Disruptive technologies often elicit polarizing opinions when they start making headway towards mainstream adoption, with current trending examples including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). Even though they have not  been around for the same amount of time, 2018 put the spotlight firmly on them thanks to the way governments, organisations and even people started to discuss them. Some opinions are positive to the extent that they are quasi-utopian, while others are negative and often rooted in misconceptions about the technology. Ultimately however, this is all a natural part of technologies that have such a disruptive potential and it is up to those who understand them to educate others and help separate the myth from fact. 

After all, the internet was itself engrossed in similar debates in the early 90s, but over the past 25 years we started relying on it because of the numerous benefits that increasingly came about.

Not all technologies are equally disruptive in the same wide scale as AI and DLTs. This can make adoption somewhat easier as there are far lower risks with the potential of high reward nevertheless. The Internet-of-Things is one such case, boosted by the fact that associated advantages are easier to comprehend thanks to the prevalence of the internet and digital devices, with cost and investment commitment required often being cited as the key inhibiting factor. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is another emerging technology that is rather simple in concept, as it is intended to fully automate repetitive and well documented tasks which every organisation invariably has. What truly sets RPAs apart in making it ideal for adoption however, is that the return on investment can be seen in a short space of time, and with the shortage in workforce being something a lot of businesses are facing locally, exploiting this technology becomes a no-brainer!

While everything points towards DLTs and AI still being the main talking points throughout 2019, it is important to look at technologies as nothing more than tools to provide efficient solutions to very existing and real problems.