Trends Identified

Amplified intelligence - Power to the people

Analytics techniques are growing in complexity, and companies are applying machine learning and predictive modeling to increasingly massive and complex data sets. Artificial intelligence is now a reality. Its more promising application, however, is not replacing workers but augmenting their capabilities. When built to enhance an individual’s knowledge and deployed seamlessly at the point of business impact, advanced analytics can help amplify our intelligence for more effective decision making.

2015

Tech trends 2015 - The fusion of business and IT

Deloitte

An ageing global population

The world is facing an ageing population due to a combination of increased life expectancy and declining fertility rates. As dependency ratios shift with growing elderly populations, governments will be faced with falling saving rates, falling consumption, and growing pressure on social services. There are stark differences in demographic changes between developed countries and developing countries. In general, high-income countries are experiencing population stagnation or decline. Conversely, many developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are experiencing “youth bulges” and expansion of working-age population. Both demographic scenarios pose challenges for governments seeking to create policies that are economically sustainable and politically palatable.

2017

Global trends to 2035

European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)

An ageing population will add further pressure to future labour market challenges

As a result of rising life expectancy and declining birth rates, global population growth has considerably decelerated and this trajectory is expected to continue over the next few decades. One immediate implication of this slowdown is that growth of the global labour force will not be sufficient to compensate for the rapidly expanding pool of retirees, putting pressure on both the pension system and the labour market as a whole. In developed countries, where population ageing is considerably faster, it is estimated that, by 2030, there will be close to five persons aged 65 and over for every ten persons in the labour force, up from 3.5 in 2017.

2018

World Employment and Social Outlook

International Labour Organization (ILO)

An ECG on your wrist

Regulatory approval and technological advances are making it easier for people to continuously monitor their hearts with wearable devices. Fitness trackers aren’t serious medical devices. An intense workout or loose band can mess with the sensors that read your pulse. But an electrocardiogram—the kind doctors use to diagnose abnormalities before they cause a stroke or heart attack— requires a visit to a clinic, and people often fail to take the test in time. ECG-enabled smart watches, made possible by new regulations and innovations in hardware and software, offer the convenience of a wearable device with something closer to the precision of a medical one. An Apple Watch–compatible band from Silicon Valley startup AliveCor that can detect atrial fibrillation, a frequent cause of blood clots and stroke, received clearance from the FDA in 2017. Last year, Apple released its own FDA-cleared ECG feature, embedded in the watch itself. The health-device company Withings also announced plans for an ECG-equipped watch shortly after. Current wearables still employ only a single sensor, whereas a real ECG has 12. And no wearable can yet detect a heart attack as it’s happening. But this might change soon. Last fall, AliveCor presented preliminary results to the American Heart Association on an app and two-­sensor system that can detect a certain type of heart attack. —Karen Hao

2019

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2019 - How we’ll invent the future, by Bill Gates

MIT Technology Review

An historic moment: One world united in crisis

Concerns about the prospect of a recession in the US, the UK and some other developed economies mounted, as 2008 marched on. By the time autumn arrived in the northern hemisphere, a deep economic winter seemed imminent. The trigger point came in mid-September, when US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, felled by nearly US$60 billion in bad debts, and another US investment bank, Merrill Lynch, announced it would be acquired by Bank of America to avoid a similar fate. That evening, the US Federal Reserve asked two other Wall Street investment banks to help inject US$75 billion into insurer American International Group.2 All the major advanced economies were either in, or about to enter, a serious recession. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed fears that 2009 might be the worst year for the industrialised economies since World War II.3

2009

12th Annual global CEO Survey

PWC

An increasingly multipolar world

Globally, economic power is shifting. In the last century or two, a relatively small number of countries, together accounting for about a fifth of the world population, have dominated global economic production and consumption. Today, a significant rebalancing of power is under way, with Asian countries coming to the fore. Economic and demographic projections suggest that the influence of today's wealthiest economies will continue to lessen as other countries and regional power blocs become increasingly important — economically, politically and diplomatically. As global interdependence and trade expands, Europe has opportunities to benefit from improving its resource efficiency and knowledge-based economy.

2015

Assessment of global megatrends - an update

European Environment Agency (EEA)

Analytics

If you’re maxing out on data and analytics in 2017, just wait. The mass amount of information being created by the IoT has the power to revolutionize everything from manufacturing and healthcare to the layout and functioning of entire cities — allowing them to work more efficiently and profitably than ever before. One company, for instance, found that it was able to reduce the cost of managing its fleet of 180,000 trucks from 15 cents per mile to just 3 cents. That same kind of efficiency can be exercised in almost every industry, from retail to city planning. Tech giants such as Microsoft, IBM, SAS and SAP are all heavily investing in Analytics, more specifically IoT Analytics as they are seeing the power of this combination in driving new business insights across a vast array of industries and applications.

2016

Top 10 trends for digital transformation in 2018

Forbes

Analytics Is Driving a Discontinuous Evolution from BI

Analytics drives insights; insights lead to greater understanding of customers and markets; that understanding yields innovative products, better customer targeting, improved pricing, and superior growth in both revenue and profits. That’s why farsighted companies are viewing analytics as essential for creating value. In contrast, their peers who think about analytics only as a simple extension of business intelligence (BI) are severely underestimating the potential of analytics to move the needle on the business. For one thing, they overlook the fact that traditional BI does not address the wealth of unstructured data that is now available.

2011

Accenture Technology Vision 2011

Accenture

Anthropomorphic robots freely interacting with people

Abroad, there is currently considerable research and development into the creation of anthropomorphic robots freely interacting with people. In current versions, such robots are equipped with a control system including a number of key sub-systems: technical vision; voice control; voice messages; tactile sensing; spatial orientation; walking and stability control; and behaviour control. In future breakthrough research into modelling the functioning of the human nervous system, the dynamics of its value system, and psychological and mental maxims taking into account external and internal factors will be crucial for robotics (and the creation of anthropomorphic robots in particular).

2016

Russia 2030: science and technology foresight

Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Anti-Automation - Driving change in CSR policy near you soon

Anti-automation sentiment hangs heavy in the air. All manner of people – from entrepreneurs to policy makers, from technologists to everyday consumers – fret about the promised disruption to working and leisure lives caused by the forces of automation and evolving AI. Whilst, in reality, consumers will welcome the multiple benefits that automated innovation brings, disquiet (about job prospects, spending power, status) creates opportunities for brands to create supportive messaging as well as new skills to help consumers adapt.

2018

Trending 2018

Foresight Factory