Marc Ettlinger, the linguistic engineering manager at Meta, parent company of Facebook, made a bold prediction at the “Tech Beyond Borders” workshop in Phnom Penh on October 20: the future of technology will not revolve around smartphones, but rather wearables like smart glasses. Speaking to a crowd of Cambodian tech enthusiasts, Ettlinger explained how this shift will transform how people interact with technology, marking the next phase in the evolution of computing systems.
He reflected on the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its influence on the modern world, noting, “We’re already living in an age of AI. Even before ChatGPT, AI was replacing jobs and reshaping industries in ways we couldn’t have imagined just five years ago.” Ettlinger emphasized that AI is not a distant future concept but a present reality embedded in various industries today.
As one of the featured speakers at the workshop, Ettlinger shared Meta’s focus on wearable technology. At Meta’s Reality Labs Division, they are actively developing smart glasses, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and augmented reality (AR) systems, which he described as the “next generation of operating systems.” According to him, these devices will make technology more integrated into daily life, allowing users to interact with computers more naturally—through language, gestures, and expressions.
“The future operating system won’t be a phone anymore. It will be your glasses,” Ettlinger said. He believes this vision could become a reality within the next three to five years, where “ambient computing” will allow users to access information and interact with AI through wearable devices, eliminating the need for smartphones for many tasks.
Ettlinger also touched on advancements in chatbot technology, highlighting that voice interaction systems are rapidly improving. He predicted that soon, chatbots will be capable of passing the Turing test, making voice interactions so seamless that users may not even realize they are speaking to a machine.
As Cambodia looks to embrace Industry 4.0, events like “Tech Beyond Borders” play a crucial role in introducing young professionals to the latest advancements. Organized by DiChi Academy, which focuses on ICT upskilling, the workshop aimed to empower future tech professionals with hands-on experience in areas like AI and full-stack development.
Other speakers at the event included Socretquuliqaa Lee, a machine learning engineer at EKYC Solution Co., Ltd., who demonstrated AI modeling using Google Collab, and Vitou Phy, a software engineer at Indeed, who shared insights into modern system architecture. The event concluded with a full-stack development demo by Sokmesa Khiev, senior full-stack developer at OnTheGoSystems, reinforcing the workshop’s emphasis on practical and scalable solutions.
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