Trends Identified
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) involves giving machines such traits as reasoning, planning, learning, communication and perception, and the ability to move and manipulate objects. AI is in wide use today: in Apple’s Siri for voice recognition, Google’s text and image search functions, Facebook’s facial recognition capability, NASA’s rovers, and algorithmic stock trading. Currently, however, AI is task-specific. The
next step is for researchers and computer scientists to advance AI so that computers can learn general knowledge that can be used to enable them to work in new situations, or respond better to the user’s contexts and mood. AI innovations are so ware-based, and are being incorporated into personal tools (e.g., smart phones, Google glasses) as new features, often at near-zero incremental cost. AI will make it possible to automate many tasks, greatly improving personal efficiency and productivity.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, opera on and application
of robots and related computer and control systems. Robots help with or take the place of humans
in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, and/or resemble humans in appearance, behaviour or cognition. Increasingly, robots are designed to act in roles complementary to humans.
Today, experimental robots can inventory stock, move loads, pick berries, do housework, perform elder care, sense remotely and create a virtual presence. As their AI improves, they will get smarter and more capable. Robot hardware is improving quickly; the challenge is the so ware – the intelligence behind the machine that allows it to function in a specific manner. Task-specific robots could do tasks as diverse as surgery, cooking and driving. Businesses will continue to be early adopters of robot technology, with home use following as prices decline and features become more competitive.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Manufacturing may be more local and efficient
When it comes to light manufacturing, synthetic biology and 3D printing have similar characteristics: they both support the local production of a “product” from a digital file using simple low-cost equipment; they enable very low-cost replica on of a small or large quantity; and they allow the user to easily experiment and customize the product. Currently, 3D printing uses close to 30 different materials with growing complexity (e.g., Boeing prints 22 000 different airline parts). Soon this will include clothes, many consumer goods and electronic gadgets, to name a few. Synthetic biology will likely produce liquids, solids and industrial chemicals for pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper
and building supplies and other goods yet to be imagined, in small or large quantities, and may produce raw materials on-site for local manufacturing plants.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Low-cost robots may level the playing field
Sensors, artificial intelligence and robots will reshape heavy manufacturing and are likely to have a leveling impact across both developed and developing economies. While developing countries may lose their low-cost labour advantage as advanced economies deploy an affordable AI-enabled robotic workforce, both economies will be able to deploy AI and increase the productivity of their low-skilled workers.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
New materials with new properties may stimulate innovation
New bio and nanomaterials are likely to launch a new era of product and process innovation. Their new properties are changing the size, at both ends of the scale, at which designers, engineers and architects can dream. Nanocomposites and other new materials – some as strong as steel and others so and supple – will improve the performance of manufactured products and support a wider range of 3D printed objects. Embedded sensors and digital tags within materials will enable tracking along the supply chain, offering improved transparency and monitoring of product life cycles.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Industrial processes become more environmental
Growing pressure on renewable and non-renewable resources, as well as public concern about the safety of new nano and biomaterials, will put greater emphasis on building “closed-loop systems.” In these systems, waste from one industry becomes the feedstock for another. Products may be designed to be safe and fully recyclable. Synthetic biology will enable industrial processes to mimic nature (e.g., enzymes can accelerate the decomposition of industrial waste into safe by-products and have commercial value), and nanotechnology will produce new goods with new properties at a smaller scale that may use far less resources. (For example, soon, a smart phone will contain 20 or 30 tiny nanosensors that collect biometric data.)
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
New kinds of services
The Canadian economy is dominated by the services sector, employing 78% of Canada’s workforce in 2012. Emerging technologies are likely to increase productivity, but may displace labour in both high- and low-skilled service jobs. Whole new employment and service opportunities are likely to emerge in areas such as professional and business-to-business services; care for aging populations; health care; culture and recreation; intangible products (concepts, designs, information, advice); and international trade-in-services.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Services increasingly customized to the individual
Sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) in print media, signs, and devices will mean that services can be increasingly tailored to the users’ interests by sensing their demographic information and recalling prior choices. Public spaces will be more interactive and able to offer pertinent information without the user navigating tedious menus. Repeat business is ensured by remembering past preferences. AI could remind a hairstylist how a person likes their hair cut, or what toppings they prefer at the burger joint. Means of gathering instant feedback around new experiences will also be useful; at the dentist, a brain-computer interface could verify the patient’s level of comfort. AI tutors could offer students personal attention and “gamify” learning goals (apply game techniques) to encourage progress.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Virtual, augmented and remote services will change the geography of services
It is likely that services typically conducted face-to-face will be increasingly performed online. Visits to a doctor or lawyer will likely start with a virtual pre-screening interview; the visit itself may also be virtual. In schools, each student may be equipped with a personal AI teacher who monitors their progress and advancement through content modules, with human teachers playing an oversight role. Augmented reality devices may enable travelers and tourists to explore, relax or do business without leaving home. “Telepresencing” (the sense of being in multiple locations at once) will allow users to choose the best service provider for their needs from anywhere in the world rather than the best one in their area.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Sustainable resource management and harvesting
The new technologies – particularly sensors, data analytics, AI, drones, robots and synthetic biology – could usher in a new era for the sustainable management and harvesting of forest and fish resources. Together, these tools could allow resource managers and government overseers to monitor ecosystem and resource health, to develop more ecological planting and harvesting strategies, and to quickly identify and implement targeted interventions. Being able to see the whole system would improve planning, investment and public accountability.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada