What will really matter in the long run? That’s the question we tackle each year as we compile this annual list. We can’t see the future, but we expect these technologies to affect our world in a big way, for decades to come.
1. Vera C. Rubin Observatory
2. Generative AI search
Generative search promises to make finding what you’re looking for simple and quick. … This may signal the end of traditional search engines and the rise of personal AI assistants.
3. Small language models
4. Cattle burping remedies
Cow burps are one of the largest sources of agricultural emissions—and one of the trickiest ones to solve. A food supplement that significantly reduces the amount of methane that cattle belch is now available in dozens of countries.
5. Robotaxis
6. Cleaner jet fuel
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New fuels made from used cooking oil, industrial waste, or even gasses in the air could help power planes without fossil fuels. [T]hey’re becoming a big business, with factories springing up to produce them and new government mandates requiring their use.
7. Fast-learning robots
8. Long-acting HIV prevention meds
9. Green steel
Making steel is one of the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide. … The first industrial green-steel plant, which uses hydrogen made with renewable power, is being built by Stegra, a $7 billion startup ….
