Impact of New Technologies by 2030

The 2012 report, Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, published the US National Intelligence Council, four technology arenas will shape global economic, social and military developments by 2030.

Information technologies

Three technological developments with an IT focus have the power to change the way we will live, do business and protect ourselves before 2030.

1. Solutions for storage and processing large quantities of data, including "big data", will provide increased opportunities for governments and commercial organizations to "know" their customers better.

2. Social networking technologies help individual users to form online social networks with other users.

Automation and manufacturing technologies

1. Over 1.2 million industrial robots are already in daily operations round the world and there are increasing applications for non-industrial robots. The robotics could be hugely disruptive to the current global supply chain system and the traditional job allocations along supply chains.

2. 3D printing is been using already by many sectors to make models from plastics in sectors such as consumers products and the automobile and aerospace industries. By 2030, 3D printing is expected to replace conventional mass production.

3. Autonomous vehicles are mostly in use today in the military and for specific tasks e.g. in the mining industry. By 2030, autonomous vehicles could transform military operations, conflict resolution, transportation and geo-prospecting, while simultaneously presenting novel security risks that could be difficult to address.

Resource technologies

 Such advances can affect the food, water and energy nexus by improving agricultural productivity through a broad range of technologies including precision farming and genetically modified crops for food and fuel. Widespread communication technologies will make the potential effect of these technologies on the environment, climate and health well known to the increasingly educated populations.

Health technologies

Two sets of health technologies are highlighted below.

1. Readily available genetic testing will hasten disease diagnosis and help physicians decide on the optimal treatment for each patient. Organs replacement such as kidneys and livers could be further developed by 2030.

2. Human augmentation technologies, ranging from implants and prosthetic and powered exoskeleton to brains enhancements, could allow civilian and military people to work more effectively, and in environments that were previously inaccessible.

Conclusion

The US National Intelligence Council report asserts that "a shift in the technological center of gravity from West to East, which has already begun, almost certainly will continue as ideas, entrepreneurs, and capital from the developed world to the developing markets increase"

3D printing | Autonomous vehicles, big data | Impact of New Technologies | Impact of New Technologies by 2030 | Industrial robots | Information technologies