when it gets bigger,” Hopkins said.

He also said that emerging technologies have a tendency to change, stating that last year everyone was hyperfocused on the metaverse and this year, that focus is on generative AI.

“You have to think next year, it could be something else,” Hopkins said. “We are right in the middle of what Forrester has called Acceleration, the roadmap for the future, for many years; Being able to deal with the pace of change. The more prepared you are for this, the better off you will be in the future.