The Top 5 Most Disruptive Technologies of the Next Decade (Part 2)
This is a part 2 in the “Top 5 most disruptive technologies of the next decade” series. In the previous one, I talked about how technologies like wireless charging, autonomous cars, AR/VR, Internet of Things and 3D printing are going to help change the world.
While these are certainly among the cutting edge, they do not complete the list of the technologies that will reshape our world in the coming decade.
There is a lot more going on which will have a direct and indirect impact in the way we live and work. Today, I am going to talk about 5 more ultra revolutionary technologies that are changing the world as we know it.
1. Genetic Engineering
DNA is the code of life and when you have the ability to modify the code of life itself, you cannot even imagine the kind of power that is and the possibilities it opens up.
In the recent times, thanks to CRISPR, genetic engineering has become a lot easier, cost effective, time saving and experts believe that we are on the verge of a DNA revolution, with infinite possibilities at our disposal.
CRISPR powered genetic engineering will help us gain immunity from a number of diseases and even cure conditions like blindness. Not only that, we might also be able to enhance ourselves in various ways, almost giving ourselves superhuman abilities.
The magic of CRISPR is not limited to the human species only. We have the ability to genetically engineer insects, animals, birds and even plants to make them more suitable to our needs and wants. We are already witnessing a great deal of application in this field and things have only just started.
2. Blockchain
Blockchain technology may not sound too sci-fi like or even revolutionary for that matter but you should never judge a book by its cover or in this case, a technology by its word.
As the world is increasingly doing things online, there has been a need of recording every transaction, every important transmission of information in a way that is incorruptible, verifiable and which can stand the test of time. Blockchain is the ultimate answer.
Blockchain technology has its application in cryptocurrencies, decentralised social media, global payments, asset ledgers, financial transactions and virtually across any type of digital records.
In the coming decade, we will begin to see blockchain being adopted by major businesses and governments all over the world and it will literally explode into the mainstream.
3. Drone Technology
Since last year, drones have really gone mainstream and it seems like they are being adopted for more and more applications and yet their full potential is still not realised.
In the coming decade, drones will literally be everywhere. These unmanned aerial vehicles come in all shapes and sizes and that makes them useful for all sorts of tasks like security for example.
Amazon has been trying to make drone delivery a reality where a product could be delivered to your house within a few hours of your ordering it. Drones will also increasingly be used for search and rescue missions in disaster prone areas. Not only that, drones could also serve as futuristic ambulances, wherein patients could be flown to hospitals quickly saving time and life.
Drones will also play a huge role in agriculture, enabling farmers to make efficient use of their resources by monitoring crop health, yield, pests and lots of other things. They are already being used to plant trees by shooting seeds from the air in large deforested areas! The next decade could see this happen globally.
4. Quantum Computing
The computer will go down in history as one of the most important innovations of humanity. The world we live in today has largely been made possible because of computers. I believe that there is not one sphere of life untouched by computers.
If computers were revolutionary, just imagine what a Computer 2.0 will be like. I am talking, of course, about quantum computing. Basically, quantum computers are those that work on the principles of quantum physics rather than classical physics, making them much faster. How fast? Well…. millions of times faster!
Quantum computing will probably touch everything that we do today just as computers already are doing. The way we do business, the way we predict climatic conditions, run simulations, perform massive calculations, advancing sciences and everything in between.
The most complex calculations today for a classical computer will be a piece of cake for a quantum computer. So, we will see things like weather forecast get more accurate, artificial intelligence become more intelligent, online security become more secure and basically everything that we already do become faster and more empowered.
5. Artificial Intelligence
AI, though still in its infancy, has already managed to achieve so much that it makes one think what it will achieve when it is developed for years to come. In fact, AI is now capable of rewriting its own code to make itself more intelligent!
You may already be aware that Google’s AlphaGo beat the world champion in a popular board game called Go. In fact, AI has now beaten humans in many video games and this just shows the capability it already has.
Also, there is an AI lawyer called Ross that is actually doing legal work. In the coming decades, we will begin to hear more instances of AI taking over the jobs of humans in many different fields, especially in the field of finance where AI will be able to take much better decisions based on complex algorithms.
Perhaps one of the most important and sci-fi like ability of AI will be to help us humans make scientific discoveries and inventions. I don’t know if this will happen in decade to come, but one day, AI will be able to make all our scientific discoveries all by itself!
All images used are from the public domain.
I think VR will defently be the most revolutionary in the near future (5-10 years). I'm talking Sword Art Online and Ready Player One type of shit. Where most people are in VR most of the time. Maybe whilst in such a complex and powerfull machine we could dilute time and therefore live a lot longer (inside VR).
I was hoping the Oculus would take off, but they just had to drop the price yet again.
I don't see how you get VR adoption in 5 years with the current average system tech level. Where does the CPU/GPU horsepower come from, and what is the product? I don't think Oculus/Vive are proving themselves.
I think with companies like Apple and Microsoft entering the scene, the development in AR and VR will be much faster now. We will see that in 5 years, this will finally start to go mainstream.
Do you think it's practical for mid-grade, or maybe even onboard graphics, to run VR in the near future? If it could run on a near toaster, by PC standards, that would help a lot.
With custom made chips for AR/VR, it is very possible. With the ability to make processors at 7nm technology now, and 5nm in the coming years, I think it will be a big possibility. The only bottleneck I see is of battery life which could be solved with distance wireless charging which is about to see an introduction too.
Yes, it is one of the revolutionary technologies that is set to change a lot of things. I actually wrote about it in the Part 1 of this post. Do check it out!
I would suggest a part 3 article with: what should we learn and change now in order to adapt to (and even create) this disruptive technologies.
haha yeah, that's a great idea. But we can also never foresee the kind of changes these kind of tech will bring, let alone know in advance how to adapt to them. hehe
Great post! AI has to be number 1 for me. Simply because it applies to everything! Drones learning where and how to fly, self-driving cars getting better at driving etc.
For me, satellite data paired with AI has to be in a top 10.
Don't want to come across as self promoting, but I literally just published my article on 3 Amazing & Disruptive things we can now do with Satellites #1, so found it relevant to share.
Not sure if you are familiar with what we are now starting to do with satellite imagery and machine learning but it is pretty huge. As we retrieve a new image of every inch of our planet, every day, and are able to use image recognition and machine learning algorithms to extract different information, that is then paired with secondary data to produce predictive models and other applications.
Curious as to what you think of it yourself.
Yeah, AI is really a BIG one and if/when quantum computers become reality, they are really going to put AI into steroid mode. hah!
It's the first time I'm hearing about satellite data being paired with AI. That's so cool! I can only imagine what AI will be able to do with so many images that are taken daily with the satellites. Also, thank you for linking your post here. There is so much good content right now that it is easy to miss a lot of awesome posts like that. I really learned a lot from your post and was wowed!
I think that what we are able to do now with satellites is going to be disruptive on its own when this tech will be used globally. Think about the money everyone will be saving and even the danger to life that we can avoid beforehand let alone have it be in risk in the first place. Good god, so much great stuff happening :D
I cant wait to see drone technology be used more especially for deliveries! It would be really cool to just see huge swarms of drones in the sky. I actually found a website that lists out tons of different future uses for drones here.
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Thank you for posting - interesting site on drones!
yeah, it would be like ordering a pizza now. Just order any thing and have it at your home within a couple of hours. How cool would that be? :D
@queeneleanor I forgot drones. I got 3/5 right
How about self-driving cars? I think they are more amazing than drones. Ofc, people don't realize how fast they are coming. Within 10 years 20% of the cars will be self-driving cars. At least if you believe those who are inventing the technology. There are already Teslas on the road, but ofc, they still need some adjusting. But we're close, really close.
That might fall under the AI category.
I have already written about self-driving cars in the Part of this post. Do check it out :)
Yes, they are already here and I believe that they are about to go mainstream within 5 years.
Oh right, I did not realize this was part 2. Similar thoughts in your other post, I see.
Whats up @sauravrungta I just followed and up voted. Hope you will stay with me & follow me.
Hey, thanks for the follow! :)
How about electric cars?
I wrote about self driving cars in the Part 1 of this post. While not exactly under the category of 'electric cars', it is important to note that any self driving car being developed will be electric.
I couldn't agree more, these technologies are changing our lives as we speak. I think it's crazy how many people have no idea that many of these technologies even exist.
yeah, exactly. It's crazy! Most people only come to know about a cutting edge tech when it is presented in the form of a product that they can use in their daily lives.
cool list, Id like to add one more technology : generative design.
This new technology will forever change the way we create physical objects:
Yes, that looks very promising and revolutionary, but it is more of a combination of several techs coming together like 3D printing, computer algorithm and so on.