The past 17 years have featured the first major moves to smart security. Surveillance, access control and intrusion detection have expanded beyond the security realm to become multi-functional sources of data and information that are integrated into business operations, residences, city management, and individuals’ day-to-day lives. What will the next 17 years bring? Imagine.

Artificial intelligence and analytics hold the promise of even smarter systems. Autonomous devices have the potential to enhance security while reducing workforce needs. The continued networking of security solutions and expansion of the Internet of Things – with the flow of data growing ever faster – could make security an ever-present component of an all-encompassing digital framework. But what else awaits? And how will the industry – and society – address the inevitable impact of these developments on privacy, ethics, the legal system, even the economy and international relations? Imagine.

Like other technologies, security offers indications that it is at an inflection point marking a transition from labor-saving equipment to labor-replacing solutions, from machines that workers use to machines that do the work themselves. Will this actually happen? And what will it look like if it does? Or will events proceed in an entirely different direction? Security 2040 will offer the forecasts of some of the industry’s premier thinkers in response to these and other forward-looking questions. Imagine.