WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF
Technology is a blank slate, but when it is combined with human or machine based creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship it is a tool that can help us transform the world, and as new powerful emerging technologies become increasingly affordable and democratised our ability to use them to disrupt and transform global business, culture, and society at speed accelerates.
THE 2021 GRIFFIN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY STARBURST
WELCOME TO THE Griffin Emerging Technology Starburst 2021 Edition, which is part of our overall 311 Institute Emerging Technology Starburst Collection, and which is complimented by the companion 311 Institute Exponential Technology Codex which explores the future and deep future and all of the exponential technologies listed on our Starbursts in greater detail.
Firstly, I’d like to wish you all a prosperous and COVID free 2021.
Now in its fifth year, and building on the firm foundation of the previous 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 Griffin Emerging Technology Starbursts this year’s 2021 Starburst is the culmination of years of ceaseless investigating, monitoring, and tracking the appearance and development of new emerging technologies from every corner of the globe, and I am now tracking close to 600 of them which is a staggering number when you think about the potential power and impact many of them could and will have on global culture, industry, and society in the years and decades to come.
However, unlike previous years though where I’ve seen a consistent year on year increase in the number of new exponential technologies emerge in 2020 I saw a marked 40 percent decline as global investment and R&D priorities shifted in order to try and conquer COVID-19 and the effects of the global pandemic. Furthermore, as much of the world starts 2021 as they ended 2020, in lockdown, I don’t expect things to get back to normal again until at least 2022 and possibly 2023.
In this year’s Starburst, which displays 167 of the world’s most promising exponential technologies, each with an addressable market value of at least $500 Billion spread across 13 categories, I have promoted 17 new emerging technologies that weren’t in last years’ edition.
While the Starbursts might look visually appealing they have a more practical purpose which is to help governments, individuals, and organisations alike envision and predict new disruptive threats to their countries, industries, and companies. And, furthermore, when used in conjunction with our How to Build Exponential Enterprises Codex and our first of a kind ExPLORER Innovation Framework, they can be used to help organisations accelerate the development of innovative new policies, products, and services.
By creating and publishing these Starbursts I also hope they help spark people’s imagination, and demonstrate to us all, young and old, rich and poor, that nothing is impossible, and I look forwards to seeing what amazing new technology concepts will emerge in 2021.
Signing off for now in traditional fashion if I could give you one piece of advice from all my years of being a “futurist,” it would still be be forget what you know and get rid of your preconceptions of what’s possible, keep learning, and keep exploring. And if my Starbursts have left you wanting to learn more about our collective future and deep future then dive into the wormhole and explore this site and all its awesome content, most of which will push your thinking to the limits.
Explore more,
MATTHEW GRIFFIN.
Founder