The 11 technologies of 2020 that will change the world
Each year, the MIT Technology Review lists the 10 recent technological innovations that have the potential to change the planet and society. On the menu for 2020: virtual currency, anti-aging drugs or the advent of the quantum computer.
Between climate disasters, cyber attacks and emerging diseases, the world has never seemed so threatening. Fortunately, technological progress is making great strides, as these 10 technologies selected by the MIT Technology Review in its 2020 edition show. See you in a few years to verify these predictions.
The secure quantum internet
Ransomeware, data theft, hacking of connected objects ... the Internet is under the threat of large-scale cyber attacks. "An Internet based on quantum physics will soon make it possible to secure communications," predicts the MIT Technology Review. Researchers from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands are thus working on a quantum Internet infrastructure where communications are encoded in the form of qubits and entangled in photons circulating in optical fibers, so as to make them impossible to decrypt without disrupting the network. The technology should be operational within 5 to 6 years for long distances and a worldwide network is possible by the end of the decade, according to the researchers.
For when ? 5 years
Hyper-personalized medicine
"Genetic medicine designed for a single patient makes it possible to treat diseases that were once incurable," says MIT. In 2019, little Mila Makovec, suffering from a rare and fatal genetic brain disease, was offered a treatment tailored to restore the function of the faulty gene. The development of such personalized drugs is made possible by rapid advances in sequencing and gene editing. However, they require large resources (one year of development in the case of Mila) and the mobilization of specialized teams. The question of cost therefore risks limiting the generalization of such drugs.
For when ? Already in progress
Virtual currency
It was believed that virtual currencies had fallen into oblivion with the collapse of Bitcoin in 2019. But Facebook's announcement of its Libra universal currency project in June raised the hopes of its supporters. Despite the flood of criticism and serial disclaimers (Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and eBay left ship without explanation), Libra has the capacity to become a nearly universal currency and independent of central banks thanks to the 2 billion Facebook users. Above all, it has initiated a movement on the part of all the major players in finance. The People's Bank of China has announced the creation of its own cyber-currency and the Banque de France has launched a call for projects for the first quarter of 2020 with a view to experimenting with a possible “digital euro”.
For when ? This year
Drugs that slow down or reverse cell aging or neurodegenerative diseases are under study. © VectorMine, Adobe Stock
Anti-aging drugs
Several treatments intended to slow down or reverse aging are currently in the trial phase. They block age-related cell senescence and reduce the inflammation responsible for the accumulation of toxic substances or degenerative pathologies, such as Alzheimer's, cancer or cardiovascular disease. In June 2019, the American start-up Unity Biotechnology, for example, launched a test of drugs against arthritis of the knee. Biotech Alkahest, for its part, promises to slow down cognitive loss by injecting components of young blood and researchers are testing rapamycin, an immunosuppressant, as an anti-aging treatment.
For when ? 5 years
Artificial intelligence to find new molecules
"It is estimated that there are 1,060 molecules that can give potential drugs, more than all the atoms in the solar system," announces MIT. This offers practically unlimited chemical possibilities ”. In order to explore this ocean of molecules, researchers are relying on artificial intelligence (AI), which will sift through molecules and put them in relation to potential targets, such as a protein or a cell receptor. In July 2019, an Australian team designed an influenza vaccine with an adjuvant designed by an algorithm. And, in February 2020, the company Insilico Medecine managed to develop a drug against fibrosis in just 46 days thanks to its AI, where the development of a classic drug takes up to 10 years.
For when ? 3 to 5 years
Megaconstellations of satellites
After 120 satellites launched last year, SpaceX plans to deploy up to 42,000 to create an Internet connection anywhere on the planet. The company is not the only one in the niche: OneWeb's constellation will include 600 satellites by 2022 and Amazon has announced that it wants to launch 3,236 satellites in low orbit to cover the white areas. All this thanks to the low cost of launching these nanosatellites which weigh barely a few kilos. However, deploying so many objects in space poses problems in terms of interference with other satellite services such as weather, increasing the risk of collision and disrupting astronomical observation.
For when ? Right now
Quantum supremacy
The advent of the quantum computer has been announced for more than 50 years. These machines, where the bits are replaced by qubits with superimposable states, are in theory much faster and more efficient, but hitherto suffered from decoherence problems. In October 2019, Google however announced that it had achieved quantum supremacy (superiority of a quantum computer compared to a conventional computer on a particular task) by performing in three minutes a calculation that would require around 10,000 years on a conventional supercomputer. A figure disputed by IBM, which estimates that a classic computer program could have solved it in just 2.5 days. Nevertheless, we are witnessing the take-off of the quantum computer, with major players such as Microsoft, D-Wave, Atos or the CEA who have all joined the race.
For when ? 5 to 10 years
Google announced in 2019 that it had achieved quantum supremacy with a computer with 53 qubits. © VectorMine, Adobe Stock
Miniature AI
The computing power needed to train artificial intelligence algorithms doubles every 3.4 months, according to a study by OpenAI. In addition, the supercomputers dedicated to these programs require enormous energy consumption. The digital giants are now working to miniaturize technology to make it accessible to the general public. Google Assistant and Siri thus integrate voice recognition systems on a smartphone chip. The AI is also invited in digital cameras, capable of automatically retouching a photo by removing an annoying detail or improving the contrast, for example. "Localized AI [rather than in the cloud] is better for privacy, since your data no longer needs to leave your device," says MIT.
For when ? Already now
Differential confidentiality
How to massively collect personal data without invading privacy? This is the whole challenge of the US Census Bureau, which will have to secure 330 million profiles for its 2020 census, so that it is impossible to identify each individual. To do this, it will inject “noise” into the database, in order to complicate any de-anonymization. This method called "differential confidentiality" is already used by Facebook and Apple to aggregate data without affecting the exact identity of people. This scrambling system is fundamental for many sectors using sensitive data, such as medical research.
For when ? Already now
Taking climate change into account
Until now, even experts have been reluctant to attribute this or that climate catastrophe to global warming. This is starting to change, and we are now able to model the exact role of climate change. This should notably enable insurers to anticipate and distribute the costs of floods, storms or droughts. The Caisse centrale de réassurance (CCR) in partnership with Météo France has thus calculated that the cost of claims should double by 2050, with climate change accounting for 20% of this increase. Thanks to detailed satellite data, it is also able to model a tsunami or predict how much water will rise during a flood.
For when ? Already now
According to Bill Gates, here are the 10 innovations that will change the world
Article by Céline Deluzarche published on 25/10/2020
Each year, the MIT Technology Review compiles its list of 10 innovations that can change the planet and society. This year, they were selected by a special guest: Bill Gates. We find in this list many subjects dear to the philanthropist through his foundation.
"There are two kinds of progress: those that increase the quantity of life and those that increase the quality of life," wrote Bill Gates in his introduction to MIT Technology Review magazine. In human history, we have first focused on the former. Now that our life expectancy has doubled since 1913, our attention is focused on the second ”. One does not exclude the other, of course. New drugs can thus save lives as well as improve the quality of people's lives. In his list, the billionaire cleverly places many startups in which he himself has invested or that he has helped with his Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. But that's normal: after all, when you invest in a company, you believe it has the potential to change society.
The new nuclear
Vilified by environmentalists, nuclear power is nevertheless an energy of the future, believes Bill Gates, who also supports several startups in this sector. But not “old school” nuclear power like that of EPRs: the billionaire is betting on small modular reactors (SMR), presenting much less financial and ecological risks, like those of NuScale. Research into nuclear fusion may also soon be successful, providing virtually unlimited zero-carbon energy.
For when ? Ten years.
Skillful robots
If today's robots are very good at performing repetitive tasks on an assembly line, they are not very agile at individually manipulating objects according to their shape or context as humans do. By combining visual recognition, deep learning algorithms and robotics, robots will, tomorrow, be able to do as well as them, hopes Bill Gates, who cites the example of Dactyl, a robotic "hand" developed by the OpenAI association.
For when ? Within 3 to 5 years.
The personalized cancer vaccine
With nearly 10 million deaths each year, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world after cardiovascular disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the hundreds of new therapeutic approaches, that of the German startup BioNTech caught the attention of Bill Gates. This young shoot detects mutations in cancer cells and uses patients' own immune systems to develop vaccines to target these mutations.
For when ? Under testing.
The endoscope pill
Haven't you heard of environmental enteropathy (EA)? This disease, which results in inflammation of the intestine and leads to malnutrition, causes retardation of growth and psychomotor development. Detectable only by endoscopy, it could be better diagnosed with an electronic pill to swallow that will inspect the intestine and perform biopsies. Developed by Guillermo Tearney, biologist and engineer at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, it can also be used to treat other pathologies, such as colon cancer.
For when ? First tests in 2019.
Swallow pills inspect the intestine for any abnormalities. © Gora, Michalina et al, Nature medicine, 2013
Meat without meat
In 2050, the planet will have 9.8 billion inhabitants who will consume 70% more meat than in 2005. However, the production of a kilogram of beef requires 70 times more surface, eight times more water and emits nine times more greenhouse gases than the production of one kilogram of soybeans. Cultivated in vitro with stem or plant-based cells, “fake” meat is therefore the subject of great ambitions on the part of startups such as Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods, in which Bill Gates has also invested.
For when ? Today for vegetable meat, 2020 for artificial meat.
Canadian startup Carbon Engineering captures atmospheric CO2 to transform it into biofuel. © Carbon Engineering, Facebook
Predict premature births
Fifteen million babies are born prematurely each year, one million of whom will die from complications, according to a report from around 50 organizations and universities. "Tomorrow, a simple blood test will determine whether a woman risks a premature labor," says Bill Gates. Stephen Quake, a researcher at Stanford University, has thus developed a test that detects the expression of certain genes in circulating RNA (outside cells) associated with a risk of premature birth. Mothers at risk could thus be identified and taken care of.
For when ? Within 5 years.
Smart voice assistants
Amazon Alexa, Siri, Google Home ... Connected speakers have been massively adopted in the United States, but their capacities remain quite limited for the moment. The deeper understanding of human language combined with the improvement of synthetic voices will soon make it possible to have a real conversation with voice assistants, assures Bill Gates, who notably cites the example of Google Duplex, capable of calling to make an appointment. you in your place.
For when ? Within 1 to 2 years.
10 promising technologies: from universal memory to Enviromatics
Internet-Actu article published on 05/09/2005
Like every year, the Technology Review takes stock of 10 promising technologies.
Among these, let us point out the airborne networks, which do not consist in making Internet from an airplane, but in radically transforming air traffic control. With this type of network, each aircraft transmits its identity, location and speed to the others thanks to a network formed by the aircraft themselves, somewhat on the principle of neighborhood networks (Mesh Networks): each aircraft being both antenna and network node.
Universal memory, which thanks to nanotechnology could allow us within 20 years to fit all existing DVDs in a laptop computer. Here, each bit of information is encoded, not by its electrical charge or the direction of the magnetic field, but by the physical orientation of nanoscale structures.
Mobile phone viruses, which unlock protections and dial unsolicited numbers. Since the creation of the first virus (Cabir worm) infecting phones last June and the many variants that have emerged since, concern has grown - although the epidemic for now is confined to the laboratories of antivirus experts.
Enviromatics (for environmental computing). If until now, information technology has been on the periphery of environmental studies, some experts believe that the trend is changing and becoming its core. The automatic collection of data thanks to network probes capable of monitoring ecosystems in real time, the standardization - via XML - which allows this data to exchange between them and the decreasing cost of computing power now give hope. for the environment, the same revolution that biology has known with bioinformatics. Real-time data from the oceans, the atmosphere and the earth allow the development of increasingly reliable tools, simulations, alerts and forecasts.
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