BUSI2001 Chap.8 Other Emerging Technologies
Other Emerging Technologies
Beyond AI, the course surveys six technologies that change how firms collect, process and trust data, from connected IoT devices and edge processing to quantum machines, immersive XR, blockchain ledgers and multi-purpose robots. This chapter states the business role the topic gives each one, pairs it with a risk a careful analyst would raise, and examines two in depth.
A recommended reading on financial services explains why quantum power scales so quickly and where finance expects to use it, while blockchain is placed where several parties must agree on one record. A costed extended reality training case shows how to argue both sides of the workshop debate and land on a pilot. The chapter's tables and cases are designed to be reused directly when planning a group industry report.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Internet of Things
- 02
Hybrid and edge computing
- 03
Quantum computing and qubits
- 04
Extended reality
- 05
Blockchain in supply chains
- 06
Polyfunctional robots
- 07
Ethical and environmental costs
Worked example · free
How many added qubits multiply computing power a thousandfold
- +1Doubling per qubit means power grows as 2 raised to the number of added qubits.
- +1Nine added qubits give 512 times, below 1,000; ten give 1,024 times, above it.
- +1Ten qubits suffice, whereas classical machines need roughly double the transistors for each doubling.
Key terms
- Internet of Things
- A network of connected devices and sensors that collect and exchange data about the physical world.
- Qubit
- The quantum bit that quantum computers use to manipulate information.
- Extended reality
- The family of immersive technologies that includes augmented, virtual and mixed reality.
- Blockchain
- A shared, tamper-evident ledger that several parties can verify without a single central owner.
- Latency
- The delay between data being generated and a system acting on it.
Other Emerging Technologies FAQ
When is edge computing better than central processing?
Edge computing suits decisions that cannot wait for data to travel to a distant server, such as shutting down a faulty machine in real time. Reports and analyses that combine data from many sites can run centrally. Most firms use a hybrid of the two and must secure both ends.
What does quantum computing offer financial services?
The recommended reading groups expected uses into targeting and prediction, trading optimisation and risk profiling, and notes that experimental systems are already testing them. It also cautions that broad commercial applications may remain several years away, so a business should monitor and pilot rather than depend on the technology now.
How should the Pro-XR versus Cautious-XR debate be argued?
Pro-XR teams build the measurable case from the readings on training and purpose-driven initiatives, while Cautious-XR teams question assumptions, drawing on mixed customer verdicts about workplace XR. The strongest position on either side costs the benefit, names what could undermine it and proposes a pilot that produces evidence.
What are polyfunctional robots used for?
The topic describes polyfunctional robots as redefining automation by performing several kinds of task, supporting industries such as healthcare, retail and logistics. The readings pair that promise with concerns, including projections of large job losses and the practical challenge of robots navigating crowded warehouses, so analysis should weigh both.
Assessment move
Build a one-page table for all six technologies with four columns: the business problem it addresses, a real or plausible example, the main risk, and the evidence you would need before recommending it. Fill the examples from the topic's readings and videos and mark any cell where you are relying on a headline rather than evidence.
For the two deep dives, practise explaining in plain language why quantum power scales differently and when a shared ledger beats a conventional database. Then rehearse both sides of the XR debate using a costed scenario, because the same skill, turning enthusiasm or alarm into a testable recommendation, is what the group industry report rewards.
If your group's report covers one of these technologies, start a shared list of sources and claims in week one. For each technology, also note one environmental cost, such as energy use or device waste, since the learning outcomes ask for environmental as well as ethical implications. These notes make it easy to add a balanced risks section to any group report.
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