2020, the first year of the 2020s that will be remembered as the AI era
5G, autonomous vehicles, VR/AR, and robot technologies become important
We must stop the increase in crimes and the spread of fake news using AI.


The rise of China and the spread of protectionism in the United States are expected to continue in 2020.

The stalled Brexit continues to cause turmoil within the EU, economic turmoil continues in South America, and the Middle East is in turmoil due to terrorism. There is also no sign of a resolution to the mutual economic sanctions between Korea and Japan.

Major countries are internally struggling with soaring aging populations, unemployment rates, and income disparities, and companies are trying to create new sources of income, but it doesn't seem easy due to the abundance of unnecessary regulations.

As uncertainty about the future clouds the future of humanity, each organization and company announced its 2020 trends around January 2020.

In October 2019, Gartner named the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2020 as ▲Hyperautomation ▲Multiexperience ▲Democratization of Expertise ▲Human Augmentation ▲Transparency & Traceability ▲The Empowered Edge ▲Distributed Cloud ▲Autonomous Things ▲Practical Blockchain ▲AI Security.

'What are the key strategic technology trends for 2020? "Humans and Space"

In November 2019, the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP) reported that 5G is the central axis of Korea's ICT development, and predicted the following: △ Acceleration of widespread use of AI △ 2020, when the Korean semiconductor industry will coexist with crises and opportunities △ Emergence of new mobility products and services △ Regulatory reform that will become a breakthrough for new ICT growth △ Spread of new ICT consumption trends such as the subscription economy △ Spread of platform labor and automation/unmanned systems △ Eco-friendly ICT innovation for a sustainable environment △ Spread of global protectionism Domestic ICT innovation to be triggered △ The New Southern and New Northern policies to escape dependence on mass trade were selected as the top 10 ICT issues for 2020.

In addition to Gartner and IITP, MIT, the World Economic Forum, and Forbes each released their 2020 outlooks, and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) compiled all of these into the 'IT & Future Strategy Report' and forecasted nine major ICT-based trends for 2020.

Below is a summary of nine ICT-based trends for 2020.


Since the 1990s, ICT has opened a new era every 10 years. The 90s were the PC era, the 2000s were the Internet era, and the 2010s were the mobile era. And the 2020s are expected to be the AI era.

AI will act as a new momentum for the global economy that has been mired in a low-growth swamp. AI technology has already established itself as a source technology for corporate competitiveness, being utilized to bring about intelligence, optimization, and efficiency in business. Additionally, with the advancement of computing technology, AI technology still has room for development.

In February 2018, PwC estimated that global GDP in 2030 would reach $114 trillion, which could be increased by up to 14% (about $15.7 trillion) through increased use of AI.

Now, AI is emerging as a new factor of production rather than simply a tool to enhance productivity, as it is a physical capital in itself and a technology that can replace labor.


5G commercialization is beginning worldwide, and the related market will grow rapidly. Korea, the United States, and China are already focusing on expanding 5G services. Japan is also aiming for 5G commercialization before the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Ericsson predicted in November 2019 that the number of 5G subscriptions worldwide would reach 2.6 billion by 2025. In August 2019, Gartner forecasted that global 5G infrastructure revenue would reach approximately $4.2 billion in 2020.

5G infrastructure revenue in 2020 to double that of 2019
Soon the 1st anniversary of the 5G commercialization era? It's still the 4.5G era

The automobile industry is focusing on developing technology to commercialize Level 3 autonomous vehicles between 2020 and 2022. Level 3 autonomous driving is a conditional automation stage in which the autonomous driving system controls all aspects of driving, requiring driver intervention only in certain situations.

IHS forecast in January 2018 that global autonomous vehicle sales would increase from 51,000 units in 2021 to more than 33 million units in 2040.

In October 2019, our government announced the '2030 Future Automobile Industry Development Strategy', stating that it would develop public services using autonomous vehicles to create public demand and promote pilot projects starting in 2025.

Korea to Complete Level 4 Autonomous Driving Infrastructure by 2027


The blockchain market is expected to grow as financial companies expand their adoption of blockchain. In December 2018, Statista forecasted that the global blockchain technology market size would grow by more than 80% annually, from $1.2 billion in 2018 to $23.3 billion in 2023.

Global Market Insights forecasted in November 2019 that the blockchain market size would reach $25 billion by 2025. Currently, blockchain technology is most widely used in payment and exchange systems.

Park So-young, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), predicted in December 2018 that blockchain-based smart contract business models would emerge in the insurance industry and shared services in addition to the financial sector. Gartner also predicted that by 2022, more than 25% of global organizations will use smart contracts for simple contracts.

There are also blockchain-based business model cases in Korea. Samsung SDS and LG CNS have launched private blockchain platforms for enterprises, such as 'Nexledger' and 'Monachain', respectively, and Kakao plans to launch 'Klip', a cryptocurrency wallet for the public blockchain platform 'Klaytn', in the first half of 2020.


Next-generation mobile communication technology has a huge impact that can change the landscape of content and communication. 3G has enabled video calls, and LTE has popularized real-time video streaming (Over The Top Service; OTT) such as YouTube and Netflix.

In the 5G era, realistic content utilizing VR and AR technologies will be utilized in fields such as gaming, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and e-commerce. Realistic content is expected to rapidly grow by expanding into industries, entertainment, and media, changing the way humans interact with the digital world.

IDC forecasted in November 2019 that worldwide VR/AR spending would grow by approximately 79%, from $10.5 billion in 2019 to $18.8 billion in 2020. VR will be utilized more in the consumer sector, while AR will be utilized more in the industrial sector.

In 2020, innovations in the global payment system are expected to occur, starting with the US-China virtual currency hegemony competition. In June 2019, Facebook officially announced the 'Libra Project', a global digital virtual currency business.

As the People's Bank of China is pushing forward with the issuance of a legal digital currency (Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC), the Chinese government announced in October 2019 that it was ready to issue a legal digital currency by enacting the Crypto Assets Law.

Fan Yifei, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, mentioned in November 2019 that the central bank would conduct pilot projects related to legal digital currency, and the Bank of France announced that it would launch a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) in 2020. The Bank of Korea is also planning to launch a digital currency project.


Robots are considered to be the next-generation devices after PCs and smartphones. If we add communication functions and movement to smart devices in our daily lives, such as AI speakers and AI home appliances, which have already become deeply embedded in our daily lives, they can develop into personal robots.

In addition, interest in daily life service robots will increase with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will feature robots at the forefront. In September 2019, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) predicted that the market size of the personal and domestic service robot market will increase from 4.6 billion dollars in 2019 to 11.5 billion dollars in 2022.

The role of robots is expected to expand from assisting humans to being companions. In November 2017, the National Information Society Agency (NIA) predicted that the demand for 'companion robots' would increase due to changes in population structure such as the aging population and the increase in single-person households, as well as changes in social and cultural aspects such as human relationships and communication.


The need for a shift in future-oriented regulatory paradigm is growing. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)'s 'Global Innovation Index 2019', Korea ranked 11th in the 2019 Global Innovation Index, but 45th in the Regulatory Environment Index. If timely regulatory innovation is not achieved, the competitiveness of global future growth industries may decline.

In the '2019 Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index' evaluated by KPMG among 25 countries around the world, Korea ranked 13th. The Netherlands ranked first, followed by Singapore, Norway, the United States, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, UAE, Japan, New Zealand, and Canada. This was the result of Korea falling behind in policy and legislation (16th) and consumer acceptance (19th) among the four evaluation items, compared to technology and innovation (7th) and infrastructure (4th).

Research on the legal system, including advanced laws and guidelines for technological innovation, is also important. Singapore is actively innovating systems and regulations by conducting experiments in realistic test beds with various partners to actively adopt the latest technologies.


2020 is a year in which major countries will hold elections, including Korea (general election, April), the United States (presidential election, November), the United Kingdom (local elections), France (local council general elections), and Poland (presidential election). Accordingly, we must be wary of the spread of fake news (fake-demics). According to one study, during the 2016 US presidential election, about 27% of voters encountered fake news at least once, which led to anxiety, social conflict, and damage to trust.

Fake news can also pose a very big threat to social security. According to a June 2019 report by the Pew Research Center, Americans perceived fake news as a bigger problem than terrorism and racism. In addition, 68% of Americans thought that fake news could have a significant impact on trust in government.

In addition to the social impact, personal risks may also increase due to identity theft and the creation of fake messages using manipulated personal digital information, so caution is required.


As technology becomes more intelligent and more connected, the ripple effect of side effects increases. Almost everything connected to the network, including self-driving cars and home IoT, urgently needs to address vulnerabilities in external attacks such as cyberattacks and hacking.

In September 2019, Forbes announced seven dangerous technologies for 2020, warning of their side effects. The seven dangerous technologies are: ▲'drone swarms' that can be equipped with weapons of mass destruction; ▲'smart home device surveillance' technology that can leak personal information; ▲'facial recognition' technology that can be used to monitor citizens; ▲'AI-based cloning' that can impersonate others; ▲'ransomware and spear phishing' that gains efficiency through AI; ▲'smart dust' that raises privacy concerns as it can scatter ultra-small sensors like dust; and ▲'fake news bots' that can create fake news using AI and distribute it en masse.

It is safe to say that none of the seven risky technologies above have benefited from the advancement of AI technology. Accordingly, international discussions are underway on the authority and responsibility of AI, bias issues, and explainable AI. In May 2019, the OECD announced the first AI recommendation that reached an international consensus, and in February 2019, UNESCO announced a preliminary report on AI ethics and discussed international ethical standards for the development and use of AI.


The demand for medical services in terms of quantity and quality is expected to expand due to the increase in the elderly population. Korea is the country with the fastest aging population in the world. In September 2019, Statistics Korea predicted that the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Korea will gradually increase to 20.3% in 2025, 25% in 2030, 33.9% in 2040, and 39.8% in 2050.

As our society ages, individual and societal medical expenses increase. This will lead to the development of personalized medical care centered on prevention for reducing medical expenses and leading a healthy life. In December 2018, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) expected that applying AI to medicine would enable effective diagnosis and treatment, and that this would drastically improve healthcare challenges.

Allied Market Research predicted in 2018 that the global AI healthcare market would grow to $22.79 billion by 2023, and the Center for Biotechnology Policy Research (BioIN) also predicted in 2018 that the global precision medicine market size would grow at an average annual rate of 13.3% from KRW 53.5 trillion in 2017 to KRW 112.9 trillion in 2023.

Beyond personalized digital healthcare, digital therapeutics are now also being considered. In October 2019, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of CES 2020, selected digital therapeutics as the first of the five technology trends to watch in 2020.

Digital therapeutics are not limited by time or place, and guarantee a certain degree of anonymity, so they can be of great help in a variety of areas where traditional, existing treatments were not suitable. Currently, a variety of wearable devices and software are being developed to treat mental health-related disorders and diseases using AI, VR, etc.


Looking ahead to the next 10 years
NIA Director Yongsik Moon said, “Among the trends selected this time, there are topics that should not end as one-year issues but should be looked at over the next five or ten years,” and added, “2020 is the beginning of a new decade and a year ahead of a new wave created by AI technology, so maximizing ICT potential will contribute to innovative growth and realization of social value across the nation and society.”

As President Moon said, maximizing ICT potential is the driving force behind national and corporate competitiveness, and AI, 5G, and robots are areas that require long-term social attention. Self-driving cars and blockchain are far from commercialization right now, but they will soon become a reality. Eliminating unnecessary regulations, preparing for the side effects of aging and technological innovation, etc. will continue to be important issues in the past, present, and future.

Governments and companies of each country must make 2020 a year in which they can find answers to political, economic, social, and environmental issues through continuous ICT development. And the governments and companies that find answers will be the winners of the 2020s.