Ai's Not The Only Hot Tech Trend - Check Out The Year's Other 11, According To Mckinsey

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When we perceive nan connection "technology," astir of america automatically deliberation of hardware; nan beingness devices that person go specified a conspicuously coming portion of galore of our day-to-day lives. But exertion is simply a overmuch much expansive phenomenon, encompassing not only each nan various devices and gadgets we tin intelligibly see, but besides a immense and mostly invisible integer infrastructure of package and codification upon which our modern world is based.

When trying to understand technological change, therefore, it's important to support its multifaceted quality successful mind: tech isn't a single, homogenous thing, but alternatively an interplay of galore different forces, immoderate of them starkly visible, others little so. In that spirit, consulting patient McKinsey publishes a Technology Trends Outlook study each twelvemonth highlighting immoderate of nan technologies that are having an outsized effect successful business and commerce. 

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In nan firm's latest report, published Tuesday, artificial intelligence classed astatine nan apical of nan database (for a number of reasons, which we'll get into below). But location were respective different tech trends besides included, which mightiness astonishment you -- immersive-reality headsets, for example. (Remember nan metaverse, anyone?)

Here are nan 13 technological trends included successful nan report, which, according to McKinsey, "are driving invention and addressing captious challenges crossed sectors."

Agentic AI

 Again, fewer readers will beryllium shocked that this made nan apical of nan list. AI agents -- systems that leverage instauration models to execute multi-step tasks connected behalf of quality users -- person go thing of an obsession successful Silicon Valley, pinch astir each awesome tech developer rolling retired their ain agentic devices successful nan past twelvemonth aliases so. (Agents were besides highlighted successful marketplace investigation patient Forrester's Top 10 Technologies for 2025 study successful May.) Job postings for agent-related roles surged by a staggering 985% betwixt 2023 and 2024, according to nan report.

Artificial intelligence 

In 2nd spot successful McKinsey's caller study are AI systems broadly, which nan patient describes arsenic "computer systems designed to execute tasks that typically require quality intelligence." This encompasses agents, generative AI chatbots for illustration ChatGPT and Gemini, predictive algorithms, and different systems designed to observe patterns crossed datasets and autonomously refine their capacity complete time.

Application-specific semiconductors

Graphics processing units, aliases GPUs, person go nan technological cornerstone of nan existent AI boom, propelling chipmakers for illustration Nvidia to world fame and utmost wealth. McKinsey highlights not only these chips, but each semiconductors designed to grip circumstantial tasks, arsenic nan third-most influential tech inclination presently reshaping nan business sector.

Advanced connectivity

Think technologies for illustration 5G and low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, which are enabling faster, much frictionless intends of communication.

Cloud and separator computing

These are 2 abstracted modalities for processing immense quantities of information, a situation that's go progressively salient for businesses building and deploying their ain AI models. 

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Immersive-reality technologies

As noted above, immoderate mightiness beryllium amazed that this peculiar tech trend, which includes some virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), has been included successful McKinsey's list. A fewer years ago, these were nan firm buzzwords of nan hour, arsenic companies invested immense sums to liking their declare successful nan alleged metaverse -- a vaguely defined virtual abstraction which immoderate successful nan tech manufacture (notably Mark Zuckerberg, who changed nan sanction of his institution from Facebook to Meta successful 2021) touted arsenic nan early of societal media and commerce. Interest successful nan metaverse has cooled disconnected since then, to opportunity nan least, but location are still immoderate salient figures successful Silicon Valley who proceed to judge that immersive-reality hardware will beryllium a world-changing technology, and they're spending accordingly. Meta, for example, has leaned heavy into its Smart Glasses, and Apple is reportedly moving connected a little costly type of its Vision Pro headset. 

Digital spot and cybersecurity

This is different section that's been forced to quickly germinate amid nan existent AI boom, arsenic cybercriminals equipped pinch powerful AI systems unlock caller and much businesslike ways to imitate existent group and circumvent organizations' cybersecurity measures. Many financial institutions, for example, person been fighting occurrence pinch occurrence by upgrading their cybersecurity systems pinch AI to protect themselves against AI-enhanced cyberattacks.

Quantum technologies 

These are systems -- quantum computers being nan astir celebrated illustration -- which leverage nan principles of quantum mechanics, for illustration quantum entanglement and superposition, to execute calculations exponentially quicker than their classical counterparts. 

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Future of robotics

Recent innovations successful AI person besides been supercharging nan section of robotics, including everything from self-driving cars to humanoid robots that tin fold your laundry. Building robots tin of making decisions and taking action successful a move beingness situation is overmuch much analyzable than training algorithms to observe patterns successful text; that's why we person LLMs that tin constitute essays but comparatively fewer autonomous vehicles connected nan roadworthy today. But advancement is nevertheless being made. Amazon, for example, precocious launched DeepFleet, an AI exemplary that coordinates nan behaviour of nan company's fulfillment halfway robots.

Future of mobility 

In summation to caller developments successful self-driving cars, McKinsey besides underscored nan caller emergence of precocious drones, nan proliferation of e-bikes, and advancements successful different "technologies [which] person nan extremity of improving nan efficiency, safety, and sustainability of proscription systems."

Future of bioengineering 

Emerging technologies for illustration gene editing and synthetic biology are opening a caller frontier for hacking nan processes of integrated evolution. This offers some large imaginable benefits (eliminating definite diseases, for example) and dangers (democratizing entree to AI systems that could hypothetically make blueprints for nan engineering of deadly caller pathogens, say).

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Future of abstraction technologies

Space is becoming a caller -- if possibly not nan last -- frontier for capitalism. Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, for example, person been ushering successful nan era of commercialized spaceflight. Other companies for illustration Starlink (also owned by Musk, Northrum Grumman, and Lockheed Martin person been launching constellations of LEO satellites. There's besides been a surge of authorities liking and finance successful spaceflight. Japan became nan 5th state successful nan world to onshore a spacecraft connected nan satellite past year. And who knows, possibly an LLM will 1 time beryllium capable to thief humans aviator a spacecraft.

Future of power and sustainability technologies

The last point connected McKinsey's database of nan thirteen technological trends astir drastically reshaping nan business landscape, this encompasses "a wide spectrum of innovations aimed astatine transforming nan world power scenery toward a much sustainable and resilient future," according to nan firm. For example, nan study highlights "clean electrons," a building which refers to power gleaned from sources that don't trust connected nan combustion of greenhouse gases — for illustration star powerfulness and hydropower, arsenic good arsenic nan emergence of electrical vehicles from companies for illustration Tesla and Rivian.

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