[winterismute]

The database was the key technology in the 2001-2011 decade: it allowed companies to store massive amount of data in an organized way, so that they could provide basic functionality (search, monitoring) to users. Statistical learning is being the key "technology" of 2011-today: it allowed companies, which had stored massive amount of data, to feedback predictions to users. I think AR/Computer Graphics will be the key technology of the next decade: it will allow users to interact directly and seamlessly with the insights produced by ML systems, and possibly feed-back information.