Unit 6: Emerging Technologies — Short Questions

Emerging technologies are newly developed or rapidly evolving tools, systems and methods that have the potential to significantly impact society, business and daily life.

AI is considered emerging because it is still evolving and has transformative potential in fields like healthcare, education and automation.

5G offers much faster speeds, lower latency and supports a larger number of connected devices, enabling advanced applications like AR/VR and IoT.

Biotechnology helps develop new medicines, improve diagnostics and create genetically modified treatments for diseases.

Quantum computing uses qubits that can be both 0 and 1 at the same time, allowing it to solve complex problems much faster than traditional computers.

Cloud computing refers to delivering computing services — including storage, servers, databases and software — over the internet.

Virtualization allows one physical computer to act as multiple virtual machines, improving resource use and reducing costs.

Scalability means the ability to increase or decrease computing resources based on demand, ensuring performance and cost efficiency.

Elasticity refers to the automatic adjustment of computing resources in response to workload changes.

On-demand access allows users to get computing resources instantly when needed without long setup processes.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is an example of IaaS where businesses rent virtual machines.

PaaS provides a complete development and deployment environment for building and running apps without managing infrastructure.

SaaS delivers software over the internet. Example: Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365.

Public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, multi-cloud.

A public cloud is shared among multiple organizations and managed by a third-party provider (e.g., AWS).

A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization, offering more control and security (e.g., a bank's internal system).

A hybrid cloud combines public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to move between them.

Multi-cloud involves using services from multiple providers to optimize performance and reduce dependency.

Cost savings, scalability, flexibility, accessibility and improved collaboration.

Data security, compliance issues, service outages and cost management challenges.

Cloud platforms offer tools like AWS SageMaker and Google Cloud AI to build and deploy AI models without needing powerful local hardware.

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions securely and transparently across a network.

Decentralization, immutability and consensus.

It means no central authority controls the network; instead, all participants share control.

Once data is recorded, it cannot be changed or deleted, making it tamper-proof.

A method used by nodes to agree on the validity of transactions before adding them to the chain.

Nodes, ledger, blocks, transactions and protocols.

It tracks products from origin to sale, ensuring authenticity and ethical sourcing.

It secures patient records and ensures only authorized people can access sensitive health data.

Digital currencies built on blockchain. Examples: Bitcoin, Ethereum.

A self-executing contract with terms written in code that runs automatically when conditions are met.

Automating payments, managing loans, creating DApps (decentralized apps) and handling agreements without intermediaries.

Coding errors are hard to fix and legal recognition is unclear in many regions.

Artists use NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) to prove ownership and originality of digital art, helping them sell directly to buyers.

Edge computing processes data closer to where it is generated, instead of sending it to a central cloud. This reduces delays and improves response time.

It helps process real-time data from traffic, energy systems and public safety devices quickly. This allows faster and smarter decisions in city management.

Low latency means minimal delay in data transmission, which is crucial for applications like remote surgery and autonomous vehicles.

Serverless computing lets developers run apps without managing servers. The cloud provider handles all the infrastructure.

AWS Lambda is a popular serverless service where developers write code and the platform runs it automatically when triggered.

Serverless offers no server management, automatic scaling, event-driven execution and a pay-as-you-go pricing model, enabling faster development and reduced complexity.