Can we figure out if the Next Big Thing is already here?

There have been plenty of emerging technologies in the 2000s hyped as possibly the Next Big Thing. Among them: 3D printing, big data, blockchain, cloud, CRISPR, the internet-of-things, machine learning, quantum computing, and virtual reality. One group of folks doing the hyping is Gartner, the technology research consultancy. All of the previously mentioned technologies have been listed by Gartner in its annual “hype cycle” lists of emergent tech.

To that cluster of innovations, you can add some big advances over the past two years or so. There are, of course, those lifesaving mRNA vaccines. But also cheap, reusable SpaceX rockets, an AI program that can accurately predict protein structures to create new drugs and medical treatments, huge developments in nuclear fusion, and CRISPR genetic editing deployed in the human body for the first time. As I wrote a few issues ago, there’s reason for hope that we are entering a part of the technology cycle marked by drastic rather than incremental innovation.

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Πηγή: fasterplease.substack.com