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As far as technology is concerned, we are entering a world that few of us can imagine.
If you spend some time familiarizing yourself with the cutting edge developments in AI, virtual and augmented reality, and blockchain technology, you’ll be astounded by what is occurring. Development is happening at an exponential pace, and as human beings, we inherently can’t understand exponential growth.
The Exponential Growth in Technology
You might have heard of Moore’s Law before. It was observed by computer scientist and co-founder of Intel, Gordon Moore, that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years. In actual fact, Moore underestimated the pace of development, because this doubling actually happens every 18 months.
It’s difficult to imagine how big these doublings get as development continues. To help understand it, an analogy will help.
If you take a standard piece of paper and fold it 50 times, what do you think it will measure?
1 metre?
To the roof?
Try all the way to the sun! You won’t be able to fold it more than 6-7 times because the folds get too thick, but a piece of paper folded 50 times would reach the sun – over 152 million kilometers away.
The first folds are relatively small, and the massive leaps come after you’ve folded the paper 30 times. We’ve already experienced 36 doublings in computer power since Moore’s Law was discovered. We’re entering the really big leaps now, and as computing power leaps forward, so does AI, VR, and everything else that depends on it.
How Could Technology Change Online Gambling in the Coming Decade?
There are three areas in which technology will change everything, including online casinos and gambling sites.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is perhaps one of the most exciting (and scary) technological developments. Narrow-AIs can already beat humans at almost everything. For example, Google’s Alpha GO beat the world’s best GO player 4-1, and a year later, Alpha GO Zero beat Alpha Go 100 games to zero, and it started knowing nothing but the rules!
It’s clear that AI is developing quickly. We think AI will have lots of positive effects on online gambling. It could help detect illegal sites and block them, could weed out game cheats and bonus abusers, and could learn what you like as a player, delivering a custom casino experience for every single player.
Players could use AI to their advantage, too. Could AI help players understand how to win a million dollars through patterns they couldn’t previously detect?
Virtual Reality
The first VR casinos are already live, but they’re rudimentary compared to what’s coming. While you can now walk around a 3D casino and play different slot machines, or even play games with augmented reality characters, we will look back on VR casinos in 2020 in the same way we look back at the first websites now.
Within a decade, there could be entire casino resorts in the virtual world, complete with bars, concerts, and all sorts of games. You’ll be able to roam around, interact with other players through avatars, and experience entire gambling worlds. As we said, it’s unimaginable now, but VR is going to grow quickly, and it may even eventually replace traditional websites as we know them.
Blockchain Technology
Blockchain has been the big tech buzz-word in the past few years, but after the price hype of Bitcoin and alt-coins has died down, we’re beginning to understand what blockchain is and its potential to revolutionize industries.
You may never have to deposit funds at a casino again. How about instant payouts to your crypto wallet on each and every bet? How do instant transactions sound? We’ll also have 100% fair games that are verified on the spot as fair and random, eliminating cheaters forever.
While the other two technologies mentioned here are still years down the line before we see their full potential, blockchain is already revolutionizing the gambling business. That pace of change is only going to pick up as the 2020’s unfold.
Michael Carson is a tech enthusiast, Bitcoin holder, and lover of all things modern. He travels the world chasing the next big thing and reporting on them for various online and print publications.
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