Messenger RNA vaccines. The two most effective vaccines against the coronav irus are based on messenger RNA, a technology that has been in the works fo r 20 years and could transform medicine, leading to vaccines against variou s infectious diseases, including malaria.
GPT-3. Large natural-language computer models that learn to write and speak are a big step toward AI that can better understand and interact with the world. GPT-3 is by far the largest?and most literate?to dat e.
TikTok recommendation algorithms. These algorithms have changed the way peo ple become famous online. The ability of new creators to get a lot of views very quickly?and the ease with which users can discover so many ki nds of content?have contributed to the app?s stunning growt h.
Lithium-metal batteries. Electric vehicles are expensive, and you can only drive them a few hundred miles before they need to recharge. Lithium-metal batteries, as opposed to the existing lithium-ion, could boost the range of an EV by 80%.
Data trusts. A data trust is a legal entity that collects and manages peopl e?s personal data on their behalf. They could offer a potential sol ution to long-standing problems in privacy and security.
Green hydrogen. Hydrogen has always been an intriguing possible replacement for fossil fuels, but up to now it?s been made from natural gas; t he process is dirty and energy intensive. The rapidly dropping cost of sola r and wind power means green hydrogen is now cheap enough to be practical.
Digital contact tracing. Although it hasn?t lived up to the hype in this pandemic, especially in the US, digital contact tracing could not onl y help us prepare for the next pandemic but also carry over to other areas of healthcare.
Hyper-accurate positioning. While GPS is accurate to within 5 to 10 meters, new hyper-accurate positioning technologies have accuracies within a few m illimeters. That could be transformative for delivery robots and self-drivi ng cars.
Remote everything. The pandemic forced the world to go remote. The knock-on effects for work, play, healthcare and much else besides are huge.
Multi-skilled AI. AI currently lacks the ability, found even in young child ren, to learn how the world works and apply that general knowledge to new s ituations. That?s changing.
And then this will make a bad situation worse: On the questionable use of Artificial Intelligence for job applications