Precision medicine has the potential to transform the entire healthcare industry with personalised and bespoke treatments, but at what cost? Genya Dana from WEF’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution discusses the impact of precision medicine and the opportunity it represents to remove life threatening diseases from humanity, while Jo Pisani, Partner, Strategy&, weighs scientific breakthroughs with some of the critical challenges precision medicine faces around data, trust and security.
For every person who benefits from taking one of the top 10 selling medical drugs in the US, between one in four and one in 25, depending on the drug - see no benefit whatsoever. Fortunately, there is a revolutionary solution at hand: precision medicine
Start-ups and industrial giants are racing to create new farm machines that will boost production and profits. Investment is booming in robots that can get rid of weeds, cut the use of pesticides and harvest crops, even if they still find it hard to pick fruit
Artificial Intelligence is accelerating more deeply into the business mainstream; David Lancefield from Strategy& explains why AI should be seen as a strategic opportunity as opposed to a tech experiment, and Kay Firth Butterfield from the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution discusses how it may help with human resources retention
Technological advances and innovations in data management could save the oil and gas industry $75bn a year by 2023. Along with cost savings, the increased production made possible by these new methods will push down oil prices, and help the industry fight back against the threat from renewable energy, battery storage and electric vehicles.
Digital Government means using the technology we associate with the fourth industrial revolution for the benefit of citizens. Daniel Burke, Partner, Strategy& Government and Health Industries, and Murat Sönmez, Head of Centre for the 4th Industrial Revolution, World Economic Forum, outline their vision for how to make the leap to digital
The Internet of Things is growing rapidly - by 2020 it is estimated there will be 50bn smart devices. But instead of using traditional forms of power, scientists are devising clever solutions such as harvesting energy from sunlight, vibrations and even ambient radio waves.
There are 2m industrial robots globally and that number is growing rapidly. The next step in their evolution is getting them to work together, rather than repeating a single task over and over. Industrial robot teams will lead to increased efficiency and production, but they bring challenges too.
Graphene is a two-dimensional form of carbon one molecule thick that was discovered in 2004. It’s incredibly thin, light and strong and has numerous potential applications. But creating reliable sources of clean water might be one of its most important uses. If superfine graphene mesh filters can be scaled up it could transform billions of lives.
Many patients forget to take their medicine, but as FT science commentator Anjana Ahuja explains, now there’s a pill that ‘knows’ when it’s been swallowed. It can send a time-stamped signal to the patient, and with consent, their doctor. It could be the next big thing in medicine, but just how secure is the information?
The ability to control the physical world with your mind has traditionally been focused on health care. Now, thanks to cutting-edge technology, these applications are transforming the way man and machine communicate on the factory floor.
Elon Musk hopes to revolutionise public transport with Hyperloop - a system capable of speeds of more than 1,200km per hour with zero emissions. Musk’s company Space X, are working round the clock testing all the key components of their pod, which they hope will propel them to victory.
Driverless cars will remain a niche proposition until the expensive sensor tech that enables them, Lidar, can be produced quickly and cheaply. Leslie Hook, the FT's San Francisco correspondent, reports.
Astronauts on a space station have started to 3D-print tools, creating a new frontier and new techniques for industry. They are exploring on-site manufacturing of space equipment, telecommunications and even medical uses, says FT industry reporter Michael Pooler.
Sweeping advances in manufacturing, transport and broadband capacity are creating waves of change across the globe. Now, technologies ranging from automatic people transporters to mind-controlled machines, are redefining industry and transforming the way we live.
Driverless cars and the hyperloop have dominated headlines, but the next big things could be flying cars and automated subterranean tunnels. Leslie Hook, the FT’s San Francisco correspondent examines the challenges that developers face in bringing their ideas to fruition.
Lithium is becoming increasingly crucial to battery supply chains in the growing electric vehicle market and battery producers are scrambling to secure access to raw materials. Now the global race is on to supply carmakers with the cheapest and most cost-efficient batteries, explains the FT’s commodities correspondent, Henry Sanderson.
The race for delivery drones is gathering speed. Walmart, Amazon, Uber and DHL are among the companies aiming to get items to people more quickly and cheaply, especially in traffic-congested cities. They’re testing various different methods of delivery, yet all face similar obstacles. These include noise pollution, terrorism concerns, inclement weather and the increasing risk of mid-air collisions.
Driven by technological advances, digital trade now accounts for $2.86tn of the global economy but with non-tariff barriers on the rise, is trust the missing link to fuel international trade? David Armstrong, Partner, Strategy& illustrates that whilst technology is an enabler to trade, trust is a clincher. Additionally, Richard Samans, Managing Director, Head of Policy and Institutional Impact, World Economic Forum discusses the need for much deeper and wider discussions between the business community and government officials to develop policies which promote trust and foster digital trade.
Computer vision is a hugely promising technology. It covers applications across dozens of industries ranging from medicine to self-driving cars and even shopping. There’s one small nation at this industry’s forefront: Israel. It has a significant advantage - a heavy concentration of engineers in a very small area, plus the experience built up through military applications of image analysis technology.
A new study by PwC shows distance not only affects trade of physical goods but also weighs heavily on internationally traded services. David Armstrong, Strategy& Partner and Head of International Development at PwC UK, explains why distance matters for services as much as it does for goods. Additionally, Richard Samans, Managing Director, and Head of Policy and Institutional Impact, at the World Economic Forum, argues that the digital economy is producing sweeping changes in areas such as manufacturing that are likely to boost exports of services.
Aeolus, the first satellite to measure wind speeds across the entire planet, was launched by the European Space Agency last year. Using advanced laser technology, it’s now providing the planet’s first global patterns of wind behaviour at different heights. This could improve weather forecasting, which in turn may save lives, along with billions of dollars due to increased productivity and reduced losses from damage.
The advent of 5G networks promises to transform how we live and work with increased connectivity and lightning data speeds, but who's set to benefit the most? Rolf Meakin, Partner, Strategy& shines a spotlight on some of the boosts that 5G will bring to industries such as health, manufacturing and agriculture, whilst Karime Kuri Tiscareno, Project Lead, IoT, Robotics and Smart Cities, World Economic Forum outlines how businesses, governments and civil society need to partner up to maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks of this new enhanced connectivity.
The transition to 5G requires a significant departure from the business-to-business and business-to-consumer models that telecom companies have relied upon to date; indeed partnerships are required across the board. Rolf Meakin, Partner, Strategy& and Karime Kuri Tiscareno, Project Lead, World Economic Forum discuss the need for network owners, governments and regulators to collaborate to unlock 5G’s transformational potential.
Compared with the rest of the global financial sector, insurance is behind the disruption curve. However, a seachange is imminent, and it offers remarkable returns for businesses prepared to think differently and digitally.
Christine Korwin-Szymanowska, Partner at Strategy& believes the global insurance industry is on the cusp of a seismic transformation, estimating the value of disruption coming to the UK insurance sector to be worth £30bn. Matthew Blake, Head of Financial and Monetary Systems at World Economic Forum warns that business leaders must stay ahead of these innovations or risk being left behind.
Shortages of natural rubber could be looming, but can we find a suitable replacement? Researchers are now trying to improve on some old ideas, which include extracting rubber from dandelion roots
Imagine a world in which there is a fridge-sized energy storage battery in the basement of your home, solar panels on your roof and an electric vehicle smart charger installed on your driveway – all connected to a device controlling the appliances in your home.
A group of more than 70 nations led by Australia, Japan and Singapore will on Friday announce plans to restart stalled World Trade Organisation talks to create a set of rules governing e-commerce and cross-border data flows, which have not been updated since the internet was in its infancy.
There is always a fundamental tension at the World Economic Forum in Davos about what business does, and what it says. Nowhere is this tension greater than in the conversation around Big Tech, and the challenges that “surveillance capitalism” poses to competition, privacy, and civil liberty, even as it enriches companies in not just the tech sector, but every industry.
Our world is heating up. As carbon emissions rise, scientists hope a new crop will help fight climate change by storing more carbon in its roots. These superplants should be available soon, and if widely used, could suck enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to curb global warming.
Autonomous vehicles have the potential to transform mobility completely, but with major roadblocks such as regulation and policy to overcome, how soon until they become ubiquitous on UK roads? Rich Parkin, Partner, Strategy& gives his prediction and discusses how this transport revolution will reduce the cost of mobility and significantly improve the lives of the socially excluded. Michelle Avary from WEF’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution also outlines the significant benefits of autonomous vehicle technology.
Whilst technology optimists hope automated vehicles will eliminate accidents and congestion at a stroke, other commentators point out emerging roadblocks: cost and the technological, social and regulatory challenges we need to overcome to ensure AVs do everything they are designed to do safely.
Space junk is a massive challenge for a fast-growing satellite industry. Even a fleck of paint can do serious damage. That’s why researchers are tackling the problem with chaser satellites, nets and even harpoons.
