IN June 2020, in the midst of restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Economic Forum (WEF), whose mission is to improve the state of the world, featured 17 ways technology could change the world in the next five years. They expressed the views of technology pioneers as part of the WEF’s Pioneers of Change Summit. Briefly, here are the predicted changes in what was, at the time, “our near-term future,” which, for us now, will be the immediate future in the year 2025.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-optimized manufacturing. Companies will adopt cloud-based technologies to intelligently transform product and process data from manufacturing lines throughout their supply chains.
Comprehensive energy transformation. Public concern will impact government policy and individual behavioral changes in finding the quickest and most affordable ways to reduce carbon footprint.
A new era of computing. By 2025, the first generation of commercial quantum computing devices will be able to tackle meaningful, real-world problems like simulation of complex chemical reactions to open up new frontiers in drug development.
Health care paradigm shift to prevention. More preventative approaches in health care will be based on scientific breakthroughs behind the health benefits of plant-rich, nutrient-dense diets enabled by AI-powered systems and biology-based technology.
5G to enhance the global economy. With 5G networks in place, tied directly into autonomous bots, goods would be delivered safely within hours.
A new stage in cancer care. Empowered by technology-driven data, medical practitioners will better manage cancer like any chronic health condition with improved diagnostic innovation, such as enhanced genome sequencing technology or in liquid biopsy.
Robotic retail. A new robotics application called “micro-fulfillment” will allow retailers to unlock broader access to food and a better customer proposition to consumers at large in terms of speed of delivery, product availability and cost.
Blurring of physical and virtual spaces. Progress will be made with AI technology to connect people at a human level and drive them closer to each other, even when they’re apart physically.
Placing individuals at the heart of health care. Engineering biology, machine learning, and the sharing economy will establish a framework for decentralizing the health care continuum so fewer infected people will leave their homes for treatment and help decrease the burden on health care systems.
The future of construction. A synchronized sequence of manufacturing processes, delivering control, change and production at scale, will result in a safer, faster and more cost-effective way to build homes, offices, factories, and other structures in cities and beyond.
Massive CO2 removal facilities to reverse climate change. A scale-up of negative emission technologies, such as carbon dioxide removal, will remove climate-relevant amounts of CO2 from the air as humanity will do its share to stop emitting more carbon into the atmosphere.
A new era in medicine. AI will enable experts to extract unprecedented insights from all the medical “big data” to dramatically shift the world of medicine and how it is practiced.
Closing the wealth gap. Artificial intelligence is improving at such a speed that the wealth creation strategies employed by financial advisors will be accessible via technology and, therefore, affordable for the masses.
A clean energy revolution. A global innovation in the renewable energy ecosystem will provide an environment in which problems can be addressed collectively and allow for the deployment of innovation to be scaled rapidly.
Understanding microscopic secrets. Technology that accelerates the ability to rapidly sample, digitalize and interpret microbiome data will not only avoid and respond to pandemics but will also influence the design, operation and cleaning of such environments as buildings, cars, subways and planes in support of economic activity without sacrificing public health.
New technology in decarbonization of industries. As a result of increasing digital transformation, carbon-heavy sectors will be able to utilize advanced technologies, like AI and machine learning, tapping into real-time, high-fidelity data from billions of connected devices to efficiently and proactively reduce harmful emissions and decrease carbon footprints.
Privacy is prioritized. Five years from now, privacy and data-centric security will have reached commodity status, whereby the ability of consumers to protect and control sensitive data assets will be viewed as the rule rather than the exception.
Among the participants in WEF’s Pioneers of Change Summit in 2020 were Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, chief executive and founder of Instrumental; Steve Oldham, chief executive of Carbon Engineering; Sizhen Wang, chief executive of Genetron Health; Jessica Green, co-founder and chief executive of Phylagen; and Robert Piconi, chief executive of Energy Vault.
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