Breakthrough Technologies 2017

Breakthrough Technologies
2017

These technologies all have staying power. They will affect the economy and our politics, improve medicine, or influence our culture. Some are unfolding now; others will take a decade or more to develop. But you should know about all of them right now.

Years
Reversing Paralysis

Self-Driving Trucks

Paying with Your Face

Practical Quantum Computers

The 360-Degree Selfie
Inexpensive cameras that make spherical images are opening a new era in photography and changing the way people share stories.

Hot Solar Cells
By converting heat to focused beams of light, a new solar device could create cheap and continuous power.

Gene Therapy 2.0
Scientists have solved fundamental problems that were holding back cures for rare hereditary disorders. Next we’ll see if the same approach can take on cancer, heart disease, and other common illnesses.

The Cell Atlas
Biology’s next mega-project will find out what we’re really made of.

Botnets of Things
The relentless push to add connectivity to home gadgets is creating dangerous side effects that figure to get even worse.

Reinforcement Learning