Bill Gates cannot be said to have had one of his best years in 2021. The scandal and subsequent divorce from his already ex-wife Melinda French Gates made the Microsoft co-founder see a very different context from the one we are used to.
Yet Gates has continued in one of his usual traditions: blogging his vision for the year that just ended and his perspective for the year to come.
In it, in addition to commenting and not avoiding that personal aspect, has reviewed some of the great problems of the world, starting, of course, with the pandemic. Gates believes that 2022 is a year that presents “reasons for optimism after a difficult year.”
This is your outlook for the year that is just one step away from starting:
Goodbye to the acute phase of COVID
The Microsoft co-founder wrote that he is hopeful that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is finally in sight. However, he cautions that it might be foolish to make another prediction; believes that the “acute phase” of the pandemic will be behind us sometime in 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a huge increase in the frequency and volume of misinformation. Bill Gates acknowledges the problems on his blog and writes that there is enormous room for improvement in finding ways to combat misinformation. “I underestimated how difficult it would be to convince people to get vaccinated and keep wearing masks,” Gates writes.
“There is no doubt that the Omicron variant is concerning,” continues. “But here’s what we know: The world is better prepared to deal with potentially bad variants than at any other time in the pandemic so far.”
The future of work for Gates is all about the metaverse and robots
The pandemic has changed the narrative around which companies previously linked employee productivity to their presence in the workplace. Structures that were once considered part of the office culture are slowly losing their importance and presence. In his opinion, these changes will intensify even more in the coming years, as people adopt new ways of working.
According to him, the future of work is going to be mostly hybrid. “I don’t see any reason why companies should make firm decisions right away.”, wrote.
Below, Bill Gates dives into the hottest topic in town: the metaverse. Over the next two to three years, virtual meetings will move from a 2D camera image grid format to a 3D space with a digital avatar, powered by the Metaverse that companies like NVIDIA, Meta and Microsoft work on. The idea is that, from now on, people meet virtually in a virtual world with the help of avatars, which give them the feeling of meeting in person.
In addition, the need for gadgets like Augmented Reality glasses and motion capture gloves would increase, which would capture exact expressions, body movements, and voice quality.
Bill Gates reveals that Microsoft is already planning to start work on an interim vision starting next year that would use user webcams to animate an avatar that is used in the current 2D setup.
Digitization in education and health
Although schools will return to teaching face-to-face classes, he believes that the use of digital tools will increase to improve the students’ learning process. The challenges associated with the gap in access to quality education have been decreasing since the start of the pandemic and are expected to be further reduced. The curriculum and content will be more personalized and interactive, allowing students to focus on their respective areas of interest.
In healthcare, more of the same. Although telemedicine has been ubiquitous, its use and importance has only increased since the start of the pandemic. Technologies that facilitate telemedicine are expected to continue to improve in the coming years.
“Even after this pandemic ends, it is clear that much of the digitization it caused is here to stay,” Gates concludes.
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