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 2022 GRIFFIN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY STARBURST
WELCOME TO THE Griffin Emerging Technology Starburst 2022 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, and even though I said this last year, I’d like to wish you all a prosperous and COVID free 2022 even though, again as I mentioned last year I don’t think the world will return to the “New new normal” until 2023.
Now in its sixth year, and building on the firm foundation of the previous 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 Griffin Emerging Technology Starbursts this year’s 2022 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 650 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 business, culture, and society in the years and decades to come.
However, continuing last years trend where we saw a marked decline in all non Biotech and Intelligence R&D investment as companies battled to fight the pandemic, which resulted in a 40 percent decline in the emergence of new exponential technologies, this year we saw a continuation of that trend albeit a less severe 23 percent decline. Furthermore, as much of the world starts 2022 yet again under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic I don’t expect us to return what I’ll call the “old 2019 baseline” until the tail end of 2023 and mid 2024.
In this year’s Starburst, which extends to 2070 and 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 24 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. For example, this year alone, in a sea awash with sci-fi like breakthroughs, unexpected surprises, and all manner of newsworthy new concepts this is just a sliver of what I saw: AI learning “Diplomacy,” the first 2nm computer chip, first 5G NR broadcasting installation, first 5 minute EV charging system, first AI credited as an inventor, first AI generated synthetic human genome, first (alleged) autonomous HK drone kill, first Bio-Artificial Kidney, first empathetic first person VR surgery preview, first EV with 1,000km range, first Human burgers, first “Internet of Electricity” material, first green steel, first mass biometric spoofing cyber attack, first Metaverse city announcement, first spontaneously replicating living robots, first re-programmable satellite… and of course hundreds more.
It’s no understatement, therefore, to say that I look forwards to seeing what amazing new technology concepts will emerge in 2022.
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
