WEF: Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2024
Innovation isn’t marching on; it’s sprinting. Don’t get left behind! 🚀
The World Economic Forum’s emerging technology report is guaranteed to have at least two or three mind-blowing technologies you’ve never heard of!
That’s why I love it.
However, the big question is whether the WEF is successful in its predictions. While hardly scientific, I quickly looked at their 2012 and 2013 reports and found that they got about eight out of ten technologies right.
What matters more than the accuracy of the WEF’s crystal ball is that we are all exposed to these new technologies.
If you’re like me and focus on Fintech and AI, it's easy to lose track of advances in other areas. Keeping an open mind to what’s going on in other fields is critical.
👉TAKEAWAYS
1. AI for scientific discovery pg. 8
You’re not surprised AI takes the top spot, are you?
Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) – such as deep learning, generative AI and other foundation models – enable scientists to make discoveries that would have been near-impossible otherwise and accelerate the rate of scientific discovery more broadly.
2. Privacy-enhancing technologies pg. 11
A key consideration for fintech!
Concerns around privacy, security and data sovereignty limit the degree to which high-value data can be shared and used nationally and globally. An emerging and powerful suite of technologies makes it possible to share and use sensitive data in ways that address these concerns. Techniques like synthetic data generation and homomorphic encryption are predicted to enable sharing and access to data while ensuring privacy.
3. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces pg. 14
Global demand for higher data rates, lower latency, and energy-efficient connectivity is skyrocketing. Akin to the idea of “smart mirrors”, RIS enables the precision focusing control of electromagnetic waves, reducing interference and the need for high transmission power. RIS is highly adaptive and can dynamically adjust configurations according to real-time demands.
4. High altitude platform stations pg. 17
High altitude platform stations (HAPS) operate at stratospheric altitudes, approximately 20 kilometres above Earth. Typically taking the form of balloons, airships, or fixed-wing aircraft, they offer a stable platform for observation and communication and can operate for months.
5. Integrated sensing and communication pg. 20
ISAC makes wireless networks environment-aware, enabling capabilities like localization, environment mapping and infrastructure monitoring. Examples of this include environmental monitoring systems that use sensors and data analytics to monitor air and water quality, soil moisture and weather conditions.
6. Immersive technology for the built world pg. 23
As major tech platforms search for utility in the metaverse, one industry stands poised for transformation: construction. Immersive and AI-driven immersive reality tools for the built world allow designers and construction professionals to check the congruence between the physical and digital.
7. Elastocalorics pg. 26
As global temperatures rise, the need for cooling solutions is set to soar. Elastocaloric heat pumps are an innovative technology that can drastically reduce the energy required for heating and cooling several times over.
8. Carbon-capturing microbes pg. 29
Amid the urgency of climate change, a silent revolution brews: microorganisms are being used to capture greenhouse gases from air or exhaust gases and convert them into high-value products.
9. Alternative livestock feeds pg. 32
Alternative livestock feeds offer sustainable solutions to address the growing demand for protein in animal agriculture. These feeds, sourced from insects, single-cell proteins, algae and food waste, provide viable alternatives to traditional ingredients like soy, maize and wheat.
10. Genomics for transplants pg. 35
Organ transplants save lives – but the need far outstrips the available donor pool. The ability to understand and precisely edit the genome, coupled with novel immunosuppressive drug regimens, has enabled the survival of nonhuman primates with life-supporting pig kidneys or hearts for periods now extending months or even years.
👊STRAIGHT TALK👊
WEF’s ability to predict the future may not be perfect, but a large number of this year’s entrants are already making the news so it would seem the WEF can’t be wrong.
The transplant of a genetically altered pig kidney into a human, AI in science, high-altitude platforms, and privacy-enhancing technologies are front-page news and it would seem that their futures are bright.
Others, like elasto-calorics, carbon-capturing microbes, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, are newer tech, so only time will tell if WEF got them right.
My only prediction for this report, which I am 100% certain of, is that the WEF's call for alternative feedstocks to include insects will be picked up by every anti-WEF protestor!
The WEF will rue the day it put that in this publication, or perhaps it enjoys the controversy!
What do you think?
Joining our community by subscribing. It will be an exciting journey down the rabbit hole to our future, and you’ll be glad you did!
Sponsor Cashless and reach a targeted audience of over 50,000 fintech and CBDC aficionados who would love to know more about what you do!
