MIT Publishes 10 Breakthrough Technologies List For 2018

For the past 17 years MIT Technology Review has published a list of the “10 Breakthrough Technologies” for the forthcoming year. Two key benchmarks for defining “breakthrough” is mass commercial use and foreseeable mass commercial adoption. Some results for 2018 were predictable, namely, “3D Metal Printing” — resulting in cheaper products due to lower manufacturing costs, “Cryptography” — providing identity privacy thanks to cryptographic solutions like zero-knowledge proof led by developers at Zcash, and “Artificial Intelligence” — widespread adoption will be aided by machine-learning systems to quicken AI implementation so systems become less reliant on humans to evolve. Others include “Sensing City,” which will bless inhabitants with omni-autonomous tech to improve lifestyle, think robots delivering mail and air quality improvement, and “Genetic Report Cards” offering birth DNA report cards predicting a child’s disposition to health problems.

Read over the list below and let us know if it’s what you expected. For a full brief, head over to MIT Technology Review.

“10 Breakthrough Technologies 2018”

3-D Metal Printing
Artificial Embryos
Sensing City
AI For Everybody
Dueling Neural Networks
Babel-Fish Earbuds
Zero-Carbon Natural Gas
Perfect Online Privacy
Genetic Fortune-Telling
Materials’ Quantum Leap