Technology Could Change The World By 2027, we will have reshaped the world in unprecedented ways, revolutionizing various sectors and fundamentally altering how we live, work, and interact. Advancements in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and biotechnology are expected to lead the charge. AI will become even more ingrained in daily life, powering autonomous vehicles, personalized medicine, and predictive analytics for businesses
- Innovation is important for maintaining economic growth and society’s well-being in the future.
- The Technology Pioneer community of the World Economic Forum is made up of international businesses in the early growth stages that are engaged in the creation, advancement, and application of novel technologies and innovations.
- The Forum honours a fresh group of trailblazers in technology each year and integrates them into its projects, events, and activities.
Technology Could Change The World By 2027 Both advancing economic growth and ensuring society’s future well-being are dependent on innovation, and these are two of the World Economic Forum’s top priorities. In 2000, the Forum established its Technology Pioneer community to help with these two pillars.
Technology Could Change The World By 2027 Early- to growth-stage businesses from all over the world that are designing, developing, and implementing cutting-edge technologies and innovations and are anticipated to make a big impact on business and society make up the community.
Technology Pioneers
The program’s objective is to provide upcoming innovators with a platform to address global concerns and a chance to help investigate emerging trends. The Forum honours a fresh group of technology pioneers every year and integrates them into its projects, events, and activities.
We surveyed the class of 2022 to find out how they thought technology would affect society over the next five years. Here are their predictions for our near-term future, ranging from the maturation of cutting-edge technologies like Web3 and quantum to managing flexible grids and on-demand manufacturing.
“Financial Inclusion: Access to Credit for Underserved Communities”
‘Gig-work’ is going to become the most common form of employment due to the global explosion in internet penetration and the growth of digital labour marketplaces or platforms. For low-skilled or blue-collar workers, who typically make up more than 80% of the labour force in developing nations, this change will have greater effects. Due to their low entry barriers, internet platforms in e-commerce, food delivery, ride-sharing, logistics, and other industries are opening up a plethora of job opportunities in nations where there aren’t enough low-skilled jobs for the population. Employees can maximize their earnings by engaging with multiple platforms concurrently.
Financial services will soon be integrated into the products offered by digital labour marketplaces, opening up credit to a large number of individuals who have previously been turned down by traditional financial institutions. Technology will eventually make financial discipline and stability possible without the need for people to acquire the necessary knowledge. Artificial intelligence and machine learning advisors will proliferate, continuously suggesting to us the next job, investment, or online course, thereby democratizing prosperity and financial security.
“The Web3 Revolution: Transforming Commerce Worldwide”
In a similar vein to how Web2 revolutionized information access, Web3 technologies are expected to have completely changed the business landscape by 2025. There will be an open, liquid digital market where physical and digital (phygital?) “things” will be listed and traded. The majority of information on the internet in its early years was restricted to private online networks. However, the single, searchable, open internet of information we have today is a result of consumer demand and zero marginal cost of distribution. It makes sense that commerce has taken longer to adapt. Trust is necessary to manage counterparties’ risk, settle disputes, and guarantee settlement when physical assets are exchanged.
This confidence is placed in reliable sellers or reliable middlemen. As a result, most e-commerce transactions take place within a single, closed, proprietary system. The emergence of Web3 technology makes it possible to tokenize physical asset commerce transactions into a common standard like NFTs and automate settlement through smart contracts. An ecosystem of decentralized “commerce Lego” protocols and applications will develop to create an open marketplace for goods where everyone can participate in the value they create, much as the “money Lego” applications of decentralized finance have started to unbundle traditional finance.
“Democratizing Data: Inclusivity and Affordability in the Industry”
Over the past ten years, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of data, or information, about the universe and ourselves. However, with such rapid expansion comes a plethora of concerns: among the most hotly debated topics among leaders and citizens alike are data privacy, management, access, and affordability. Who is the owner of my data? Does my phone track me? How much money do businesses get out of it? As businesses continue to gather our data, whether we pay them for it or not, and with or without our consent, these questions are becoming more and more important. Problems are still present in sectors such as finance.
“Shifting Focus: Prioritizing the Human Experience in the Future”
We will view our digital interactions of today in the same light as we view our carbon emissions of today—that is, in 2027. Social media has brought to light the dangers of technology created with humans out of mind, as well as how detrimental it is to our emotional and mental well-being. We’re lacking the humanity, intimacy, depth, and empathy that we eliminated from our relationships ten years ago. Genuine discussions, as opposed to widespread influence, are interactions that heighten our sense of unity with one another. We will be concentrating on the human experience in the future. The shift to the metaverse will involve a paradigm shift in sociology rather than technology. The ability to communicate our emotions through technologies like brain-computer interfaces and virtual and augmented reality will shape the metaverse.
Technology Could Change The World By 2027 In the virtual world, where safety, trust, and emotion become our most valuable commodities, we will rewrite social contracts. The platform experience will be decentralized in favour of the individual. We’ll send a comforting kiss across the ocean to our daughter. Our deceased grandmother’s hand will be in ours. We will always cherish those special times. Our human experience will be the focal point of our interactions with others.
“Sustainable Construction: Harnessing Battery Power for Progress”
Nearly 40% of CO2 emissions worldwide are attributed to the construction sector, largely to human urbanization. Around half a billion metric tons of CO2 are released annually as a result of the continued use of fossil fuels to power construction projects. Local air quality and worker health are adversely affected by fossil fuel-related noise and exhaust fumes. This is evolving quickly. Construction sites are utilizing battery energy storage systems (ESSs) that cut carbon emissions by 80%; the carbon from the electricity needed to recharge the ESSs makes up the remaining 20% of emissions.
Additionally, the commercialization of mobile construction machinery through electrification is rapidly approaching. The development of lithium-ion battery technology is the driving force behind all of this. Long-duration energy storage systems (ESSs) that require only weekly, monthly, or longer recharges in the future allow for the possibility of off-site recharging from solar or wind farms. Although there are several options available, including flow batteries, non-lithium-ion non-flow batteries, gravity-based ESSs, heat-based ESSs, and hydrogen, the world is still figuring out which technology base will work best for long-duration ESSs. Eventually, one or more of these options will win out. In summary, there is a lot of promise for the future of the way we construct cities.
“Adaptive Construction: Enhancing Human Wellness and Comfort”
90% of life is spent indoors, and buildings account for 50% of carbon emissions. Both their impact and the amount of building data that could be used to improve the lives of people and the environment are simply enormous. Buildings are becoming more automated and intelligent today, thanks to increasingly affordable sensors and control points. Properly networked smart buildings can use AI to optimize for optimal impact in response to various dynamics, including weather, equipment status, and occupancy. The majority of building systems are still operated manually, but this will completely change in the upcoming years. To minimize carbon emissions, support human wellness and comfort, and enable true metaverse applications for the built environment, buildings will dynamically respond and adjust.
Technology Could Change The World By 2027 The building industry will undergo a fundamental transformation, digital twins and 5G and 6G technology will emerge as important tools enabling new ways of assessing and optimizing value over the building lifecycle from design to construction into operations, and there will be a growing recognition that energy is not only a direct cost to portfolio holders but also a liability for those who are unable to keep up with new regulatory and ESG frameworks. These factors will drive this change.
“Grid Flexibility: Accelerating the Shift from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy”
Grid flexibility and the requirement for more dynamic interaction between energy supply and demand are two major obstacles in the way of a clean energy future. Flexible load will be essential as we increase the share of intermittent renewable energy sources in the power mix, like solar and wind, to guarantee that the grid can always supply demand. By 2025, market-driven software solutions that enable smart energy technologies, like EV chargers and heat pumps, to respond to real-time grid requirements in targeted areas will open the door to a significantly more digitalized, decarbonized, and resource-efficient future while optimizing asset owners’ profits and assisting the electric grid when needed most.
Technology Could Change The World By 2027 When combined, these dispersed energy sources can provide the flexibility required to accelerate the shift to clean energy and phase out fossil fuel-powered peaker plants that emit pollution.
People Will Eat More Nourishing Food
Rich and poor should have access to healthy, delicious food, but all too frequently, there is a huge gap between the two. However, the need for divergence is not innate to capitalism or the profit motive. Good news is on the way: healthy sugar and salt substitutes made possible by innovative processing techniques will soon make delicious food a widely available and affordable choice for all consumers. Because the price and flavour of nutritious food will be comparable to less healthful, traditional foods, people will consume more of it—even if they are unaware of it in some cases.
In the best of situations, production resources for dubious food ingredients (like high-fructose corn syrup) will be switched out for safer alternatives. Ultimately, a positive feedback loop will occur whereby worldwide decreases in healthcare expenses linked to diet will depress food prices, and worldwide relief from health-related distress will enable people to pursue innovative ideas that will benefit both the planet and humanity.
CBDC: Transforming the Financial Landscape
Over the next three to five years, one of the most significant disruptive effects is expected to come from a new digital version of a country’s fiat currency that is directly issued by the central bank or monetary authority of that country. We call this type of currency a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A CBDC that is powered by blockchain technology has the power to completely transform the financial sector, open the door to greater financial inclusion, and enhance the lives of billions of people worldwide by giving them access to low-cost financial services. A well-designed CBDC can support offline payments, shielded transfers, and automation across the programming layer and have properties similar to cash, mainly because of its architecture.
When combined, these features will improve the user’s financial inclusion by giving them options for those who are currently unbanked, giving them a digital cash substitute, and improving their ability to access their money even in remote locations. Cutting-edge payment networks will offer a point of entry for developing CBDC and connecting them to current payment networks, which encompass both conventional banking and alternative finance.
Supply Chain Intelligence Will Solve The Food Crisis
The global food crisis reached catastrophic proportions as a result of several decades of accelerating climate change, a pandemic, conflict, and broken supply chains that affected food production and distribution. Major producers of food, drinks, and consumer packaged goods will employ AI-driven supply chain technology by 2027 to anticipate disruptions in the future and take action before adverse weather conditions, labour disputes, and other events affect the world’s food supply. Businesses will have sophisticated insights revealing how future weather events will affect their suppliers, giving them plenty of time to find alternatives, so contingency plans won’t be required as frequently. They will restructure their product offerings, alter their buying patterns, and anticipate spikes in commodity availability to keep shelves stocked. Food waste and spoilage in transit won’t be an issue any longer because of manufacturers.
Technology Could Change the World By 2027: Road and port closures will no longer cause delays in the delivery of food to isolated areas that most need it. Companies will be able to move from reactive response to proactive action thanks to predictive supply chain technology, which will keep store shelves stocked and food flowing globally.
AI Will Reinvent How We Think About Education
The needs of the industrial revolution led to the creation of the traditional education system, which was developed almost 200 years ago but is no longer effective. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations now encompass the needs of the entire world. However, the World Economic Forum has identified 21st-century skills that will meet these demands. The younger generation is already driven to co-create solutions to global issues and bring about a more compassionate society. The advancement of technology presents a fantastic opportunity for all children to acquire the knowledge and abilities needed to address these issues and create better futures.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will be utilized to comprehend kids’ interests and recommend the next educational step for them. Additionally, AI will provide their parents and teachers with insights and transform them into mentors. Children can already access the greatest specialists online, enhancing education and lowering disparities. All kids will be capable of ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration in an economical manner. They will innovate and raise global standards of living in this way.
