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UCL academics contribute to the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023 report

28 June 2023

The World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report lists new technologies poised to have a global impact. This collection presents each selection for 2023, illustrating their connections to broader social and environmental issues.

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The World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023 report, now in its 11th year, brings together perspectives from over 90 academics, industry leaders and futurists from 20 countries to highlight the technologies set to positively impact society within the next three to five years. This comprehensive report goes beyond listing the top 10 technologies and their associated risks and opportunities. It provides a qualitative assessment of each technology's potential impact on people, the planet, prosperity, industry and equity.

Professor Ruth Morgan (Vice Dean - Interdisciplinarity Entrepreneurship) and Professor Mine Orlu (Professor of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy) were members of the WEF Steering Group that identified the technologies that made the 2023 list and were also co-authors of the report.

Professor Ruth Morgan said: “Delving into the world’s emerging technologies has been fascinating because the potential of human ingenuity is extraordinary.  A common thread across this year’s top 10 is grappling with the idea that for the potential of these technologies to be fully realised we need to be developing the technical capabilities that are building our future, and at the same time reducing the opportunity for unintended consequences.  Finding ways to bring technological innovation together with a thriving society is going to take holistic thinking that draws on a full range of disciplines from across the arts and humanities, social sciences, engineering and medicine.”

Professor Mine Orlu said: “I’m honoured to be part of the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023 Steering Group and to have co-authored #4 Designer Phages with Wilfried Weber and #10 AI-Facilitated Healthcare with Daniel Hurtado, Andrew Maynard, Landry Signe and Bernard Meyerson.”

The report features groundbreaking technologies such as AI-enabled healthcare delivery, flexible batteries powering wearable medical devices, neural-interfacing flexible circuits and virtual shared spaces for mental health support. It explores spatial omics for molecular-level understanding, engineered viruses for health augmentation and generative AI capable of creating original content. The report is being launched at an issue briefing at the Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions on 27th June 2023.

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