Trends Identified
Seamless Collaboration
It is time for the enterprise to reimagine the way its employees work. The rise in social networking has breathed new life into collaboration. Users’ new social behavior and growing expectation that every app will be “social” are pushing companies to create new user experiences. However, to increase productivity, enterprises must move beyond standalone social and collaboration channels; they must begin to directly embed those channels into their core business processes. The new approach: build social, collaborative applications throughout the enterprise.
2013
Accenture Technology Vision 2013
Accenture
Technology and media: enabling growth, facilitating inequality?
It is tempting to overstate the influence of technological change on the evolving landscape of the European Union in the long and short term. Yet, technological change is possible only to the extent that individuals and societies understand, accept and absorb technology, or contribute to its development in a variety of ways (ITU, 2011; World Bank, 2012; OECD, 2012a; Perez, 2010). Without this human factor, which ranges from tolerance to adherence, technological change in itself would be close to irrelevant, as past human fears and rejections of new technologies – especially during periods of industrial revolution – suggest. However, the benefit of technological change should be weighed carefully, since the phenomenon is both an enabler and a facilitator of greater ambitions and an accelerator of inequalities between the high- and low-skilled (see Cave et al., 2009; Facer and Sandford, 2012). To this extent, technological change is perhaps one of the most illustrative examples of a cross-cutting issue with uncertain consequences, as it impacts labour, economic growth and other technologies, sometimes in twoway relationships. For instance, in the relationship between labour markets and technology creation, does the latter enable the former or vice versa? The impact of technology on issues ranging from education to skills or demand for political change will depend to a large extent to the adoption of technology. This is likely to be a major driver for change, insofar as future inequalities are projected to revolve around the ability to reap the benefit of technological change for capacity building (in terms of skills, literacy, etc).
2013
Europe's Societal Challenges: An analysis of global societal trends to 2030 and their impact on the EU
RAND Corporation
Environmental Degradation and Climate Change
It is now widely recognized that the causes of environmental degradation and climate change—and their potential solutions—are essentially linked to human activity (IPCC 2015). The impact of human activity on the environment and the climate is one of the megatrends that will shape future trajectories of—and can potentially undermine— progress on sustainable development, including on eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities.
2017
Global trends
UNDP
Virtual, augmented and remote services will change the geography of services
It is likely that services typically conducted face-to-face will be increasingly performed online. Visits to a doctor or lawyer will likely start with a virtual pre-screening interview; the visit itself may also be virtual. In schools, each student may be equipped with a personal AI teacher who monitors their progress and advancement through content modules, with human teachers playing an oversight role. Augmented reality devices may enable travelers and tourists to explore, relax or do business without leaving home. “Telepresencing” (the sense of being in multiple locations at once) will allow users to choose the best service provider for their needs from anywhere in the world rather than the best one in their area.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
One-touch Health Check Service
It is highly likely that remote health check services can be applied to our daily lives, owing to the development of communication technologies and mobile information devices. For example, using a smart phone connected patch-type diagnostic module attached to the palm, an application that analyzes the received bio signals and blood results and sends the results to the doctor, can be developed. In addition, real-time diagnosis of high-risk patients could be provided.
2011
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2011
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Philosophies
It is hard to deny that the past few centuries have been Western centuries—the economic power and military might of the US and Europe were, and still are, unparalleled. Some of the philosophies characteristic of the modern West—globalisation, free trade capitalism and liberal democracy— have become the de facto organising principles of the world. These three organising principles have advanced science, raised the standards of living of hundreds of millions, and freed many from tyranny, oppression, sickness and poverty. While some hope that these principles will gain further traction, it is growing apparent that they may be threatened by the consequences they are producing. Even as adherence to these philosophies have benefited many, some appear to have benefitted far, far more than others. This inequality, along with growing awareness of it, has in recent years blossomed and borne strange fruit. The votes for Brexit in the UK and for President Donald Trump in the US were arguably expressions of a deep anger at the elite few who have hogged the rewards of progress. But alternative organising principles are emerging. As the UK and US enter a period of political turbulence, the “China model” appears to offer political stability. Political philosopher Daniel Bell argues that the rise of China and Beijing’s resolve to tackle longer-term challenges, for example, make the Chinese model of political meritocracy more attractive. This involves rigorous selection of top leaders based on performance over decades, at provincial and national levels, and on virtue. Oman and the UAE are Gulf states ruled by monarchies whose legal systems extensively incorporate Sharia law. Yet they are widely reputed for high levels of modernisation and thriving economies. Others seek to smooth the rough edges of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism: inequality and marginalisation. Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, for example, is developing a “New Democracy” to bolster inclusion—by providing more information to citizens so they can take part in decision-making. Which way the world will turn is uncertain.
2017
Foresigth
Singapore, The Centre for Strategic Futures
The global population is aging
It is expected that by 2050, 22% of the world’s population (about two billion people) will be aged over 65 years.
2017
Surfing the digital tsunami
Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Agricultural biotechnology will create a “gene revolution”
It is contended that by 2060, the Green Revolution will be supplanted by a Gene Revolution. Since the early 1980s, modern biotechnology has led to increasing knowledge of the scientific procedures needed to utilise gene-based techniques to improve agriculture. Agricultural biotechnology has the potential to transform African agriculture by raising agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes. The potential benefits include yield increases in the staple food crops produced in tropical and semi-tropical environments, the creation of drought- and pest-resistant varieties, and shorter harvesting cycles, enabling the planting of several crops per season. Genetic engineering also enables cost-saving techniques, such as nitrogen fixation.
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
Social commerce: take 2
It has often been assumed that social commerce will transform the way we shop online. As we enter 2018, however, it’s a trend that has gained traction in parts of Asia but is yet to take hold in the West, where online shopping is still rmly rooted in traditional online retailers.
2018
Trends 18
GlobalWebIndex
When robots feel your pain
Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Gene Roddenberry and their futurist kin all expected robots one day to play a pivotal part in the realm of medicine. It is safe to say that systems as complex as the heart surgeon in Asimov’s “Segregationist” and the Emergency Medical Hologram from Roddenberry’s “Star Trek: Voyager” are not going to become reality in 2017. However, artificial intelligence is now in a position to transform psychiatric hospitals for the better in the year ahead.
2016
World in 2017
The Economist