Tech Trends and Innovations: 2024 in Review

The Year of "Almost Back to Normal" and a Tidal Wave of AI

As 2023 was a time of initial recovery, 2024 felt like a return to pre-pandemic normalcy. However, our world was inevitably dominated by AI advancements.

RIoT's Impactful Year

RIoT experienced another vibrant year, hosting delegations from various nations and partnering with significant organizations to implement technological solutions for societal challenges.

Examples include:

• American Cancer Society: Enhancing patient navigation and support during cancer treatment
• National Renewable Energy Lab: Fostering clean energy breakthroughs through innovation contests
• SAS: Minimizing industrial workplace injuries using smart vision systems

RIoT Accelerator Program: Nurturing Early-Stage Companies

The RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP) supported 21 startups across three cohorts. These entrepreneurs demonstrated remarkable ambition and commitment to applying technology for social good.

Cutting-Edge Startup Technology

Some of the innovative startup solutions we supported this year:

• OsRostrum: Using 3D hoof scans to determine cow health and improve herd management
• Praana Tech: Advancing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) technology for improved medical imaging
• Predicate: Preventing sepsis through natural language processing and wide-ranging data analysis
• Swabbot: Utilizing miniaturized robotics for safer and more effective pharmaceutical tank inspections
• AnswerThis: Accelerating research by leveraging AI transformer models to streamline literature reviews
• Social Cascade: Strengthening patient-provider relationships through education and social media engagement

RIoT's Expansion and Partnerships

RIoT expanded its reach through several new initiatives:

• Designation as a DARPA Commercial Accelerator
• Collaboration with the Small Business Administration to manage an IoT and Data Economy cluster
• Establishment of a SmartAg facility in North Carolina with support from various partners

Global Tech Trends

Software Security Incidents

A single software update bug caused significant damage, affecting numerous companies and disrupting critical systems. A separate incident averted a major malware issue in open-source code used in various devices and products.

AI Integration and Ubiquity

Generative AI gained widespread adoption, integrating into various tools and technologies and becoming increasingly accessible.

Hardware Limitations

NVIDIA's dominance in AI-specific hardware led to increased demand for compute capacity, highlighting the potential implications of hardware bottlenecks for AI advancements.

Sustainability Challenges of AI

The scaling of AI raises concerns about energy consumption, materials, and heat generation, necessitating research into alternative computing paradigms like optical and quantum computing.

Veracity Erosion

AI detection revealed that a significant portion of LinkedIn posts are AI-generated, raising concerns about the spread of misinformation and propaganda. Additionally, the dismantling of the Chevron decision shifted policy setting from experts to politicians, further diminishing trust in information sources.

As we enter 2025, it remains to be seen if AI can overcome the noise of misinformation or become a victim of its own biased data training.