Trends Identified
Pricing the planet
A collision is shaping up among the rising demand for resources, constrained supplies, and changing social attitudes toward environmental protection. The next decade will see an increased focus on resource productivity, the emergence of substantial clean-tech industries, and regulatory initiatives.
2010
Mckinsey quarterly, Global forces: An introduction
McKinsey
Demographic patterns
A combination of widespread aging, falling fertility, and urbanization will lead to a dramatically different world in 2030. With an expected 8.3 billion people, human civilization will be both older and much more focused on city life. Our infrastructure may improve, but our level of innovation and output will slow down without younger workers. "Aging countries will face an uphill battle in maintaining their living standards," the report stated. It's entirely possible, however, that within the next several decades, humanity will generate more urban construction than it has in the rest of its history.
2017
4 mega-trends that could change the world by 2030
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Businesses will favor integrity over growth.
A decade ago, we rued banks that got “too big to fail.” It’s now happening to our tech companies. “Size matters,” says Rachel Botsman, a lecturer at Oxford’s Said Business School and the author of "Who Can You Trust?". So does “figuring out what to do with companies that got too big and the unintended consequences that happen as platforms scale.” In 2019, she predicts corporate cultures, particularly in tech, will start eschewing efficiency and growth at all costs in favor of maintaining integrity at scale. “I think you're going to see more and more cultures say, ‘How big is big enough? How big do we want this thing to become before it's outside our control and we can't see the consequences of it?’”
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
Digital Twins
A digital twin is a digital representation of a real-world entity or system (see Figure 5). The implementation of a digital twin is an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a unique physical object (see Note 1). Data from multiple digital twins can be aggregated for a composite view across a number of real-world entities. The notion of a digital representation of real-world entities or systems is not new. You can argue that this was a central notion in the IT industry with the creation of computer-aided design representations of physical assets or profiles of individual customers. The difference in the latest iteration of digital twins is: The robustness of the models
Digital twins' link to the real world, potentially in real time
The application of advanced big data analytics and AI
The ability to interact with them and evaluate "what if" scenarios
2017
Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2018
Gartner
Digital Twins
A digital twin is a digital representation that mirrors a real-life object, process or system. Digital twins can also be linked to create twins of larger systems, such as a power plant or city. The idea of a digital twin is not new. It goes back to computer-aided design representations of things or online profiles of customers, but today’s digital twins are different in four ways: The robustness of the models, with a focus on how they support specific business outcomes The link to the real world, potentially in real time for monitoring and control The application of advanced big data analytics and AI to drive new business opportunities The ability to interact with them and evaluate “what if” scenarios The focus today is on digital twins in the IoT, which could improve enterprise decision making by providing information on maintenance and reliability, insight into how a product could perform more effectively, data about new products and increased efficiency. Digital twins of an organization are emerging to create models of organizational process to enable real time monitoring and drive improved process efficiencies.
2018
Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019
Gartner
Technology
A dramatic megatrend of the last half-century has been the pace of technological change. Computing power has been doubling almost every 18 months, virtually matching Gordon Moore’s 1965 observation. This appears likely to continue for at least the next decade or two,101 and will continue to revolutionise the way we lead our lives and the way societies are governed.
2013
Now for the long term - The Report of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations
Oxford Martin School
Dye-sensitized Solar Cell
A dye-sensitized solar cell is based on a semiconductor formed between a photo-sensitized anode and an electrolyte. Once photons of the sunlight excite electrons of the semiconductor, titanium oxide nanoparticles transport the electrons to electrodes. The mechanism enables simple and low-cost production of solar cells.
2009
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2009
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Fragmented World
A dysfunctional Europe is absorbed in regional threats. Then United States gives up on the policeman role. Protectionism provides an initial domestic economic boost, but leads to lower global growth over the medium term. Russia and China become regionally dominant.
2016
Global risks 2035- the search for a new normal
Atlantic Council
Collapse of Global Communications.
A failure of the global communications system could occur for a variety of reasons; for example the destruction of satellites following an orbital electromagnetic pulse detonation or solar flare, or the complete overload of the global ICT infrastructure. Such an event is not without precedent. For example, in 1859, solar flare activity was linked to the collapse of the telegraph system when spark discharges shocked telegraph operators and set telegraph paper on fire. A similar collapse in the modern world would cause trade, commerce and the Internet to grind to a halt. Military operations dependent on the availability of communications networks would also be put at risk. Remaining bandwidth would see intense competition for access.
2010
Global strategic trends - out to 2040
UK, Ministry of Defence
Earth In Crisis
A flurry of reports in 2018 highlighted the devastating impact of pollution and climate change events. Issues like the destruction of wildlife and natural habitats, the rampant use of plastic, and climate change induced disasters like droughts, wildfires, floods and tsunamis, spurred a sense of urgency among governments, industries and citizens who committed to more sustainable environmental practices. In 2019, ripple effects will be felt in the real estate business where investments and land prices are likely to rise in regions less likely to be affected by climate change. Political will and public pressure will elicit shifts in policy and regulations, even as they disrupt industries which continue with unsustainable operations. Promisingly, leaders with strong green credentials will accelerate the development of their countries as innovation hubs for next generation environmental solutions.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes