Trends Identified
Smart Nuclear Reactor
Demand for small and medium-sized nuclear reactors has been increasing in many countries where power grid capacity is low, and decentralized power supply is needed. The technology can also be used to desalinate seawater with nuclear energy. The technology is expected to create a global market worth more than $70 billion by 2020.
2010
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2010
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Dematerialization
Dematerialization the shift in the value structure from physical to intellectual. Knowledge society: The emergence of a knowledge society is fundamentally transforming the way we create and capture value in today’s world. Rather than land, labor, or financial assets, intellectual property and human capital have risen in importance, creating huge implications for the way we employ, educate, and communicate. For example, the rise of knowledge societies is partially driven by the proliferation of digital technology, which creates rapid exchange of information relative to the “old world.” Digitalization: As the digital world rises in prominence, consumers find themselves at a fork in the road facing both analog and digital options. For example, telecommunications providers still offer landline connections, but consumers choose smartphones and wireless connectivity, seeing minimal value in the additional cost. Scientification of agriculture: As advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology grow, the future of agriculture is evolving. Genomics are rising in importance as agricultural companies begin to invest heavily in R&D efforts to replicate a crop’s DNA sequence, selectively breed animals through genetic engineering, or use stem cells to produce meat-based products. The Internet of Things also offers significant opportunity as sensor-based technologies become more common — a breakthrough that supports “precision agriculture”. Post-industrialism: While the world was once pre-occupied with an Industrial Revolution and emphasis on a manufacturing-based economy, our world is now characterized by the rise of a service economy. In post-industrial societies, the production of goods has given way to the production of services; knowledge becomes a form of capital (e.g., the emergence of a knowledge society), and information and ideas are commoditized. Shifting power bases: As the world shifts away from an emphasis on physical strength and towards digital prowess, strength is becoming synonymous with countries which display greater technological infrastructure and capabilities. This is in contrast to the days when power was exhibited by those with a strong militia, defense systems, and weaponry.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Democratisation
Democracy has become increasingly prevalent across Africa over the last two decades. In 2011, 18 countries in Africa are considered electoral democracies, compared to only four in 1991.32 Electoral democracy is becoming institutionalised in several African countries, acting as a powerful force for economic growth and development.
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
A European Citizens’ Foundational Assembly
Democracy is in tatters. In a period of rapid change, in particular of the scale and width of interdependencies among societies and with biosphere, institutions and methods of governance, including representative democracy, have shown great inertia, both conceptually and institutionally. This means that we attempt to manage present and coming societal challenges with a conceptual and institutional framework created centuries ago. Talking about governance means adopting a much broader historical perspective, looking for general principles which should guide our badly needed quest for a governance and a democracy appropriate to our needs.
2016
Shaping the future
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Democratic governability
Democratic governability, impact of new technologies
in connecting citizens, forging social relations, improving transparency, strengthening security, and providing opportunities for organized crime and cyber-attacks.
2016
Why and how latin america should think about the future
theDialogue
Demographic changes and displacement of power
Demographic changes and displacement of power, new markets, rising middle classes, and migration.
2016
Why and how latin america should think about the future
theDialogue
Natural resource scarcity
Demographic pressures create food and water insecurity, and supplies of non-renewable natural resources including fossil fuels are depleting. Scarcity could push prices up, creating further hardship for those most in need. Notwithstanding the current low oil price, from 2000 to 2013 metal prices rose by 176%, energy prices by an average of 260% and food prices by 120%. Depending on political responses, this may drive humanitarian crises, population movements and a rise in protectionist or nationalist policies.
2015
Tomorrow’s world: seven development megatrends challenging NGOs
The Guardian
Developing tomorrow’s workforce
Demographic trends are having profound implications for the workplace. The global population is expanding; it will hit 8 billion in 2025. But this growth won’t be uniform, since declining fertility rates will hit some countries much harder than others. By 2020, the median age will be 43 in Europe, 38 in China and just 20 in Africa. The working-age population is, as a result, undergoing major geographic shifts. It’s still growing rapidly in countries like India, where nearly a million workers will swell the labour force every month for the next 20 years. But it’s already peaked in China and South Korea, and has been falling for more than a decade in Germany (see Figure 7). Urbanisation is causing further upheavals, with the number of city dwellers projected to rise by 72% over the next four decades. The concentration of people and resources in a compact area is a powerful combination. Cities currently generate about 80% of global economic output. 16 But uncontrolled urbanisation can also result in overcrowding, poverty and poor schooling – conditions that neither attract nor nurture talent. And it’s talent that’s the main engine of business growth. So one of the biggest issues CEOs face, as these huge demographic changes occur, is finding and securing the workforce of tomorrow – particularly the skilled labour they need to take their organisations forward.
2014
17th Annual global CEO Survey
PWC
Demographics and low cost labor, long a driver of economic growth in emerging markets, may play a smaller role in an automated world.
Demographics and low cost labor, long a driver of economic growth in emerging markets, may play a smaller role in an automated world. Countries that have high population growth in an industrial landscape dominated by technologies like AI and robotics could be at a disadvantage. Consider emphasizing countries making investments in the future competiveness of their workforces.
2018
Eight long-term trends for growth investors
Morgan Stanley
Drones
Depending on their design, drones vary greatly in their capacity. Some drones need wide spaces to take off, while quadcopters can squeeze into a column of space. Some drones are water based; others can operate and navigate autonomously (via remote control) or fully autonomously (via onboard computers). Companies are using drones for wide-ranging reasons, including surveillance, survey, sport, cinematography, and delivery.
2017
The Essential Eight - Your guide to the emerging technologies revolutionizing business now
PWC