Technology industry to turn attention to environment in 2023

1. Technology trends can take many twists and turns before they reach a critical mass. A few years ago, for example, autonomous vehicles were all the rage, and it felt as though a watershed moment in transportation was about to arrive.

“It’s easy to get enamored with buzzwords,” says Ken Evans, managing director of Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a St. Petersburg-based business accelerator and incubator. “But when you talk to people in the industry, there are multiple levels of autonomous vehicles — assisted driving vs. self-driving vs. complete, hands-off, no steering wheel driving. I’ve got lane assist on my car, and that’s cute and nice, but I don’t really use it that much.”