According to the 2012 report, Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, published by the US National Intelligence Council, four technology areas will shape global economic, social, and military developments by 2030. They are information technologies, technologies automation and manufacturing, resource technologies and health. technologies

information technology

Three IT-focused technological developments have the power to change the way we will live, do business and protect ourselves by 2030.

1. Solutions for storing and processing large amounts of data, including “big data”, will provide greater opportunities for governments and commercial organizations to better “know” their customers. The technology is here, but customers may object to the collection of so much data. In any case, these solutions are likely to herald an upcoming economic boom in North America.

2. Social networking technologies help individual users to form online social networks with other users. They are becoming part of the fabric of online existence, as major services integrate social features into everything else an individual can do online. Social networks enable useful and dangerous communications between diverse user groups and geopolitical boundaries.

3. Smart cities are urban environments that take advantage of information technology-based solutions to maximize economic productivity and quality of life for citizens, while minimizing resource consumption and environmental degradation.

Automation and manufacturing technologies.

As manufacturing has gone global over the past two decades, a global ecosystem of manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics companies has formed. New manufacturing and automation technologies have the potential to change work patterns in both developed and developing countries.

1. Robotics is used today in a variety of civil and military applications. More than 1.2 million industrial robots are already in daily operations around the world and there are more and more applications for non-industrial robots. The US military has thousands of robots on battlefields, home robots vacuum houses and mow lawns, and hospital robots patrol corridors and distribute supplies. Its use will increase in the coming years, and with enhanced cognitive abilities, robotics could be highly disruptive to the current global supply chain system and traditional work assignments along supply chains.

2. 3D printing (additive manufacturing) technologies allow a machine to build an object by adding one layer of material at a time. 3D printing is already in use to make models from plastics in sectors such as consumer products and the automotive and aerospace industries. By 2030, 3D printing could replace some of conventional mass production, particularly for short production runs or where mass customization is of high value.

3. Today, autonomous vehicles are mainly used in the military and for specific tasks, for example, in the mining industry. By 2030, autonomous vehicles could transform military operations, conflict resolution, transportation, and geoprospecting, while also presenting new security risks that could be difficult to address. At the consumer level, Google has been testing for the past few years a driverless because.

resource technologies

Technological advances will be required to accommodate the increasing demand for resources due to world population growth and economic advances in today’s underdeveloped countries. Such advances can affect the food, water and energy nexus by improving agricultural productivity through a wide range of technologies, including precision agriculture and genetically modified crops for food and fuel. New resource technologies can also improve water management through desalination and irrigation efficiency; and increase energy availability through improved oil and gas extraction and alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power and biofuels. Pervasive communication technologies will make the potential effect of these technologies on the environment, climate and health well known to increasingly educated populations.

health technologies

Two sets of health technologies are highlighted below.

1. Disease management will be more effective, more personalized, and less expensive through new enabling technologies such as diagnostic devices and pathogen detection. For example, molecular diagnostic devices will provide a rapid means of testing for both genetic and pathogenic diseases during surgeries. Readily available genetic tests will speed up disease diagnosis and help doctors decide the optimal treatment for each patient. Advances in regenerative medicine will almost certainly parallel these developments in diagnostic and treatment protocols. Replacement organs, such as kidneys and livers, could be developed by 2030. These new disease management technologies will increase the longevity and quality of life of the world’s aging populations.

2. Human augmentation technologies, ranging from implants and prosthetic and powered exoskeletons to brain enhancements, could allow civilians and military people to work more effectively and in environments that were previously inaccessible. Seniors can benefit from powered exoskeletons that assist wearers with simple walking and lifting activities, improving the health and quality of life for aging populations. Progress in human augmentation technologies will likely face moral and ethical challenges.

Conclusion

The US National Intelligence Council report states that “a shift in the technology center of gravity from West to East, which has already begun, will almost certainly continue as flows of companies, ideas, entrepreneurs, and capital from the developed world to the developing world increase markets. I’m not convinced that this change is going to happen “almost certainly”. While the East, particularly Asia, is likely to see the most technological applications, current innovations are mostly taking place in the West. And I don’t think it’s a safe bet that the center of gravity of technological innovation will shift east.