Predictions 2018 – 13

December 13, 2017

 From Sue McLean

·      
We will spend more time drafting terms for
chatbots, than apps.

·      
The largest digital transformation projects will
be in Industrial IoT.

·      
The Information Commissioner’s Office won’t
issue a mega-fine.

·      
(If they haven’t already), financial
institutions will accept that their standard meaty tech contracts don’t work
when partnering with small FinTechs and will come up with more appropriate
starting points.

·      
Companies will start developing their own AI
policies and frameworks. The government’s AI plans to set up a government
department for AI, AI council and Centre for Data Ethics might come to
fruition, if Brexit doesn’t zap all energies. And maybe we’ll finally learn
what those proposed ‘data trusts’ actually mean in practice.

·      
With respect to one of the hottest technologies
on the block(chain), I expect we might starting moving down from Gartner’s peak
of inflated expectations to, if not a trough of disillusionment, a more
realistic level of discussion about the technology. Blockchain will become
increasingly mainstream, education levels will rise, we will see some
successful applications of the technology, while other pilots and proof of
concepts will fail or won’t progress any further.

·      
On the other hot topic, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs),
I expect we will see continued regulatory interest and enforcement of bad
actors. In reaction, we will see the sector trying to create self-regulatory
frameworks and best practices, with fewer mega-rounds and more careful
consideration of how to run token sales and vet participants.

Sue McLean is a Technology and Fintech Partner at Baker McKenzie