In a time when few want to revisit the past year and the current state of the world isn’t looking much better, most people prefer to look forward. At the start of a new year, the Consumer Electronics Show offers an opportunity to gaze at technology’s distant horizon and take measure of what may be coming over the ridge.

Despite an all-digital format and a significantly pared-down schedule of events, necessitated by a global pandemic, CES still managed to provide a broad view of the tech ecosystem. Beyond new processors, dishwasher-loading robots, flying Cadillacs and rollable phones that can become tablets, there were major advances in a number of key technology areas that will be worth watching as 2021 moves forward.

Foremost among these was a general recognition that the pandemic has dramatically accelerated digital transformation across the globe more rapidly than anyone could have envisioned at CES in Las Vegas one year ago.

As Thomas Friedman, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, put it during a CES appearance on Tuesday: “Technology is forcing us to change everything. We’ve crashed through the floor and blown off the ceiling as the world becomes fast, fused and deep.”

5G adoption on the rise

The rocket fuel behind the accelerated pace of technological change is the ongoing deployment of a new 5G wireless standard. The faster, more robust 5G standard is making its way into wider range of applications now, as evidenced by the rollout of a number of 5G smartphones and personal computers at this year’s show.

“We leapfrogged five to seven years in the digital revolution,” Hans Vestberg (pictured), chief executive officer of Verizon Communications Inc., said during the opening keynote at CES on Monday. “We knew 5G was coming, but it was closer than we realized.”

In a follow-up 5G session on Wednesday, executives from AT&T Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. highlighted the role of business as the lead driver for 5G deployment. That was further reinforced by Wednesday’s announcement that Qualcomm would acquire chipmaker Nuvia Inc. to strengthen its mobile edge 5G processing capabilities.

It was also reported this week that AT&T was seeking to borrow an eye-catching $14 billion for the purchase of 5G spectrum at an upcoming auction, further highlighting the high stakes involved as enterprises jockey for competitive position in 2021.

“The biggest misconception is that it’s just another ‘G,’” said Anne Chow, chief executive officer of AT&T Business. “5G is a really critical enabler in terms of next generation connectivity and that innovation will infuse every aspect of our life. There is no facet of society that will not have an opportunity to innovate with 5G.”

Expansion of AI

The full-court press on 5G is being driven by the expansion of data-powered applications such as artificial intelligence. AI-powered household robots, hearing aids and even cosmetics were introduced during this week’s show.

Without a lot of advanced promotion, LG Electronics used a realistic AI-controlled virtual “human” to host its press conference on Monday.

“Everything starts with artificial intelligence,” said technologist and entrepreneur Mark Cuban. “You have to understand the fundamentals of artificial intelligence. It is changing everything and the challenge with it isn’t just understanding it, but it is knowing how to apply it to your business.”

The expansion of AI in a number of business sectors just in the past year has underscored its potential future impact. One report from PwC placed the economic impact of AI at almost $16 trillion by 2030, larger than the current output of China and India combined.

Companies such as IBM Corp. are already seeing AI being applied by its customers to stabilize supply chains, speed up clinical trials and curate educational content, according to one executive this week.

“We are just now harnessing the vast amounts of data we have access to,” said Bridget Karlin, global managing director and chief technology officer for IBM’s Global Technology Services. “Every business needs to become a smarter business.”

Major breach raises concern

Becoming smarter also means becoming safer and issues around privacy and security received a great deal of discussion at CES this week. The specter of the SolarWinds breach, a nation state-led hack that compromised the software of a third-party cybersecurity provider, was top of mind for executives of major tech firms and elected officials.

The scope and complexity of the breach continues to expand on nearly a daily basis. Various malware strains have been discovered on numerous U.S. government high-level networks and attackers were able to gain access to the internal source code repositories of firms as large as Microsoft Corp.

“It was a mass, indiscriminate global assault on the global supply chain,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said during a CES keynote on Wednesday. “It is a danger that the world cannot afford.”

The breach has drawn scrutiny from Congressional lawmakers who have issued a series of calls to action for details on the size and scope of the attack. Former Congressman Will Hurd, who previously served as a clandestine officer with the CIA, expressed concern that the country had been lulled into a false sense that the “worst-case” scenario could not happen.

“When I was in the CIA, I was worried about my devices giving off my location,” said Hurd. “Now as a member of Congress, I’m worried about major systems that have vulnerabilities. I don’t care if you’re doing some weird dance to a song on TikTok, I’m worried about your data.”

Crypto going mainstream

While the events of 2020 have accelerated 5G deployment, increased adoption of AI and raised the level of network security vulnerability, there has also been an important shift in the global economic structure. Cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin, are suddenly hot again.

The price of bitcoin began rising sharply in December and surpassed $40,000 earlier this month. More significantly, major financial institutions are becoming involved.

After launching its first crypto exchange business in November, PayPal Inc. traded more than $240 million in a single day earlier this week. Some prominent Wall Street investors have recently indicated an interest in bitcoin investment as an inflation hedge, and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is reportedly looking to drive demand for cryptocurrency offerings.

“We’re at a third of a trillion in market cap and everybody is starting to pile in,” said Matt Roszak, chairman and co-founder of Bloq Inc. “Infrastructure was the key piece and narrative is what is now coming together. We’re going to go through an onboarding of the world into crypto.”

Indeed, support for crypto networks has increased significantly, to the point where digital currencies are starting to become a part of the U.S. national banking system. Late last year, two crypto-native banks were organized under Wyoming state law and the first national trust charter was issued to crypto-custodian Anchorage Inc. earlier this week.

These latest moves have been part of a long struggle on the part of tech entrepreneurs to build out a legal infrastructure for digital currencies.

“Bitcoin really doesn’t fit with existing laws,” said Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Bank, one of the institutions chartered in Wyoming. “Those who are transacting with crypto are willing to take legal risks. There are a lot of folks coming to Wyoming to do that.”

Photo: Consumer Technology Association