Trends Identified
The end of privacy
Sensors and the artificial intelligence to use and interpret the information gathered by them will become cheaper, better and faster over the next 15 years. Advances in location sensing gives an indication of the trend. Recently, Google announced the goal to have smart phones in 2015 with positional accuracy within 10 centimetres, with sufficient resolution to notice you sitting up from your desk, taking a call or snuggling up to a partner. By 2028, a package that performs like today’s smart phones could cost as little as $2 to produce. At that price, sensing will be nearly ubiquitous. Most people will carry one or several tools that measure ambient audio, location and air quality. Service providers and developers will be watching and listening to understand what’s going on, what’s around us and where we are, all to feed the helper applications that will support us in our daily lives. One’s identity will be increasingly knowable as well. Today, digital chips track our identity and purchasing histories; in the future, face recognition, and gait and gesture recognition will help identify those not digitally broadcasting their presence to the world. Will our current rules and norms about privacy hold up in the face of improved sensing? Is privacy the right to be left alone, or is it the right to prevent others from knowing anything about you?
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Infrastructure in transition
Infrastructure comes in many forms: transportation, buildings, services and communications technology, among others. There is a high probability that infrastructure of every kind will be influenced by the technologies explored in this foresight study.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Shifting competitive advantage
The emerging technologies will make it harder to find and keep competitive advantage in the production of some goods and services. Bioproduction through synthetic biology will likely make it easier and cheaper to make some classes of goods. These technologies have the potential to help countries be more self-sufficient in some foods, fuels and materials. Advanced nanomaterials and nanodevices are likely to require a more educated workforce and more intricate production, resulting in a smaller number of competitors using these technologies.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Strengthening the risk management system
Risk management is an approach that allows governments to assess, implement and evaluate policy, regulations, processes – and, in some instances, even products and services – to ensure that standards for public safety are met. Current approaches to risk management rarely go beyond the short- and mediumterm, focusing on only first- and second-order consequences. The discipline of foresight can assist by systematically considering plausible futures, which can help uncover unexpected risks and buy time in the face of future challenges. As new technologies proliferate, the possibility of unforeseen consequences increases and citizens will look to governments to help them make sense of a potentially shifting terrain. This presents a variety of possible challenges.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Regulation of rapidly evolving S&T
The rate of change in science and technology is likely to accelerate, and science and technology are likely to play an increasingly important role in our economy and our lives. Product safety, public trust and competitive advantage will best be served by systems with efficient and timely testing and regulation.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Traditional notions of IP may no longer be relevant
The institutionalization of intellectual property (IP) regimes by national governments is designed to create economic incentives for research and development that, over time, may improve social welfare. The new technologies could help solve global problems in areas like health care, energy and security. Rigid and globally inconsistent IP regimes could allow IP owners to block innovation, limit the pace of development, exclude the possibility of new entrants and even threaten international relations.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Exploring new approaches to productivity and innovation
The emerging technologies described in this study point to the importance of innovation as a key driver of the economy. Human capital, government policies, societal actors from all sectors and physical infrastructure are major elements of an innovation system. How can we redesign societal systems to maximize innovation?
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Transparency trailblazers
Why a new wave of brands are placing honesty and openness at the heart of their marketing
2018
Most contagious
Contagious
Modern masculinity
Brand feminism has been one of the most discussed themes in our industry recently and forward- thinking companies are working hard to improve the way women are portrayed in ads. But some brands are now adopting the same approach to challenge male stereotypes. From husbands doing housework to guys in heels, last year brands began to embrace more diverse representations of men. Since then, the cultural conversation around ‘toxic masculinity’ has gained momentum, pressuring marketers to adapt to the shift or risk irrelevance.
2018
Most contagious
Contagious
The man in the cardboard castle
‘Amazonification’ has become the watch word of 2017. The retail giant has subsumed more than just Whole Foods this year. It has its eye on the whole economic enchilada, the appetite to create an ecosystem and the ambition to build an empire. And as Jeff says, it’s still Day One.
2018
Most contagious
Contagious