Trends Identified
On the role of artificial intelligence in health care
Vic Gundotra, CEO, Alivecor.On the role of artificial intelligence in health care: One of the major trends that we’ll see in 2019 is the explosion of devices that push consumers to do more measurement of biometrics like heart rate monitoring and glucose monitoring and remote blood pressure. And we’ll also see and explosion of frustration on the part of doctors around how to make sense of all this data. How do you deal with the data of a consumer constantly generating heart measurements? How do you deal with consumers generating hear data who may be anxious? At some point in 2019 there will be a realization that AI is going to be needed to make sense out of all this data, because physicians don’t have the time to look at this tidal wave of data.
2019
The biggest tech trends of 2019, according to top experts
Fast Company
Autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles
Vehicles that can navigate and operate with reduced or no human intervention
2013
Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy
McKinsey
Genomic vaccines
Vaccines based on genes are superior to more conventional ones in a number of ways. They are faster to manufacture for one thing, which is crucial at times of a violent outbreak. Compared to manufacturing proteins in cell cultures or eggs, producing genetic material should also be simpler and less expensive. A genomics-based approach to vaccines also enables more rapid adaptation in the event of a pathogen mutating, and finally allows scientists to identify people who are resistant to a pathogen, isolate the antibodies that provide that protection, and design a gene sequence that will induce a person’s cells to produce those antibodies.
2017
These are the top 10 emerging technologies of 2017
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Renewable energy technologies
Using smart grids, big data and IoT technologies can help to reduce energy consumption, balance energy demand and supply, and ensure and improve the management of energy distribution, while increasing the role of renewable sources by allowing households to feed surplus energy from solar panels or wind turbines into the grid. The real-time information provided by smart grids helps utility companies to respond better to changes in demand, power supply, costs and emissions, and to avert major power outages (UNCTAD, 2015d:23). Zenatix, a Delhibased start-up, for example, uses smart meters and temperature sensors to help households and offices reduce energy consumption through message-based alerts, saving Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology nearly $30,000 annually.23 Renewable energy technologies can provide electricity in remote and isolated rural areas inaccessible to centralized grid systems (UNCTAD, 2017c); and costs have declined dramatically, especially for solar power, which is now cost-competitive with coal and natural gas. The cost of solar cells has dropped by a factor of more than 100 in the last 40 years, from $76.67/watt in 1977 to $0.029/kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2017 (Clark, 2017). Solar energy is now the cheapest generation technology in many parts of the world.24
2018
Technology and Innovation Report 2018
UNCTAD
Cloud technology
Use of computer hardware and software resources delivered over a network or the Internet, often as a service
2013
Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy
McKinsey
Upcycling carbon
Urgently cutting carbon emissions at source is essential to mitigating catastrophic climate change, and negative emissions are needed to keep us on the well below 2°C pathway. Business is increasingly discovering ways to upcycle carbon, generating more value, emitting less and accelerating carbon negative technologies.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Increasing urbanization.
Urbanization is increasing at different rates globally, with the highest growth rates in the least developed parts of the world thus creating the challenge of providing adequate basic services and a functioning infrastructure to ensure a minimum quality of life for citizens.
2017
Strategic foresight analysis
NATO
Urbanization and growth of cities
Urbanization and growth of cities, population concentration, demands for infrastructure and basic services, quality of life, and competitiveness of cities.
2016
Why and how latin america should think about the future
theDialogue
Living in an urban world
Urbanisation is an integral aspect of development. As countries transition from primarily agricultural economies, the shift to cities offers substantial productivity gains. Jobs and earnings in urban settings create strong incentives for internal migration, often reinforced by government policies and environmental degradation. Only later in economic development do urban-rural disparities begin to dissipate, easing the pressure for further urbanisation. Together, these drivers have brought extraordinary changes to the geographical distribution of humanity during the last century. Whereas just 10–15 % of the global population lived in urban areas in the early 20th century, that figure had risen to 50 % by 2010 (WBGU, 2011) and is projected to reach 67 % by 2050 (UN, 2012). Almost all of that growth is expected to occur in today's developing regions, with urban populations there increasing from 2.6 billion in 2010 to 5.1 billion in 2050.
2015
Assessment of global megatrends - an update
European Environment Agency (EEA)
Unrest in Iran
Unrest in the Middle East is always concerning for investors, especially ones who pay attention to the price of oil. While the recent protests in Iran will likely be contained to that region, if things flare up further, and if it does disrupt oil production — the country produces about 4.4 million barrels of oil per day — then we could see energy prices spike, says Hormozi.
2018
6 global trends that can derail your portfolio in 2018
CNBC