Trends Identified

A Tangled Web
Artificial intelligence “weeds” proliferate, choking off the performance of the internet
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
The Death of Trade
Bilateral trade wars cascade and multilateral dispute resolution institutions are too weak to respond
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Precision Extinction
AI-piloted drone ships wipe out a large proportion of global fish stocks
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Into the Abyss
A cascading series of economic/financial crises overwhelm political and policy responses
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Inequality Ingested
Bioengineering and cognition-enhancing drugs widen the gulf between haves and have-nots
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
War without Rules
State-on-state cyberattacks escalate unpredictably owing to a lack of agreed protocols
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Identity Geopolitics
Self-determination around contested borders sparks regional conflict
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Walled Off
Regulatory, cybersecurity and protectionist concerns lead to the fragmentation of the internet
2018
The Global Risks Report 2018
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Deepening income inequality
Inequality is one of the key
challenges of our time. Income inequality specifically is one of the most visible aspects of a broader
and more complex issue, one that entails inequality of opportunity
and extends to gender, ethnicity, disability, and age, among others. Ranking second in last year’s
Outlook, it was identified as the
most signi cant trend of 2015 by
our Network’s experts. This affects
all countries around the world. In developed and developing countries alike, the poorest half of the population often controls less than 10% of its wealth. This is a universal challenge that the whole world must address.
2014
Outlook on the global agenda 2015
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Persistent jobless growth
The term ‘persistent jobless growth’ refers to the phenomenon in which economies exiting recessions demonstrate economic growth while merely maintaining – or, in some cases, decreasing – their level of employment. The scale and signi cance of this problem is evident in the high placing
of this trend, an increase even over last year’s report, when persistent structural employment was ranked as the third most concerning trend.
2014
Outlook on the global agenda 2015
World Economic Forum (WEF)