It’s taken a while for the U.S. federal government to fully climb aboard the emerging technology train, but as 2020 approaches it is clear that more agencies are ready to ride—and steer—the train toward new digital trends.
Which technologies are likely to attract the most attention? It will certainly vary by agency as each has a unique mission, budget and outlook on the value of various technologies. But generally, in my conversations with government leaders, I’m hearing about a few common areas of interest.
These are my federal government technology predictions for 2020:
1. Quantum computing takes a quantum leap.
It’s probably the geekiest of technologies, but that’s not going to stop the federal government from continuing to explore the possibilities around quantum computing in the coming year.
Whereas traditional computers are built around 1s and 0s, or what we call “bits,” quantum computers will use subatomic quantum bits or “qubits.” It’s thought this still-developing technology could eventually solve problems in minutes rather than thousands of years. In fact, Google claimed it achieved “quantum supremacy” in October 2019, with its chip completing a task in 200 seconds that researches estimated would take a current supercomputer 10,000 years or more. This could dramatically accelerate how people create everything from drugs to cars to new food sources.
China sees quantum computing as the next front in its economic battle with the United States and is determined to own this next great technological leap. But the U.S. government is positioning to compete. In late 2018, it signed the important federal government predictions watch
