Trends Identified

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

Planets, planets everywhere

One possibly habitable planet is already known to exist near Earth. Many more will soon be found

2016

World in 2017

The Economist

So long susy?

In 2017 the idea of Supersymmetry will either be seen to be true, or die

2016

World in 2017

The Economist

Science for everyone

A basic education in science can now be gained through Wikipedia alone. A more advanced education is available on YouTube. Whole fields, including much of physics, publish new research online. The open-data movement delivers the raw material of science to anyone who wants it. Crowdsourcing platforms are changing the way science is done, from online collaborations between top-class mathematicians to distributed-computing platforms that allow anybody to comb data and make discoveries. Meanwhile, scientists are realising that a crucial part of the job is communicating their ideas—and their excitement—to the public. As access to knowledge becomes universal, it may kindle the desire for more.

2016

World in 2017

The Economist