Automation enables a personal connection between a work environment and communities, but it can also bring isolation. How technology is shaping society and how people are changing to adapt to that situation was recently explored by Accenture PLC in a recent report in which the professional-services giant identified five emerging technology trends that will provide both challenges and opportunities for companies.

“We see companies that have to build a social contract with these people,” said Marc Carrel-Billiard, global senior managing director of Accenture Labs. “It’s a two-way street now: You build a lot of technology, and the people adopt this technology and bring back feedback.”

Carrel-Billiard (pictured) spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Accenture Technology Vision event in San Francisco about the real-world products coming out of intelligence-based operations and how it impacts the research and development focus of Accenture Labs. He also explained two key findings from the Accenture report that encompass what Accenture calls the internet of thinking and extended reality.

Internet of thinking to ‘thinking smarter’

Sensor-packed cars are beginning to unfold in future car models. The “internet of things” will turn into “internet of thinking,” where people will need to understand the “flavor of architecture” that will need to be used to get the products to market — whether it’s a quantum computer, graphics processing unit or central processing unit, according to Carrel-Billiard.

“Every product will be very intelligent. … They all have machine learning; they all learn about what you’re doing,” he said. People will need to think behind the processing power — where to store the data, the design for voice recognition, and facial recognition, he added.

Extended reality is a prime example. Komatsu Ltd. is Japanese construction and mining tractor company. Accenture worked with the company to build extended reality for training purposes. Oftentimes, there are new models for the company to evaluate. No one wants to try to test out the dump trucks while it’s snowing or raining, but now, thanks to extended reality, the company has simulations and training indoors to “drive” them virtually, according to Carrel-Billiard.

Another form of extended reality — augmented reality/virtual reality — will be a way to do things like equipment assessments and maintenance in a safer environment. Although the AR/VR market is a $14 billion industry, most of it is in gaming devices, Carrel-Billiard pointed out. But now that industry is exploring how to use the technology in enterprise environments, including in the oil and gas and automotive industries. Used in these environments, the AR/VR devices will need to be lightweight, have a long battery life, and be safe to use. As a result of these efforts, by 2020, the AR/VR market will move from $14 billion to $143 billion, he predicted.

“It’s not about bringing products and services, but building partnerships — partnerships with the people and partnerships to the society that you are going to build around them,” he said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Accenture Technology Vision event.

Photo: SiliconANGLE