50 Emerging (Technology) Themes to watch out for in 2022
“The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.” - Author Unknown
This is the fourth year that I have curated smart soothsaying by others into a sort of list of lists. These lists started off as being technology-focused but as the years have passed, technology is infused more into our day to day than ever before. I also have a wider interest, so you'll find some not so technological inclusions on this list. You can review the themes for 2021,?2020?and?2019 and see how outlandish some predictions actually were while observing what the analysis foretold. And while small aberrations like a pandemic may render all of these predictions and trends useless, they at least give you a feel for what's being considered, planned and thought of as a path for the future.
There is no change in approach to curation from previous years. I have read through multiple reports as part of my self-education and curated from smarter soothsayers than myself to put together a list of 50 themes. Many of the themes are technology-led or technology-driven but some are just interesting themes that surprised me a little in our tech-infused society. Again, this list is not intended to be the obvious business drivers of the year, but things to watch out for that could affect your work or your business. It’s also intended to form a basis for further reading.
Please read the full reports where relevant. I have sought to only provide small snippets of the theme or quote from the relevant expert. There are links to the full reports and articles and I’d urge you to deep dive on the ones that interest you.?What I hope is that this list makes you ponder a little, makes you curious about the future, and perhaps moves you away from the status quo. And remember - predictions are just that - a forecast. They may be right, they may be wrong, but they are based on someone's inclination that something might be happening. No smoke without fire, I say.
I would love to hear about what I might have missed. Please add other themes, thoughts, discussion in the comments!
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Significant cultural shifts tend to start in a place—like Renaissance Florence, Vienna in the 1900s, and the Swinging Sixties in London. The location for the next one is the metaverse. It will affect how people experience art, music, movies and brands that take part in, (or at least mirror), the phenomenon. We can’t predict exactly what shape it will take, but we know it’s coming. For example, the original vision for the metaverse was one where a person could arrive with a single login, then meander around different places and activities. With over 200 companies creating their own unique entry points, that’s not becoming the reality. It might come later, or not at all. There’s work to be done to build bridges between platforms.?
2. Year of the Wearable (Redux)
Deloitte predicts that 320 million consumer health and wellness wearable devices will ship worldwide in 2022, rising to 440 million units by 2024. This follows the biggest increase in ownership of wearable devices, more than any other technology, in the UK in 2021. This comes as consumers are increasingly using smartwatches and fitness trackers alongside smartphones to track their health and wellbeing, with smart patches also becoming available off the shelf and via prescriptions.
3. Crypto Investing Goes Mainstream
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Established finance brands and fintech disruptors alike can be a bridge to the future of crypto. Part of that future means leaning into the changing profile of investors, and anticipating what the more “mainstream” audience might demand. Traditional payment companies that offer access and education will no doubt make the market more attractive for older investors, while the growing list of businesses accepting digital currencies can make the market feel safer and more stable.
4. VR workouts
Most people do not do enough exercise. Many would like to, but lack motivation. Virtual reality (VR) headsets let people play games and burn calories in the process, as they punch or slice oncoming shapes, or squat and shimmy to dodge obstacles. VR workouts became more popular during the pandemic as lockdowns closed gyms and a powerful, low-cost headset, the Oculus Quest 2, was released. An improved model and new fitness features are coming in 2022. And Supernatural, a highly regarded VR workout app available only in North America, may be released in Europe. Could the killer app for virtual reality be physical fitness?
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5. Ransomware, everywhere
The spike toward record ransomware attacks and data leaks in 2021 looks likely to spill over into the coming year. Cyber-extortion heists break into a victim's network to encrypt data, then demand a ransom, typically paid via cryptocurrency in exchange to unlock it. A confluence of factors has fueled the trend, including the booming value of cryptocurrencies, victims' willingness to pay and the difficulty authorities have in catching attackers. Cybersecurity company SonicWall wrote in late October: "With 495 million ransomware attacks logged by the company this year to date, 2021 will be the most costly and dangerous year on record." "When I think about 2022, the thing that's top of mind for me and for my colleagues continues to be ransomware. It's simply too lucrative," wrote Sandra Joyce, executive vice president and head of global intelligence at cybersecurity firm Mandiant.
6. Non-Alcoholic Goes Mainstream
In September 2021, the world famous model Bella Hadid got a new job, becoming co-founder of the adaptogenic non-alcoholic (NA) drinks brand Kin Euphorics. Though it’s unclear how someone can “co-found” a brand that’s already been available for four years, the development confirmed our suspicions that the next drinks category celebs will swarm to is the NA space. Actress Blake Lively was also active in this arena, launching the Betty Buzz line of premium cocktail mixers. “I don’t drink,” she notes on the brand’s website. “I know that’s odd coming from the wife of an infamous gin slinger.” With an increasing array of non-alcoholic spirits, wines, and beers, and sober curiosity entering the mainstream, expect more A-listers to join Hadid and Lively in either launching or buying NA drinks brands.
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7. From B2C to “all to all”
The customer-to-customer (C2C) economy – where customers connect with other customers to communicate or trade goods/services – has given rise to massive platform businesses, like Uber, Facebook, and Etsy. There is value in facilitating these interactions and transactions, and those platforms that can create a safe, easy way for customers to connect have seen enormous growth. Even if your business isn't a platform business, it's worth paying attention to this trend. There may be an opportunity to pivot to a platform model or introduce a new business built around a value-adding platform.
8. Privacy-Enhancing Computation?
Privacy-enhancing computation secures the processing of personal data in untrusted environments — which is increasingly critical due to evolving privacy and data protection laws as well as growing consumer concerns.
Privacy-enhancing computation utilizes a variety of privacy-protection techniques to allow value to be extracted from data while still meeting compliance requirements.
9. Space Races
2022 will be the first year in which more people go to space as paying passengers than government employees, carried aloft by rival space-tourism firms. China will finish its new space station. Film-makers are vying to make movies in zero-g. And NASA will crash a space probe into an asteroid, in a real-life mission that sounds like a Hollywood film.
10. Micro-moments and personalization
In this age of hyper individualization, people want to feel special. They expect brands to understand and respond to their individual needs. They want something that’s unique to them, not the mass marketing strategies of the past. To put it another way, your customers are craving a more meaningful connection with your brand.
And they want it fast. Today’s customers are time-poor and constantly bombarded with content, so they expect quick solutions. The challenge (and opportunity) for businesses is to pinpoint those exact moments when customers are looking for a specific thing (be it a product, information, or whatever) and then quickly give it to them. In fact, the window to give customers what they're looking for maybe just a few seconds – and this is what Google refers to as “micro-moments.”
11. Signalling status and identity through virtual ownership.
Humans have always had a tendency to acquire, revealing our style, status and identity through possessions – something psychologists call ‘the extended self’. In the digital age, consumers are divesting themselves of material possessions, either to de-clutter or to further sustainability efforts. In this context, the virtual economy is thriving. More consumers are buying, trading and flaunting digital assets such as virtual fashion, NFTs and cryptocurrency. The opportunities for brands are myriad; for example, luxury brands making their goods more accessible with digital versions can create loyal brand advocates who may become real-life customers down the line.?
12. The “emotion” choice filter.
When deciding what to buy, watch or eat, consumers will want to know what mood their choices will elicit. New apps and wearables could also help consumers identify their real-time emotional states – using data to power personal mood insights and recommendations on which activities to pair with the mood of the moment.
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13. AI Tutors
AI tutors in 2022 will be anything but basic. Google Cloud and Walden University in Minnesota recently developed a new AI tutoring platform that uses machine learning — in addition to an instructor’s competency assessments — to create personalized quizzes, assignments and course recommendations. Google’s AI platform is distinct from previous AI-enabled tutoring services because it integrates with existing infrastructure more easily. “As we continue to develop this tool, it will allow us to provide personalized instruction at scale to meet the needs and busy lives of adult learners,” Walden’s former Chief Transformation Officer Steven Tom said in a Google Cloud blog post. Walden plans on incorporating student feedback and conducting more testing before rolling out the AI-powered tutor to a larger group of students.??
14. The Pandemic’s Wake Drives Automation Trends
In 2022, Forrester predicts that existing process improvement platforms will converge and be challenged by new AI-led entrants; investment to address global worker shortages will be prioritized; and to address the future head on, enterprises will embrace an automation fabric to fuel extreme innovation: including New entrants and platform convergence will inhibit RPA growth by 10%; Thirty-five percent of service companies will introduce physical robot workers; five percent of the Fortune 500 will adopt automation fabric to fuel extreme innovation.These predictions are not only irreversible, but they will move us toward a new standard level of automation, visible to customers and the bottom line. To stand out, businesses must build on the lessons learned from the pandemic and drive automation to levels that will stretch their creativity and staff. The efforts will pay off for those with the mettle to achieve what most will not.
15. Vaccines for HIV and Malaria
The impressive success of coronavirus vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA) heralds a golden era of vaccine development. Moderna is developing an HIV vaccine based on the same mRNA technology used in its highly effective coronavirus vaccine. It entered early-stage clinical trials in 2021 and preliminary results are expected in 2022. BioNTech, joint-developer of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, is working on an mRNA vaccine for malaria, with clinical trials expected to start in 2022. Non-mRNA vaccines for HIV and malaria, developed at the University of Oxford, are also showing promise.
16. 3D-printed bone implants
For years, researchers have been developing techniques to create artificial organs using 3D printing of biological materials. The ultimate goal is to take a few cells from a patient and create fully functional organs for transplantation, thus doing away with long waiting-lists, testing for matches and the risk of rejection.
That goal is still some way off for fleshy organs. But bones are less tricky. Two startups, Particle3D and ADAM, hope to have 3D-printed bones available for human implantation in 2022. Both firms use calcium-based minerals to print their bones, which are made to measure based on patients’ CT scans. Particle3D’s trials in pigs and mice found that bone marrow and blood vessels grew into its implants within eight weeks. ADAM says its 3D-printed implants stimulate natural bone growth and gradually biodegrade, eventually being replaced by the patient’s bone tissue. If all goes well, researchers say 3D-printed blood vessels and heart valves are next.
17. Nike / Apple buy Peloton
COVID brought Peloton fame and fortune. Dead children and predators brought it to its knees. The stock is in free fall (-75% this year), and no dead cat bounce will save it. It will be purchased by a better managed company in 2022. There are two obvious candidates to acquire it: Nike is already the go-to brand for people who like sport, money, and like to show it — which is Peloton’s entire brand identity as I understand it. The company is also highly invested into experiences and community, but having a hard time organically creating anything resembling Peloton’s fanaticism. Such an acquisition could also help Nike find and attract new, well-off clients. Apple, on the other hand, knows premium and hardware better than anyone else in the world. The company is also increasingly getting into the business of health; this acquisition would help sell more Apple watches and further solidify the entire ecosystem within which Apple customers will soon be evolving (The Appleverse?). The brand is also highly trusted, which would help restore Peloton’s faltering image.
18. Merged Realities
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Given that video currently accounts for the majority of online consumer traffic, visuals are likely to be at the forefront when our physical and digital perceptions eventually do merge beyond the point of meaningful separation. The first such merged visual experience is projected by consumers to be in gaming: more than 7 in 10 respondents believe VR game worlds will look indistinguishable from physical reality by 2030. The physical and virtual realities will merge from both directions. On the one hand, digital objects will become part of physical reality; for example, 7 in 10 foresee AR glasses that allow you to place digital objects anywhere in such high quality that they look completely real. Meanwhile, physical reality will become as transient as digital data, with 56 percent expecting that AR glasses will let them see through walls or even whole buildings. However, glasses may not even be needed for merged reality; 68 percent believe holographic 3D displays for everything from handheld devices to billboards will be available by 2030.
19. The End of Anonymity
This year has seen a rapid expansion of Amazon’s just walk out shopping technology, where customers have to scan a QR code on their phone and identify themselves before even entering the store. Other retailers are also starting to introduce similar technologies. Even the move to digital payment is a sort of loss of anonymity; your bank statements will show where you have been shopping. Online dating is becoming less anonymous. To combat catfishing and fake accounts, Tinder introduced tools to let members prove their photos were genuine, and has just started to bring in a voluntary blue tick programme that will authenticate users. People still won’t know exactly who it is they have been matched to, but crucially someone within Tinder does, and this adds extra reassurance. Within social media Facebook has always pushed for real names, and other services like Apple’s Memojis and Snapchat’s Bitmojis encourage people to make their avatars recognisable likenesses of themselves. It is noticeable that when bad behaviour happens online, for example trolling, it is much more likely to be on the more anonymous channels. This year has seen a rapid expansion of Amazon’s just walk out shopping technology, where customers have to scan a QR code on their phone and identify themselves before even entering the store. Other retailers are also starting to introduce similar technologies. Even the move to digital payment is a sort of loss of anonymity; your bank statements will show where you have been shopping.
20. Digital Audio Ubiquity
Audio will continue to be one of the fastest-growing media behaviors, driven by digital audio. Consumers are increasing the number of music services they use, both paid and free. TikTok’s impact on music discovery will be profound. Social/live audio will become a mainstream behavior and social platforms and streaming services will follow Clubhouse’s lead. Podcasts will grow to reach 166M users in the U.S
21. Crypto/NFT/Blockchain Growth is Inevitable
In a recent post from Eric Peters at One River Capital, he argued that we live in a period of social upheaval, where young people are keen to invest in technologies that disrupt (and potentially bankrupt) older generations’ preferred institutions, while pushing investments that benefit themselves at the expense of the old guard. The best part about being young and broke, he says, is that “you have little to lose.” That’s especially true when younger people view legacy institutions as exploitative. DeFi offers savers 5% vs. Wall Street’s 0.5%. Non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) give creators monetization opportunities without Hollywood’s 50%+ rents. Open games and social graphs remove the 100% take rate from tech incumbents and eliminate deplatforming risks. I have 99% conviction that crypto will be an order of magnitude larger by 2030 because the user economics here are an order of magnitude more attractive. We’re at the brink of a total transformation of the global economy. One that’s bigger than mobile, and maybe even the internet itself.
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22. Opt-in Ads
My growing contrarian view about the trend of privacy and opting out of ads (especially for the next generation, who tend to prefer transparency over privacy) is that artificial intelligence will make personalization so damn incredible that opting out will be the equivalent of using an old flip phone or going to a restaurant and getting served a random dish. We all want to be known, but the benefits must exceed costs. Getting served disturbing teeth whitening or weight-loss ads would make anyone opt out. And frankly, “ads” conjures up the era of annoying banner ads and pop-ups. But “personalized experiences” are the new advertising, and most of us would prefer it whether we admit it or not.
If you subscribe to my view that?technology at its best takes us back to the way things once were — but with less friction and at a far greater scale, then perhaps you’re agree: We want local restaurants to know our names and preferences. We want experiences catered to our tastes. We want online food markets to hide the food we’re allergic to. We want shoe stores to remember our size. We’ll want ai-driven immersive experiences to know us well, but not at the expense of our security and comfort. As always (at least in my mind), design is the solution. How do we build customer relationships through UX and policies and practices that let us hyper-personalize future experiences at scale without compromising trust? What new consumer-facing companies may emerge in a world where we WANT certain info about us to be known by everyone or a subset of people in this new world?
23. An ongoing Redefinition of Hybrid Education.
We can say with confidence that over the past couple of years, students worldwide have experienced a type of schooling that is unprecedented in scale, although e-learning has a longer history than most people think, extending as far back as 1982 when Western Behavioral Sciences Institute used computer conferencing to provide a distance education program for business executives. With the greater bandwidth, processor power, and video technology available by 2008, Khan Academy started offering free online education to students from kindergarten on up. Then in 2010 came online learning platform Udemy, followed in 2011 by the first of the MOOCs (massive open online courses) when Stanford University offered its introduction to AI. A whole lot more MOOCs and other online initiatives followed. And a whole lot of students and inquisitive people found that they could learn a lot without being in the same physical space as the teacher or even interacting in real time. Online education became a popular option but not a mainstream choice. Then came COVID-19. Eighteen months of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions have shifted online education from option to necessity. And that has raised the question: What is a school?? The pandemic has shown that for well-off students, online methods can deliver the curriculum elements of schooling pretty well. It has also shown that there are important elements of education that aren’t part of the curriculum. There is no doubt that the future of schools will be hybrid—online and offline. Already, a top-10 business school in the U.S. is offering a hybrid MBA. And there is also no doubt that schools all over the world will be experimenting to find what works. With global education and training expenditure forecast to reach at least $10 trillion by 2030, there are plenty of incentives to find winning approaches
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24. A workplace revolution
Even before Covid-19 the forces of technology, globalization and demographic shifts were challenging the ways companies were designed and run from the nature of work to the where and when work was done. The challenges that most managers face in getting people to return to the office is a symptom of a much deeper challenge which is their firms may not be designed for the reality of the future.? In a world of cloud-based computing, where companies are looking for agility, flexible costs and diverse talent and where most networking and relationship building and brainstorming takes place at off-sites, events and bars/restaurants which knowledge worker company starting in 2022 would ask people to return to offices x days a week?? Human interaction is often important but who said it must happen in the office? The office is going to be a museum where the artefacts of the company’s history, some senior curators and some training programs occur as part of a distributed unbundled workplace with most value and time being created in third places, events and in-home offices.
25. Using AI for DEI
The increasing amount of candidate data encourages advanced software solutions to power DEI-enabled recruiting. The $26bn online recruitment market1 is a vast universe of data with approximately over 770 million self-reported profiles just on LinkedIn2 and more than 2.5 billion multi-sourced profiles on People Data Labs3. Sourcing companies are now empowered to utilise the world of candidate data to create DEI-enabled analytics tools. With only 24% of tech workers being women in GAFAM4 (Google (Alphabet), Amazon, Facebook (Meta), Apple, and Microsoft), Big Tech and other male-dominated industries are looking to level the playing field by using predictive analytics alongside artificial intelligence- and machine learning-enabled software. To achieve DEI recruiting homogeneity, companies are seeking unbiased, blindfolded hiring methods. On average, candidates from marginalised cohorts list 16% fewer keywords than unmarginalised cohorts in their profiles5. Companies like Entelo are training in-house artificial intelligence capabilities to detect underrepresented candidates and predict underlying skillsets.
26. Marketing Through Connected TV
Connected TV will play an enormous role in 2022 for both businesses and consumers, and not just because of its growing popularity. Between data-driven targeting and advanced measurements, CTV has matured into a powerful medium to reach and engage with relevant consumers. Research by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that 60% of marketers said they were shifting ad dollars from broadcast TV to CTV in 2021; I’m only surprised the number isn’t higher.?
27. Increased Workplace Automation
The Internet of Things, AI and automation will help businesses fill gaps created by the labor shortage while optimizing staff. In retail and hospitality, this will take the form of self-serve kiosks, autonomous order fulfillment and AI-enabled drive-thrus, all freeing people up for higher-skilled roles. Adoption will continue to accelerate as the positive business impact of improved efficiency and staff morale is recognized.?
28. Integration Of Siloed Data
Seamless access across a global company’s multiple data silos will only get more difficult in 2022, as data volumes and sources continue to explode. Businesses will look for modern platforms and approaches, such as data fabrics, that bring the composable stack and distributed data together. Finding ways to integrate siloed data for actionable insights will be top of mind for businesses in 2022.?
29. Life Science Tech Momentum
The life science industry comprises pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environmental sciences, biomedicine, nutraceuticals, neuroscience, cell biology, and biophysics. Partially because of increased investments in mRNA vaccine technology and high-performance Covid-19 testing, 2021 has driven great innovation in life science technologies. Examples of this innovation include the mRNA-based vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and by Moderna. Recent Covid drug developments by Merck have also pushed the life science industry forward rapidly. Looking ahead, I expect we'll see strong movement in the several life science sectors, including advanced research; application of robotics technology; artificial intelligence (A.I.) tools; use of cloud technology; the improvement of drug testing speed; integration of genetic information; and usage of gene technology. I also foresee the development of personalized medicine through advancements in genetics technology. The startup 23andMe, for example, helps people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome.
30. From 5G to 6G and Satellite-Based Internet Usage
As remote working becomes commonplace, internet reliability becomes more vital than ever. The internet of things (IoT) makes the internet a more integral part of our lives, and developments at all network levels will continue to drive research and push the internet economy forward. According to Cisco's Visual Networking Index forecast update for 2018, there will be 1.4 billion more people using the internet by 2022, compared with 3.4 billion users in 2017. This equates to almost 60 percent of the global population, assuming a population of eight billion by 2022. By then, internet users are expected to consume 4.8 zettabytes of data per year, 11 times the amount of IP traffic generated in 2012, with 437 exabytes. While 5G may be in its infancy, we'll see an increased focus on 6G in 2022. China started research into 6G in 2018. By late 2020, the country had launched a satellite to test terahertz signal transmission. Huawei and ZTE were involved. The U.S. also started 6G research in 2018 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opening higher frequency spectrum for experimental use. A Next G Alliance was started in 2020, with companies on board including Apple, AT&T, and Google. Korea, Japan, and some European countries have started looking into 6G seriously, and we expect to see more announcements in 2022.
31. The Age of Self
Pre-trained language models will enable new applications and experiences composed with far less developer effort than before. We will see more people tweeting and blogging about low-code and no-code frameworks that reduce developer friction in creating complex AI-powered applications. The second trend is what I think of as the “age of self” in AI. Advances in AI self-awareness and autonomous self-learning, e.g. teachable AI, will enable end users to directly customize applications to their particular needs and preferences, to generate creative content, and perhaps even be pleasantly surprised by timely proactive suggestions and actions by AI assistants.
32. AI Cybersecurity
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The volume and sophisticated nature of security breaches is a top-level issue for C-suite leaders and boards of directors. It is paramount for technology providers to have real-time monitoring and remediation capabilities to match the sophistication of cyber predators. In 2022, technology organizations will leverage AI to overcome these challenges, including real-time traffic monitoring, automation and security process reinvention. AI will provide real-time analysis of nefarious traffic patterns, enabling immediate response and remediation. AI advances will emerge to alert technology providers when cloud security best practices are violated, taking measures to address them rapidly.
33. Robotic? Prevalence
We expect to see an increased use of robotics in everyday life during 2022. Usage will include the health care, agriculture, automotive, warehousing, and supply chain management sectors, and we will see more robotics-based automation that will continue to progress. The Covid-19 pandemic presents both problems and opportunities for robotics companies in the logistics and supermarket industries. Unexpected strains on supply systems and product shortages have highlighted the need for better supply chain efficiency. It's also become obvious that robots and automation provide a safe means for manufacturers to keep employees socially separated yet allow the business to continue operating. The use of robotics process automation (RPA) helps automate activities that are performed repeatedly; we expect RPA to grow in 2022 and become a standard technology for business. CIO reports that chief information officers are using RPA to free workers from boring, repetitive tasks and allow them to do more fulfilling work. Finally, we're seeing a rise in nanorobotics, tiny sensors with limited processing power. The first useful applications of these nano-machines may be in nanomedicine. Biological machines, for example, are used to identify and destroy cancer cells or deliver drugs.
34. Cyber AI
Security teams may soon be overwhelmed by the sheer volume, sophistication, and difficulty of detecting cyberattacks. Enterprise attack surfaces are expanding exponentially. The use of 5G is growing, along with the number of network-connected devices; remote work is gaining ground; and third-party attacks have become increasingly pernicious. It’s time to call for AI backup. Cyber AI can be a force multiplier that enables organizations not only to respond faster than their attackers can move but also to anticipate these moves and act in advance. AI can be expanded beyond established applications, such as using it to accelerate data analysis, identify anomalies, and detect threats. These emerging AI techniques can help human analysts focus on prevention and remediation, and developing a more proactive, resilient security posture. And as AI is adopted across the business, it can also be leveraged to help protect valuable AI resources and combat AI-powered attacks.
35. Potato is the new milk
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Move over oat, see you later soy and adieu almond. Potato milk is the plant-based, non-dairy milk alternative that’s going to steal the latte limelight in 2022. It’s already popular in ahead-of-the-game Sweden, and we’re predicting this is the year potato milk will go global. While it might sound like a carb-dodger's nightmare, the creamy liquid produced by heating and emulsifying humble spuds with rapeseed oil has a whole lot going for it. For a start, potato milk is low in saturated fat and sugar, cholesterol-free, has a calcium count equivalent to cow’s milk and doesn’t contain common allergens such as lactose, nuts or gluten. What’s more, it’s ecologically conscious and easier on the environment to produce than both almond and soy milk. And no, before you ask, it doesn’t taste of potatoes.
36. Vegan vacations
As veganism continues to grow in popularity, we’re speculating that vegan-forward holidays are set to fully assert themselves on the global travel scene, with post-pandemic travellers refusing to compromise on their healthy lifestyle even while on holiday. From companies offering all-new plant-focused eating tours of gastronomic giants – think Spain, Japan, Thailand and Italy – to luxury cruises where all the food and drink (including riffs on regional dishes) is served up from 100 per cent vegan kitchens, this area of the travel sector is going to boom. Websites promoting meat-free travel and offering recommendations for vegan-specific restaurants and accommodation will only become more comprehensive, and entirely vegan hotels serving up gourmet eating experiences aimed firmly at the plant curious, such as The Treehouse in Los Angeles and Scotland’s Saorsa 1875, will be joined by others.
37. Autonomic systems
AI businesses continue to transform, traditional programming or simple automation will not scale enough. A robot displays Covid-19 protection instructions at Expo 2020 Dubai. Autonomic systems are self-managing physical or software systems that learn from their environments. Unlike automated or even autonomous systems, autonomic systems can modify their own algorithms without an external software update, enabling them to rapidly adapt to new conditions in the field, much like humans can. “Autonomic behaviour has already made itself known through recent deployments in complex security environments, but in the longer term will become common in physical systems such as robots, drones, manufacturing machines and smart spaces,” said David Groombridge, research vice president at Gartner.
38. Hyperautomation
Hyperautomation is a process in which businesses automate as many tasks as possible using tools like AI, machine learning and robotics. It enables fast growth and business resilience by quickly finding, testing and automating as many processes as possible. Top-performing hyperautomation teams focus on three key priorities – improving the quality of work, speeding up business processes and enhancing the agility of decision-making, Mr Groombridge said. By 2022, nearly 45 per cent of repetitive work tasks will be automated and augmented by using digital co-workers, powered by AI and robotics, according to International Data Corporation.
39. Data companies continue to achieve astronomical growth.?
Software engineering best practices have begun to infuse data: data observability, specialization of different ETL layers, data exploration, and data security all thrived in 2021 and will continue as users stuff more data into databases and data lakehouses. Large software companies accelerated growth this year, despite their scale reinforcing the notion that users write data into systems but rarely delete it.
40. Biotech Cosmetics Mashups
Perhaps a less talked about trend on the horizon is that of biotech for the cosmetics sector. A growing number of companies are coupling the power of nature with cutting-edge biotechnology for healthier and more efficient cosmetics. Progress in genetic editing has opened the door to the production of synthetic ingredients that mimic natural ones. This could help protect natural resources that are typically exploited for this sector. In a further effort to green this industry, many players are moving away from petroleum-based ingredients to bio-massed derived ones. For example, the make-up company LAST (part of Global Bioenergies) makes its products long-lasting thanks to isododecane that is not derived from petroleum (as it usually is) but is obtained by fermenting plants. Biosurfactants are also on the rise, offering better alternatives to traditional foaming ingredients which can have a negative impact on skin health. The University of Manchester’s biotech spin-out Holiferm is among the startups striving to make biosurfactant cheaper and more efficient, having recently raised ￡6.8M to upscale production.
41. Hotter HealthTech & FemTech
If the pandemic has highlighted one thing, it is how vulnerable our healthcare services are to surges in illness or disease. The solution, according to many investors, is investment in new healthcare technologies. Investment in digital health solutions has jumped in 2021, fuelled by an increasing focus on wellness and a shift to virtual doctors' appointments during the pandemic. Keyvan Vakili, associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School, said health tech, including tech aimed at improving mental health, will likely be "one of the hottest sectors" next year. "The pandemic has brought into perspective many shortcomings in the current healthcare provision across the world and entrepreneurs have been fast to target these shortcomings with different creative ideas,” Vakili said. "The governments and healthcare providers have also become more receptive to these innovative healthcare solutions given the growing pressure on them."
Experts also expect continued interest in femtech - technology aimed at helping women through childbirth, menopause and menstrual cycles. Startups in this space are currently seeing a surge in investment after decades during which women’s health research fell to the bottom of the priority pile. Frost & Sullivan predicts the sector will grow to $50 billion by 2025.
42. Fintech dominates BNPL
Buy now, pay later — the online challenger to credit cards — has exploded in Britain during the pandemic, with over 5 million people using it to fund more than ￡2 billion in purchases in Britain alone, according to FCA research. Sweden’s Klarna has led the way but everyone seems to want a piece: Monzo launched its own BNPL product earlier this year, and Barclays recently launched its own version with Amazon. “The neobanks are likely to increase the speed of adoption of BNPL and other new financial products as they drive for profitability in the coming years. The increased growth of ‘buy now, pay later’ products (BNPL) is inevitable as fintechs attempt to engage younger customers.” Elsewhere in fintech, GlobalData is predicting a boom in so-called super apps, like China's WeChat or Revolut, that offer many services in one place. GlobalData's Amrit Dhami said the value of mobile wallet transactions is set to exceed $266 billion in the US alone next year.
43. Senior Smart Spaces
Over the next several years, we’ll see smart spaces come to life in a number of settings, but none with higher impact than elder care. It will be a combination of the simple tasks you would expect—from dimming lights, locking doors, and switching off the oven if someone forgets—to the more contextual and proactive things that technology can do: asking questions when normal living patterns diverge and enacting common sense solutions when necessary. It will result in taking better care of people, and in the case of an aging population, it means that we will create a new class of homes so people can actually stay at home.
44. Ethical Hacker Consultants
Large companies commonly offer cybersecurity 'bug bounties', (sometimes amounting to very material sums) to people who help them find previously undetected security flaws in software. Startups such as Bugcrowd and HackerOne have been fast to grow offerings. As AI has gathered pace, the idea of sourcing penetration testing from ethical hackers has shifted to the need to flag unforeseen algorithmic bias. Algorithmic bias has long been reported in hiring decisions, as has the fact that some facial recognition technology has a difficult time identifying Black people, and some credit scoring systems reflect class divisions along racial lines.?
45. Missing Chips
If you have had a long wait for a new car or PlayStation, then you have been at the sharp end of a global shortage of computer chips. It's been a major frustration for the technology industry in 2021. The pandemic disrupted the production of computer chips and caused shipping problems. Meanwhile, some electronics firms shut production lines that were only marginally profitable. But at the same time the demand for chips surged as consumers, stuck at home, bought electronic devices. The combination has created a severe shortage and analysts say there is no immediate solution. "Supply demand balance probably won't be coming back anytime soon, probably going well into 2022," says Wayne Lam, an analyst at CCS Insight.
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46. In Search of Web3 Applicability
Web3 is a technology in search of a breakout application. The name applies to a collection of blockchain-based technologies that support a more decentralised version of the web — one where users, rather than giant tech companies, would be in control.
The first uses have come in unexpected places. One is DeFi, or decentralised finance, where users interact directly with each other, with no financial intermediary involved. Another is non-fungible tokens — unique digital assets that touched off a booming new market in virtual art in 2021. The hunt for more mainstream uses of Web3 will preoccupy large parts of the tech industry in 2022.
47. Smart cars get hacked by smart chargers
The car industry as we know it is dead. Before long, electric vehicles will be in the majority, and politicians who know what’s good for them (and their children) will fast-track investments in fast/smart chargers throughout developed nations.
The issue with those chargers is that they carry information to ensure the battery isn’t harmed during charging. Now, I don’t know much about cyber-security, but I do know that if a device can carry harmless information from point A to point B, it’s possible to hack it.
In 2022, white/black hat hackers will show that it’s possible to get control of parts of a smart car by going through smart chargers. This will be patched, but it will make big waves, further slowing down the adoption of this much-needed innovation.
48. Big appetite for climate micro-degrees
Employees are not willing to wait for their companies to get climate friendly. They want to act, and they are impatient to learn how.? A shockwave has swept through the world of learning and altered how we conduct schooling, training, and upskilling. A merger between learning and work was already gradually becoming the norm before Covid-19 swept the globe, but with the pandemic forcing people into home offices and creating an increased need for digital skills, the two have now become virtually inseparable. And just as modern careers require people to upskill continuously, climate change will require people, businesses, and societies to adapt to lifelong learning on knowledge to create and foster greener ways of living and operating. Environmental policy and regulation will also push industries towards greater sustainability in 2022, increasing the demand for green job skills.
“As the immediate need for basic digital skills to cope with remote office operations seem to be covered, we anticipate a 2022 spike in the number of employees who will demand online courses and micro-degrees that will enable them to help tackle the biggest challenge our global community faces – climate change,” says Bj?rn Taale Sandberg, Head of Telenor Research.
49. The Anti-Covid
The biggest game-changer of 2022 will likely be antiviral pills. These promise to diminish hospitalisations and fatalities and already there are two encouraging candidates. Trials of the Merck pill suggest it cuts the risk of hospitalisation and death by 30 per cent. Meanwhile, the Pfizer pill appears to reduce hospitalisation and deaths among high-risk adults by 89 per cent. Both have applied to US regulators for authorisation and Merck’s pill has already been approved in the UK. Apart from pills, treatments are broadening. For example, the US Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program is supporting a range of therapies in development, such as antiviral pills, neutralising antibodies, and also immunomodulators that reduce the immune reaction to the virus and prevent it going into harmful overdrive.
50. Young Forever
Young forever, or for at least a lot longer. In 2022, a key breakthrough in biomedicine brings the prospect of extending productive adulthood and the average life expectancy by up to 25 years, prompting projected ethical, environmental and fiscal crises of epic proportions. In search of slowing the natural process of aging, researchers have been studying the processes at the centre of how we age from multiple angles and with a growing arsenal of advanced technologies, from therapeutics to “prime editing” at the DNA level. The year 2022 sees a major breakthrough from a multi-factor approach, as a cocktail of treatments is put together that tweaks cell-level processes in order to extend their life and thus the life of the organism composed of those cells. It’s not cheap, but it’s effective and has already been demonstrated on laboratory mice containing human DNA, extending their lives some 30% and more. The implication for humans is the possibility that average life expectancy can be extended by 25 years or more, and with it the incredible prospect in the future that age 80 will be the new 50. Not only that, but this future is open to older humans too as the new fountain of youth treatment can slow and even rejuvenate already old cells
Are there any themes that you feel should be on this list?
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AI & ML Product Manager
2 年Thanks for sharing this list. CC: GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Thanks, Rahim, great curated list !!!
Headhunter - Hiring for Africa, India, Emerging Markets. Recruitment and Executive Search. Family Council, Family Office, Board Advisor, Angel Investor, Family Business Consulting.
2 年Excellent list, well curated by you as always!
Thank you Rahim for sharing this list!
IT Resourcing & Recruitment for Benelux & UK | Founder of The Symposium: Syncing Tech with Philosophy | Security & Privacy ???♂?
2 年A comprehensive and insightful list. Thank you for taking the time!