tate leaders and officials in the technology sector saw growth in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and greater digital access among other advancements in 2021, and expect to see continued growth in those areas, in addition to data analytics, blockchain and other innovative technologies in 2022.
“It was a year of remarkable firsts,” said Douglas Hutchings, entrepreneur in residence for Innovate Arkansas at Winrock International. “Humans flew a helicopter on Mars, quantum computing had its first commercial offering, a monkey was able to play pong with its brain, and we started making non-fungible tokens for all sorts of stuff. Arkansas researchers and companies continue to contribute to efforts in power electronics, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain which touch each of these.”
In Fintech, questions continue to surround cryptocurrency and what it will ultimately look like in the future.
“When you look at Fintech space specifically, clearly we’re trying to wrestle the issue of cryptocurrency and this asset class as to what is it and how are we going to use it,” said Wayne Miller, executive director of the Venture Center. “It’s here to stay, I don’t think there’s any question about it. How it’s going to be ultimately regulated and accepted – whether or not the government decides to build its own through a stablecoin or if Bitcoin is the most prevalent – regardless, this is going to become part of our lives.”
And leaders continue to explore ways for technology such as smartphones to expand opportunities for those underserved by banks.
“As I talk to bankers today, if there’s 5,000 people in your community, you have the opportunity through digital platforms today to have 5,000 branches,” Miller said. “If you look at the folks who are underbanked, unbanked, areas that are less privileged or underserved, one of the things they have is a cellular device. So how can we begin to leverage this technology in a way that helps them build wealth?”
In 2022, leaders expect to see exploration into an array of technologies, including renewable energy.
“The energy landscape continues to evolve at a tremendous pace,” Hutchings said. “Not many realize that Arkansas has leading policies around distributed generation which has resulted in rapid adoption of technologies like solar. The coming years are likely going to see similar adoption of energy storage due largely to the rapid scaling of electric vehicles.”
Data analytics will continue to be a major focus, specifically around refined methods to collect and interpret data.
