The doorbell rang this morning as I was drinking my coffee, pulling me from my creative bubble. It was the postman holding a small box of print cartridges. I was puzzled as I hadn’t ordered any. Seeing my confusion, he showed me the order receipt, and there it was, an order placed by my printer. I was amazed and slightly amused that my printer had taken the initiative to restock its ink.
Curious and excited, I delved into understanding how this happened. I discovered that my printer, equipped with smart technology, monitored its ink levels and placed an order before running out, ensuring no interruption in my work. This was my first encounter with the concept of machines as customers.
The days rolled on, and I noticed more of these intelligent interactions. My smart fridge would order milk and eggs before they ran out, ensuring I always had my breakfast essentials. It was fascinating how it kept track of the contents and their expiry dates, ensuring I never faced the inconvenience of an empty fridge.
One day, while working on a challenging project, I was notified that a software update for my design software was automatically purchased to provide additional features needed for my current project. The system had analysed the project requirements and optimised itself to ensure I had the right tools to complete my project seamlessly.
The smart thermostat in my home subscribed to weather forecasting services to optimise heating and cooling, ensuring a comfortable environment while saving on energy costs. It would adjust the settings based on the weather forecast, ensuring the house was always cosy.
My car was no less; it scheduled its service appointments based on usage and wear and tear. It even ordered necessary parts in advance to ensure a quick and efficient service, saving me from the hassle of unexpected breakdowns.
As I interacted with other designers in my community, I discovered this was becoming a norm. Companies were adapting to this new business model, providing services and products not just to human customers but to machines as well. The traditional marketplace was evolving, embracing machines as new customers.
This transition was smooth, with companies investing in technology to facilitate machine-to-machine transactions, developing robust digital platforms for seamless interactions, and creating legal frameworks to govern these new types of transactions. They were selling products or services and providing solutions, ensuring a harmonious human-machine coexistence.
Looking back at the seamless integration of machines in my daily life, I realised we were stepping into a future where machines didn’t just assist us; they collaborated with us, ensuring we always had what we needed, when needed. It was a silent yet significant transition towards a modern, efficient, and convenient way of life.
But as I snapped back to reality from my daydream, I realised that this seamless day was a figment of my imagination, a glimpse into a not-so-distant future where machines will behave as customers.
According to Gartner, a reality where machines autonomously reorder supplies, optimise software, and ensure smooth human-machine coexistence is pretty close. They predict that by 2028, there will be 15 billion connected products acting as the new customers for companies, painting a promising picture of automated consumerism that awaits us.
As I sat there, contemplating the potential harmony between humans and machines, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement for the innovative days ahead.