The “Next Big Thing” in Technology : 20 Inventions That Will Change the World
From 2022 to 2040(ish)
I wrote an article titled “I Compiled a List of Tech’s “Next Big Things” So You Wouldn’t Have to” in 2018. It has since been read over 50,000 times and shared more than 1,000 times on social media. As anyone reading it in the 2020s will notice, a lot of what was written then is now obsolete. It is thus necessary to write an update, highlighting the key technologies emerging today that will be all the rage in in 2022, 2025 and 2030s (click here for 2050 tech predictions).
Obviously, these dates should be taken with a grain of salt : predictions are wrong more often than not (check my 2020 tech predictions if you don’t believe me). They are often wrong because we tend to use history, which is at heart the study of surprises and changes, as a guide to the future. This should however not stop us from aiming to better understand the future of technology : the knowledge gained through planning is crucial to the selection of appropriate actions as future events unfold. We don’t know the answer, but we can at least ask useful questions and catalyse the conversation.
