Trends Identified
Net neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission voted in December to repeal net neutrality regulations put in place during the Obama administration. A Pew Research Center analysis of comments submitted online to the FCC about net neutrality found that during the four-month period (April 27 to Aug. 30, 2017) in which the FCC accepted comments on net neutrality, an average of 172,246 posts were submitted per day.
2017
Key trends shaping technology in 2017
Pew Research Center
Demography
The figures for global population growth over the next 20 years can be predicted with some confidence. This overall growth will be combined with a changing spatial and age distribution that will differ across regions. The impacts of migration are less clear than population growth but the overall move from rural to urban areas, especially in developing countries, is a well established trend.
2011
ICSU Foresight Analysis
International Council for Science (ICSU)
Continued economic growth?
The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 significantly reduced economic output in many developed countries, particularly in Europe. While its continuing impacts are apparent in less optimistic long-term economic projections for Europe, virtually all mainstream outlook studies foresee economic expansion globally in the coming decades as Asia's huge populations continue their shift to Western patterns of production and consumption.
2015
Assessment of global megatrends - an update
European Environment Agency (EEA)
Globalisation of Financial Resources
The financial networks and communication systems that manage the world’s critical resources are increasingly intertwined. The interconnected world creates greater opportunity for better management of global resources; it may also provide incentives for co-operation and multilateral approaches in addressing global issues. However, vulnerability to exploitation by non-state actors, ranging from international criminal networks to cyber criminals and terrorists, will increase. Attackers could target banking and financial institutions or communication systems. Additionally, as nations become increasingly interdependent, a negative economic event in one country could well be compounded globally as it spreads quickly to other markets.
2013
Strategic Foresight Analysis 2013 Report
NATO
Conflict: prolonged, simmering, and increasingly urban.
The first point to make about future trends in conflict is that it is likely that many of today’s simmering conflicts will continue to do so in the coming decades. Most conflict in the future is likely to be protracted, to be fought by armed groups for personal gain, and to be to be fought in cities. The lines are becoming more blurred between gangs, warlords, insurgents, child soldiers, paramilitary forces, and drug traffickers, all of whom will increasingly operate in urban environments. Finally, there is terrorism. As high-tech weapons become smaller, cheaper, and more widely available, they will be used by an even wider variety of groups than they are now.
2011
Megatrends and the future of humanitarian action
International Review of the Red Cross
Blockchain
The fortunes of digital currency Bitcoin have drawn public attention to Blockchain technology, but this secure system for recording and verifying transactions and storing trusted records has the potential to disrupt enterprises of many kinds. Companies are using Blockchain technology to transform time-consuming, centralised, less reliable and less secure systems. Digital democracy platform MyVote, for example, uses Blockchain to store users' personal data and voting history to give citizens a more direct voice in the political process. Could you use Blockchain to keep your data secure?
2019
Five tech trends for 2019
University of Technology Sydney
Precision farming
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is providing farmers with a new set of tools to boost crop yield and quality while reducing water and chemical use. Sensors, robots, GPS, mapping tools and data-analytics software are all being used to customize the care that plants need. While the prospect of using drones to capture plant health in real time may be some way off for most of the world’s farmers, low-tech techniques are coming online too. Salah Sukkarieh, of the University of Sydney, for instance, has demonstrated a streamlined, low-cost monitoring system in Indonesia that relies on solar power and cell phones.
2017
These are the top 10 emerging technologies of 2017
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Augmented and virtual reality go to work - Seeing business through a different lens
The future of mobile is tilting increasingly toward wearables, especially as augmented reality and virtual reality solutions hit the market. Long the objects of sci-fi fascination, the looming potential of AR and VR technologies lies in the enterprise with capabilities that could potentially reshape business processes, or fundamentally recast customer experiences. While the consumer world waits for the dominant AR and VR players to emerge, the enterprise can fast-track adoption—and begin the process of fundamentally reimagining how work gets done.
2016
Tech trends 2016 - innovating in the digital era
Deloitte
Global trade and financial rules will change
The future of the Doha Round of WTO talks is uncertain, but it is unlikely that the gains made in multilateral liberalisation under the Uruguay round will be reversed. Nevertheless, the absolute shift of manufacturing production to developing countries and a likely economic slowdown among the OECD countries raise the spectre of resurgent protectionism in the North.
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
Autonomous driving and artificial intelligence
The future of transportation will branch in two directions. One is the Waymo approach, which essentially seeks to remove human drivers from the equation, leaving us with almost an AI-powered Uber alternative. The other is exemplified by Tesla, which is infusing manned vehicles with a series of innovative autonomous features. Each will be here quicker than most realize. One of the reasons is that advances in artificial intelligence are driven, in part, by the availability of more data, so with each new Tesla or Waymo test vehicle that hits the road, semi-autonomous and autonomous capabilities grow exponentially. This is especially true for Tesla’s systems, thanks to the company delivering almost as many cars last year as all previous years combined. AI-enabled transportation is yet another area where investors have an excellent opportunity to back chip makers Nvidia and Intel, whose valuations in recent months have become far more reasonable due to trade-related issues that will likely dissipate going forward. As we move to the next level of internet, entertainment and transportation, there will be huge opportunities for the companies that are best positioned to take advantage of the new technology trends. Investors should take notice.
2019
Three Big Tech Trends For 2019
Forbes