New Delhi: Privacy-enhancing technologies, elastocalorics as sustainable cooling solutions and livestock feed sources from single-cell proteins were listed on Tuesday among the top 10 emerging technologies for addressing global challenges. AI-powered scientific discovery, carbon-capturing microbes, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces and high-altitude platform stations were also featured in the annual list published by the World Economic Forum.
The WEF said these top 10 emerging technologies focus on applications in health, communication, infrastructure and sustainability. The annual list, which identifies breakthroughs impacting societies and economies within 3-5 years, also included integrated sensing and communication, immersive technology for the built world and genomics for transplants.
"Organisations make better choices when they understand the factors shaping the future. The report identifies technologies poised to significantly influence societies and economies," WEF Managing Director and Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Jeremy Jurgens said.
"It also spotlights technologies with immense potential for revolutionising connectivity, addressing the urgent challenges of climate change and driving innovation across various fields," he added. The technologies featured in the report, produced in collaboration with Frontiers, were identified through a rigorous selection process involving over 300 world-leading academics and experts, including from the Frontiers network worldwide.
The WEF said that while artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in research for many years, advances in deep learning, generative AI, and foundation models are revolutionising scientific discovery. It added that AI will enable researchers to make unprecedented connections and advancements in understanding diseases, proposing new materials, and enhancing knowledge of the human body and mind. On reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, it said these innovative surfaces turn
ordinary walls and surfaces into intelligent components for wireless communication while enhancing energy efficiency in wireless networks. On high-altitude platform stations, it said using aircraft, blimps and balloons, these systems can extend mobile network access to remote regions, helping bridge the digital divide for over 2.6 billion people worldwide.
On integrated sensing and communication, the report said the advent of 6G networks facilitates simultaneous data collection (sensing) and transmission (communication). On elastocalorics, the report said, "As global temperatures rise, the need for cooling solutions is set to soar. Offering higher efficiency and lower energy use, elastocalorics release and absorb heat under mechanical stress, presenting a sustainable alternative to current technologies. On carbon-capturing microbes, it said engineered organisms convert emissions into valuable products like biofuels, providing a promising approach to mitigating climate change. About alternative livestock feeds, it said protein feeds for livestock sourced from single-cell proteins, algae and food waste could offer a sustainable solution for the agricultural industry. On genomics for transplants, it said the successful implantation of genetically engineered organs into a human marks a significant advancement in healthcare, offering hope to millions awaiting transplants.
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