Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be hosting to its annual re:Invent in Las Vegas. Picture: Adobe Stock
As Amazon Web Services (AWS) prepared to host its annual re:Invent in Las Vegas, Chief Technology Office (CTO) Werner Vogels released his annual technology predictions for 2026 and beyond
The predictions offer insights into how emerging technologies will reshape industries and daily life and artificial intelligence (AI) is at the centre of what is coming.
From AI companions combating loneliness to the urgent need for quantum-safe security, Vogels’ latest forecast addresses both the technical evolution and human impact of tomorrow’s innovations.
Technology
Vogels said for much of the world, technology has become so intertwined with peoples day-to-day lives that it influences everything.
He highlighted how despite people being online more than ever before, and easily accessible in this digital age, loneliness and disconnectedness are at all-time highs.
“Just a decade ago, forming meaningful emotional relationships with robots was science fiction. Today, the convergence of aging demographics, advanced AI capabilities, and a global loneliness epidemic have created the perfect conditions for a companionship revolution.
“We are witnessing a shift from transactional device interactions to relationship-building with physical AI that demonstrates increasingly nuanced emotional intelligence and responsive behaviours,” Vogels said.
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Loneliness
Vogels added that clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of combating loneliness with companion robots is compelling.
In Canada, long-term care facilities and hospitals have adopted robots like Pepper, Paro, and Lovot to support mental health and wellbeing. In fact, a clinical study of Paro found that 95% of dementia participants that regularly interacted with these companions had beneficial interactions—with measurable reductions in agitation, depression, and loneliness.
“Research with the Huggable social robot at Boston Children’s Hospital showed that pediatric patients were significantly more eager to emotionally connect and interact with a robot than a virtual character on screen or attending staff. In one particularly striking case, a child who typically became extremely distressed during medication administration remained calm and engaged with the Huggable robot, making the previously traumatic process nearly effortless,” Vogels said.
Predictions
Vogels five key predictions include:
- Companionship is redefined for those who need it most – AI-powered robots will work collaboratively with human caregivers to address social isolation affecting one in six people worldwide.
- The dawn of the renaissance developer – Generative AI won’t make developers obsolete but will transform them into modern polymaths who combine AI’s code generation capabilities with uniquely human creativity, curiosity, and systems thinking.
- Quantum-safe becomes the only safe – Organizations must immediately deploy post-quantum cryptography as adversaries harvest data now to decrypt later with quantum computers.
- Defense technology changes the world – Military innovations in autonomous systems will be adapted to address critical problems from disaster response to healthcare access in remote regions.
- Personalized learning meets infinite curiosity – AI-powered tutoring is fundamentally changing education by freeing teachers from administrative tasks to focus on creative and individualized instruction.
Education
Vogels said in 2026 and beyond, personalized AI tutoring will be as ubiquitous as smartphones.
“Every student will have access to instructions adapted to their learning style, pace, language, and needs. Education is a human system. There are conditions under which people thrive, and conditions under which they don’t.”
You can read Vogel’s blog post in full here.
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