AI tops World Economic Forum's list of top 10 emerging technologies of 2024

The report highlights AI's impact on research, particularly in health, enabling insights into diseases and materials.

The World Economic Forum released this year’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2024 report this week.

The Swiss-based think-tank’s report listed “artificial intelligence (AI) for scientific discovery” first, as advancements in AI have completely transformed research, specifically in health-related domains, enabling new insight into diseases, among other things.

The report put great emphasis on AI’s influence on researchers’ understanding of new materials and knowledge of the human body.

“Privacy-enhancing technologies,” which are digital tools and principles for protecting user data, came in second, as they have enabled secure data sharing, which has been helpful in medical research through “synthetic data.”

New surface technology converting ordinary walls into surfaces embedded with wireless communication components, which is called “reconfigurable intelligent surfaces,” was listed third.

“High-altitude platform stations,” which are systems such as aircraft and balloons used to widen mobile network access to remote regions, came in fourth, as the report said that this technology helped bring some 2.6 billion people together worldwide.

The advent of 6G networks enabling simultaneous data sensing and transmission, which is called “integrated sensing and communication,” was listed fifth. The 6G networks allow for monitoring systems to help in agriculture, environmental conservation and urban planning.

“Immersive technologies” such as virtual and augmented reality computing came in sixth, as these have helped bring massive and rapid advancements in infrastructure, enabling infrastructure accuracy, safety and sustainability for designers and other professionals.

“Elastocalorics,” a sustainable cooling solution, followed on the list since with global temperatures rising, the need for cooling solutions is set to soar and elastocalorics release and absorb heat under mechanical stress, presenting a sustainable alternative to current technologies.

The advent of “carbon-capturing microbes” was of note in the report, as it came in eighth place, which is the use of engineered organisms to convert emissions into biofuel to lessen climate charge.

“Alternative livestock feeds” also made the list, coming in ninth, which are sustainable feeds derived from single-cell proteins, algae and food waste.

Lastly, genetically engineered organs for transplants, “genomics,” came in tenth, which offer hope to millions of people.