Trends Identified

Changing Demographics
Future demographics will be driven by diverse effects. The world’s population is expected to reach more than 8 billion by 2030,28 but this growth will be unbalanced with varying regional effects. The average age of most Western populations is forecast to increase from the early to the mid-40s by 2030.29 Given higher birth and immigration rates, the United States will remain the youngest of the leading powers, while China’s population will age more rapidly given its increased longevity and lower birth rates. Accordingly, China will join Japan, Europe and Russia as one of the most rapidly ageing societies. India is expected to overtake China as the most populous country, whereas Russia and Brazil are likely to follow divergent paths with expected strong growth in Brazil and population decline in Russia. By 2030, the African continent is anticipated to have the fastest growing population.
2013
Strategic Foresight Analysis 2013 Report
NATO
AI's dominance in our lives
Futurist Ray Kurzweil has made a host of predictions – some inspirational, others downright alarming. One of them is the sci-fi-sounding notion that suggests artificial intelligence will one day become more powerful than human intelligence and improve itself at an exponential rate, otherwise known as ‘the singularity’.It’s far from the majority view, but few would deny that AI is only going to get more powerful. So, like in the case of gene editing, the tech and AI community will need to consider the ethical and societal implications of their work as AI comes to shape more realms of our life, from healthcare to financial markets. As for end-of-the-world extinction scenarios, it’s frankly not likely – but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that AI is poised to change how we live and work in profound ways. It is also not impossible that specific AIs could malfunction or run out of their creators’ control, leading to very human disasters, where lives are lost or millions of dollars are wiped out.
2017
10 grand challenges we’ll face by 2050
The BBC
Gamification
Gaming gets serious Gamification is about taking the essence of games – fun, play and passion – and applying it to real-world, non-game situations. In a business setting, that means designing solutions using gaming principles in everything from back-office tasks and training to sales management and career counseling. Game mechanics lie at the heart of gamification. For example, achievement levels, pointtracking and bonuses are ways for desired activities to be recognised and rewarded. Leaderboards and progression indicators can steer individuals to reach the next tier of performance. Quests and countdowns can help shape behavior – the former as a way to structure long combinations of tasks for a larger goal; the latter to motivate a flurry of activity within a finite, specified timeframe.
2012
Tech Trends 2012-Elevate IT for digital business
Deloitte
Internet of Things
Gartner calls the combination of technologies and the connection of people, devices, content and services the "intelligent digital mesh." This is the foundation for new business models, platforms and possibilities that will transform how we live and work with implications that go far beyond the technology itself and involve disciplines such as law, economics, business and politics. It is early days for the application of IoT strategy but it is clear that opportunities will exist for those with the technical knowledge to connect platforms as well as those with the data analytics skills to utilise the rich stream of information generated by IoT applications. What could you learn from connecting and analysing the data from your products or elements of your core operations?
2019
Five tech trends for 2019
University of Technology Sydney
Get to know gen Z
Gen Z are now attracting the type of attention that has long been bestowed on Millennials, but with little separating Gen Zers (16-20) from the youngest Millennials in terms of age, how different should we expect these two audiences to be? Do Gen Zers really have de ning characteristics distinct from those of their Millennial counterparts?
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
Loyalty will beat novelty.
Gen Z kids saw their parents lose homes and pensions to the financial crisis. As a result their perspective on work and money most closely resembles that of their great grandparents, who grew up in the Great Depression and prized security above fulfillment. “Millennials want a dream job,” says Pranam Lipinski, CEO of Door of Clubs, who surveyed thousands of Gen Z students about their values and preferences. “Generation Z wants success and financial stability over that dream job.” That means they’re far more likely to remain loyal to an employer that provides a stable environment and benefits — in Door of Clubs’ survey, 61% said they’d stay with an employer 10 years or longer. But watch out, warns Jill Schlesinger: It’s changing jobs that gets you significant raises. Too much loyalty will hurt your lifetime earning power.
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
Gene Theraphy
Gene therapy involves the substitution of genes that cause diseases or insertion of therapeutic genes. Prior to implementation, the discovery of target genes, designing of delivery systems, securing stability of gene expression, and relevant ethical issues need to be addressed.
2010
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2010
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Renewable energy
Generation of electricity from renewable sources with reduced harmful climate impact
2013
Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy
McKinsey
Data Takes its Rightful Place as a Platform
Generations of programmers and architects have grown up thinking in terms of applications—seeing the world through the lens of the functions that the business has needed and with data being the object, not the subject. That thinking will change. Although a focus on applications will continue to be important, it will give way to an emphasis on data. It is our belief that in the near future, platform architectures will be selected primarily to cope with soaring volumes of data and the complexity of data management—not for their ability to support this or that application.
2011
Accenture Technology Vision 2011
Accenture
Genetic research and related medical advances could change health care as we know it.
Genetic research and related medical advances could change health care as we know it. The combination of biotechnology, nanotechnology and data analytics could usher in a new era of preventative and personalized medicine. Quality of life could improve and help drive economic growth.
2018
Eight long-term trends for growth investors
Morgan Stanley