Trends Identified
Climate change
Rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are_x000B_causing climate change and driving a complex mix_x000B_of unpredictable changes to the environment while further taxing the resilience of natural and built systems. Achieving the right combination of adaptation and mitigation policies will be difficult for most governments.
2014
Future State 2030: The global megatrends shaping governments
KPMG
Political inequalities
Rising inequalities, both vertical and horizontal, have fuelled discontent in many countries, leading to an upsurge in large-scale protests and social movements around the world in recent years, including in the Arab region. These protests have taken place in a broader context of democratization that has accelerated over the past three decades in many parts of the world and has been accompanied by people’s enhanced ability to voice opinions with greater possibilities for accountability at regional, national and local levels.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Inequality
Rising inequality could threaten growth. Demographic shifts combined with the next phase of automation will increase income inequality from already high levels. Middle- and low-income families are likely to be hit hardest, putting downward pressure on consumer spending and growth.
2018
Labor 2030: The Collision of Demographics, Automation and Inequality
Bain and Company
Strengthening the risk management system
Risk management is an approach that allows governments to assess, implement and evaluate policy, regulations, processes – and, in some instances, even products and services – to ensure that standards for public safety are met. Current approaches to risk management rarely go beyond the short- and mediumterm, focusing on only first- and second-order consequences. The discipline of foresight can assist by systematically considering plausible futures, which can help uncover unexpected risks and buy time in the face of future challenges. As new technologies proliferate, the possibility of unforeseen consequences increases and citizens will look to governments to help them make sense of a potentially shifting terrain. This presents a variety of possible challenges.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
RNA-based Therapeutics
RNA is an essential molecule in cellular biology, translating genetic instructions encoded in DNA into the production of the proteins that enable cells to function. However, as protein production is also a central factor in most human diseases and disorders, RNA-based therapeutics have long been thought to hold the potential to treat a range of problems where conventional drug-based treatments cannot offer much help. The field has been slow to develop, however, with initial high hopes being dented by the sheer complexity of the effort and the need to better understand the variability of gene expression in cells. Over the past year, there has been a resurgence of interest in this new field of biotech healthcare, with two RNA-based treatments approved as human therapeutics as of 2014. RNA-based drugs for a range of conditions including genetic disorders, cancer and infectious disease are being developed based on the mechanism of RNA interference, which is used to silence the expression of defective or overexpressed genes. Extending the repertoire of RNA-based therapeutics, an even newer platform based on messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules is now emerging. Specific mRNA sequences injected intramuscularly or intravenously can act as therapeutic agents through the patient’s own cells, translating them into the corresponding proteins that deliver the therapeutic effect. Unlike treatments aimed at changing DNA directly, RNA-based therapeutics do not cause permanent changes to the cell’s genome and so can be increased or discontinued as necessary. Advances in basic RNA science, synthesis technology and in vivo delivery are combining to enable a new generation of RNA-based drugs that can attenuate the abundance of natural proteins, or allow for the in vivo production of optimized, therapeutic proteins. Working in collaboration with large pharmaceutical companies and academia, several private companies that aim to offer RNA-based treatments have been launched. We expect this field of healthcare to increasingly challenge conventional pharmaceuticals in forging new treatments for difficult diseases in the next few years.
2014
Top 10 emerging technologies for 2014
World Economic Forum (WEF)
RNA-based Terapeutics
RNA-based therapeutics used artificial RNA with unique sequences that can selectively control target genes. The technology can be applied for therapeutic purposes by enabling the control of gene expression. The technology can also be employed in cell therapy through manipulation of stem cells.
2009
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2009
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
The Rise of Roboadvisors & App-based Investments
Roboadvisors are viewed as one of the most disruptive of AI-influenced fintech services. Robo-advisors rely on technology, rather than a financial planner, to deliver financial advice at any time of the day.
2018
Top Tech trends 2018
Juniper Research
Robotic Process Automation – Rule-Based Bots
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) refers to rule-based and easily programmed software, that promises to eliminate repetitive, easily automated tasks. RPAs are fully programmed, cannot learn and have to be updated when IT systems change. RPA is seen as a next step towards automation where machine learning is not needed. It can be tied together with machine learning to automate more complex tasks to create intelligent enterprises. Most RPA today uses text analytics, image processing, text search, or optical character recognition. Analytics will become critical as RPA will soon be developed towards more smarter versions. While we are heading towards an automated world, the process seems to take longer than anticipated and is more complex than anticipated, so RPAs could be a fast forward solution for those processes that yet do not need sophisticated algorithms. For now, a central control of bots is not fully established and changes of IT systems could lead to expensive updates. Besides that, RPA can boost productivity with minimal process change, it offers easy-to-calculate ROIs and it is an in-route to more complex automation with machine learning.
2018
Trend Report 2018 - Emerging Technology Trends
SAP
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, opera on and application
of robots and related computer and control systems. Robots help with or take the place of humans
in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, and/or resemble humans in appearance, behaviour or cognition. Increasingly, robots are designed to act in roles complementary to humans.
Today, experimental robots can inventory stock, move loads, pick berries, do housework, perform elder care, sense remotely and create a virtual presence. As their AI improves, they will get smarter and more capable. Robot hardware is improving quickly; the challenge is the so ware – the intelligence behind the machine that allows it to function in a specific manner. Task-specific robots could do tasks as diverse as surgery, cooking and driving. Businesses will continue to be early adopters of robot technology, with home use following as prices decline and features become more competitive.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Robotics
Robotics, under which we include both advanced robotics increasingly able to augment humans in the workplace and traditional robotics, in which machines reproduce repetitive human actions, as well as autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles
2019
Tech for good
McKinsey