Trends Identified
Growing demand for food, water, and energy
A growing middle class and gains in empowerment will lead the demand for food to rise by 35%, water by 40%, and energy by 50%, government research suggested. Regions with extreme weather patterns — like rain-soaked Singapore or muggy Mumbai — will get more extreme due to the effects of climate change. Dry areas such as northern Africa and the US Southwest will feel the effects of diminished precipitation especially hard. We will still have enough resources to avoid energy scarcity by 2030; however, whether those resources include fracking or renewable forms like solar and wind is yet to be seen.
2017
4 mega-trends that could change the world by 2030
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Inclusive design will go mainstream.
A growing awareness among professionals and advances in artificial intelligence are transforming inclusive design, says Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (LinkedIn’s parent company). “We used to call it assistive technologies and it used to be a checklist of things you did after the product was built,” he says. Now it's "about taking this way upstream into the design process. What if we said upfront we want a design for people of different abilities to fully participate?” He points to the new Xbox adaptive controller, where even the packaging was designed to be accessible, or new AI that helps people with dyslexia read and comprehend written text.
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
Centrality of Computer Networks
A globally connected and networked world creates a universal availability of information. Technological innovation is rapidly delivering to the average citizen the benefit of a readily accessible vast collective knowledge and intellectual capital. However, with the significant advances in sensor networks and algorithms, there will be a growing capability for almost every aspect of a citizen’s life to be monitored by the state or other entities such as corporations.
2013
Strategic Foresight Analysis 2013 Report
NATO
The Future of Foresight in Europe. Beyond Evidence-Based Pessimism to Realistic Hope
A focus on the short term often overemphasises negative, trends of doom and gloom. Developing and using foresight enables realistic hope. It pushes beyond sugar-coated ideology about what the future should be and the evidence-based pessimism that is driving fear of the future. Foresight is a disciplined approach to futures thinking that enables societies to thrive under disruptive changes and to collaborate to create new and better future possibilities for all. It is not about wishful thinking. The aim is not to predict, but to be better prepared. To develop a more explicit, testable, contestable and useful sense of the future that is already emerging in the here-and-now.
2016
Shaping the future
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
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
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
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
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)
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
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