Trends Identified
Quantum computing
Quantum computers’ almost limitless potential has only ever been matched by the difficulty and cost of their construction. Which explains why today the small ones that have been built have not yet managed to exceed the power of supercomputers. But progress is being made and in 2016 the technology firm IBM provided the public access to the first quantum computer in the cloud. This has already led to more than 20 academic papers being published using the tool and today more than 50 start-ups and large corporations worldwide are focused on making quantum computing a reality. With such progress behind us, the word on people’s lips now is “Quantum Ready.”
2017
These are the top 10 emerging technologies of 2017
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Quantum communication
(Definition) The technology is a method to deliver the password created using quantum technology safely; when there is a bug, the password key will be damaged. (Application) Tapping and monitoring are blocked initially providing a new paradigm of security system for areas such as financial network where personal information pass around. (Impact) Not only information leakage can be blocked at source, but the transmission speed can be vastly increased. Quantum communication technology is worth $ 3.3 billion world wide.
2014
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2014
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Quantified Self (Predictive Analytics)
The quantified-self movement has existed for many years as a collaboration of people collecting continual data on their everyday activities in order to make better choices about their health and behaviour. But, with today’s Internet of Things, the movement has begun to come into its own and have a wider impact. Smartphones contain a rich record of people’s activities, including who they know (contact lists, social networking apps), who they talk to (call logs, text logs, e-mails), where they go (GPS, Wi-Fi, and geotagged photos) and what they do (apps we use, accelerometer data). Using this data, and specialized machine-learning algorithms, detailed and predictive models about people and their behaviours can be built to help with urban planning, personalized medicine, sustainability and medical diagnosis. For example, a team at Carnegie Mellon University has been looking at how to use smartphone data to predict the onset of depression by modelling changes in sleep behaviours and social relationships over time. In another example, the Livehoods project, large quantities of geotagged data created by people’s smartphones (using software such as Instagram and Foursquare) and crawled from the Web have allowed researchers to understand the patterns of movement through urban spaces. In recent years, sensors have become cheap and increasingly ubiquitous as more manufacturers include them in their products to understand consumer behaviour and avoid the need for expensive market research. For example, cars can record every aspect of a person’s driving habits, and this information can be shown in smartphone apps or used as big data in urban planning or traffic management. As the trend continues towards extensive data gathering to track every aspect of people’s lives, the challenge becomes how to use this information optimally, and how to reconcile it with privacy and other social concerns.
2014
Top 10 emerging technologies for 2014
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Putting Einstein to the test - The nearest supermassive black hole will give astronomers a great laboratory
In 2015, almost exactly a century after he concocted it, Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity got a spectacular confirmation when scientists detected gravitational waves. These undulations, launched by the dances of distant, massive objects, minutely stretch the weft and warp of space time itself (and thereby of experiments designed to intercept them).
2018
The world in 2018
The Economist
Putting customers at the centre of innovation
CEOs are placing a higher premium on innovation today. Since 2007, business leaders have consistently reported that their single best opportunity for growth lay in better penetration of their existing markets. Now they’re just as likely to focus on the innovation needed for new products and services (see Figure 5). It’s high on the agenda in virtually all industries, including industrial sectors such as metals, chemicals and manufacturing.
2011
14th Annual global CEO Survey
PWC
Public mood monitoring
Example of Organizationsactive in the area: Open Utility/Essent (UK/Netherlands), Knowelsys (China).
2018
Table of disruptive technologies
Imperial College London
Public divided on prospects for the next generation
Even in some places where views of economic conditions have improved, there is pessimism when it comes to the financial future of the next generation. About half of people (52%) in Germany, 58% of Americans and 72% of Japanese say that children today will grow up to be worse off financially than their parents were. Other countries where majorities hold this view include South Korea (55%), the United Kingdom (68%) and Australia, Canada and Spain (69% each). While views in countries with advanced economies tend to be pessimistic, opinions are more mixed in developing and emerging economies. Roughly three-quarters of people in India (76%) and Nigeria (72%) expect children today to be better off than their parents, as do 95% of people in Vietnam. On the other hand, after years of economic struggles, 51% of Venezuelans say children today will grow up to be worse off than their parents, up from just 21% in 2013.
2017
6 trends in international public opinion from our Global Indicators Database
Pew Research Center
Public discontent/disaffection and polarization
In western countries, risks such as undermined legitimacy of the government mandate, political impasse and the difficulty of implementing reforms and social polarization are likely to be increased.
2017
Strategic foresight analysis
NATO
Public dept
Public debt is expected to operate as a significant
constraint on fiscal and policy options through to 2030 and beyond. Governments’ ability to bring debt under control and find new ways of delivering public services will affect
their capacity to respond to major social, economic and environmental challenges.
2014
Future State 2030: The global megatrends shaping governments
KPMG
Protectionism
29% of responding CEOs answered that they were 'extremely concerned'
2018
Global CEO survey
PWC