When people talk about emerging and disruptive technologies, a lot of times it's focused on things like e-commerce, blockchain and self-driving cars. But there are other innovations that may be on the verge of changing our world even more deeply, yet get hardly any notice.
The World Economic Forum has released a report that ranks the world's top 10 emerging technologies, and the list goes well beyond just consumer-centric technologies, describing innovations in areas such as agriculture, medicine and chemistry that could have major global impacts.
The forum said that the technologies that made the top 10 not only are expected to have an impact on society and the world economy, but are also foreseen to "be disruptive [and] attractive to investors and researchers, and expected to have achieved considerable scale within five years."
The ranking was produced by an international steering committee of leading technology experts that solicited nominations from additional experts across the world, according to the World Economic Forum, which is a non-profit foundation in Geneva whose stated mission is "improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas."
“From income inequality to climate change, technology will play a critical role in finding solutions to many of the challenges our world faces today," Jeremy Jurgens, chief technology officer at the World Economic Forum, said in a prepared statement. "This year’s emerging technologies demonstrate the rapid pace of human innovation and offer a glimpse into what a sustainable, inclusive future will look like.”
10. Utility-Scale Storage Of Renewable Energy
Electricity generated by renewable sources such as the wind and sun has doubled in the U.S. over the past decade, which has created a demand for technologies that store energy in large quantities. Advancements in lithium-ion batteries are expected to meet much of the demand over the next five to 10 years, but better technologies are on the horizon, including hydrogen fuel cells, according to the report.
9. DNA Data Storage
We often take the optical and magnetic systems that store the world's digital data for granted, but they are not everlasting and only last for about a century. They also consume a large portion of the world's energy. "In short, we are about to have a serious data-storage problem that will only become more severe over time," the report said. A promising alternative is DNA-based data storage, which uses the same components as human chromosomes to store things like YouTube videos and Instgram photos. The technology uses little energy and, more importantly, it can last hundreds of thousands of years.
8. Safer Nuclear Reactors
Anyone who watched HBO's "Chernobyl" may have a hard time believing this, but new technologies are holding out the promise of foolproof nuclear reactors. Much of the focus has been on development of "so-called accident-tolerant fuels that are less likely to overheat—and, if they do, will produce very little or no [explosive] hydrogen," the report said. Such new fuels would also make reactors run more efficiently, making them even a better alternative to carbon-based fuels. "China reportedly intends to connect a demonstration helium-cooled reactor to its grid this year," the report said.
7. Advanced Food Tracking And Packaging
About 600 million people suffer food poisoning every year and 420,000 die as a result, according to the World Health Organization. Part of the problem is that when food poisoning happens, it can take investigators weeks to pinpoint the problems. New technologies, however, are working to make that process quicker. For example, blockchain technology, which forms the foundation of cybercurrencies such as Bitcoin, will gradually be used to track the flow of food and make it easier to find poisoned supplies. "Enhanced food packaging, meanwhile, is providing new ways to determine whether foods have been stored at proper temperatures and whether they might have begun to spoil," the report said.
6. Collaborative Telepresence
Virtual reality technologies are mostly associated with video games, but work is being done to apply the technology to business, medicine, academia and everyday life. The day may come when you'll be able to shake hands with someone halfway around the world. "Medical providers, for instance, will be able to work remotely with patients as if they were in the same room. And friends and families will be able to enjoy shared experiences, such as being together in a cosy room or touring a new city, even though they are not actually in the same place," the report said.
5. Smarter Fertilizers Can Reduce Environmental Contamination
It's no secret that the global demand for food is rising and that one of the ways farmers can increase their crop yields is with fertilizers. But standard fertizilation techniques are inefficient and damage the environment. "Fortunately, products that are more ecologically sound—controlled-release fertilizers—are available and becoming increasingly smart," the report said.
4. Disordered Proteins As Drug Targets
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are a class of protein that can malfunction and play a role in the onset of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Medical researchers have been unable to find ways to bring wayward IDPs under control, but that is gradually changing. "Scientists are using rigorous combinations of biophysics, computational power and a better understanding of the way that IDPs function to identify compounds that inhibit these proteins, and some have emerged as bona fide drug candidates," the report said. The research is expected to lead to drugs that can target the disordered proteins, which are now considered "undruggable."
3. Tiny Lenses For Miniature Devices
You may have noticed that over the past several decades, many technologies—most notably phones, computers and electronic components—have been steadily getting tinier. But that hasn't been the case for optical lenses. Traditional glass-cutting techniques have limited how far lenses can be shrunk, but new technologies hold promise for a new class of micro-lenses. "These lenses could allow for greater miniaturization of microscopes and other laboratory tools, as well as of consumer products, such as cameras, virtual reality headsets and optical sensors for the internet of things. And they could enhance the functionality of optical fibres," the report said.
2. Social Robots
While robots aren't new, new technologies are focusing on ways to make them act in more lifelike ways. Advances in AI have enabled designers to translate psychological and neuroscientific insights "into algorithms that allow robots to recognize voices, faces and emotions, interpret speech and gestures, respond appropriately to complex verbal and nonverbal cues, make eye contact, speak conversationally, and adapt to people’s needs by learning from feedback, rewards and criticisms," the report said.
1. Bioplastics For A Circular Economy
In 2014, industry generated 311 million metric tons—an amount expected to triple by 2050—and only 15 percent of it was recycled, leading to a multitude of environmental problems, according to the World Economic Forum. Breakthroughs in technology, however, will lead to the day when the world's plastics will be made from plants. "Biodegradable plastics can ease these problems, contributing to the goal of a “circular” plastic economy in which plastics derive from and are converted back to biomass," according to the report.
The full report can be viewed here.
