In 2014, the number of people using the internet was 2.8 billion, and by 2024, it grew to 5.5 billion. Over the last 10 years, the world has witnessed a major leap in technological advancement, one that would shape all aspects of human life for many years to come.
For instance, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing are expected to reshape and disrupt industries and even create new ones. Generative AI alone is expected to add up to more than $4.4 trillion to the global economy.
In its latest report titled ‘Future Opportunities: The Global 50,’ the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) explores the 10 global megatrends that are set to positively impact the quality of life in communities, drive sectoral and economic development and enhance governmental performance worldwide in the coming years and decades.
These megatrends include:
1. Materials revolution: Permanent magnets, biomimetic and quantum materials
The first megatrend shaping the future of human life is the material revolution. Materials are fundamental to all products, foods, medicines and drinks that are consumed on a daily basis. Driven by extensive progress in advanced machine intelligence, nanotechnology and materials science, as well as interdisciplinary research and innovation, new opportunities are arising in the use of materials in almost all industrial, technological and consumer sectors.
The report identifies three key areas of future opportunity. This includes permanent magnets which contribute to efforts towards the clean energy transition and to reaching net zero. Permanent magnets convert energy from turning wind turbines into electricity. In electric vehicles, they convert energy from batteries into torque in motors and can save 20–40 percent of energy versus non-magnet motors. The demand for permanent magnets doubled between 2015 and 2023 and is expected to nearly double between 2024 and 2050.
Another trend shaping the future is biomimetic materials. These are materials that are made by humans but inspired by nature, either in their properties or how they function. Biomimetics is currently contributing to advances in various fields, including science, engineering and medicine. Innovations inspired by nature can generate considerable economic benefits, up to $1.6 trillion by 2030.
Third comes quantum materials, which have unique properties that are integral to advancing quantum technology. Materials such as superconductors and semiconductor quantum dots help stabilize quantum bits, enhancing quantum computing capabilities. Key players, such as Amazon Web Services, IBM and IonQ, are leading advances in this field, achieving significant progress in quantum error correction. The potential applications of quantum technologies span multiple sectors, including finance, healthcare and defense. These advances are not only poised to revolutionize industries but could also generate over $2 trillion in global economic value by 2035.
2. Boundless multidimensional data: 6G, Multimodal AI and sports AI
As technology advances, data, another megatrend, will become both more constant and more multidimensional. Data will become more available within, and for, governments, businesses and society, in larger volumes and at greater speeds.
In 2023, 97 million people accessed the internet for the first time. This brought the total number of people connected to the internet in 2024 to 5.35 billion or 66 percent of the global population. The continuing roll-out of 5G, efforts to improve the affordability of mobile internet connectivity, and increasing digital inclusion are initiatives to watch for in 2025.
A trend to look out for in the future will be 6G, which will have far-reaching impacts across sectors. From enabling remote surgery and real-time health monitoring to advanced automation and digital twins, 6G will create new market opportunities across telecommunications, manufacturing and transportation. 5G and 6G-enabled activities combined are projected to create $3.2 trillion in global growth by 2030.
Another trend that will shape the future of data is Multimodal AI. Important decisions in healthcare and finance may be made together with AI-based support systems using diverse or multimodal data inputs, including text, images, audio and, one day, haptics. While around 1 percent of AI use was multimodal in 2023, by 2027 the figure is expected to be 40 percent, a significant jump that reflects potential rapid adoption of the technology.
Another trend to watch for is sports AI. The value of AI in sports is set to reach nearly $30 billion by 2032, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent from $2.2 billion in 2022.
3. Technological vulnerabilities: Cyberbiosecurity and psychology
With the rapid advancement of technologies and their widespread use, the challenge of vulnerabilities and threats arises. Cybercriminals are now more organized than ever, using AI to coordinate and perpetrate crimes. More innovative approaches to identifying, assessing and addressing vulnerabilities will be key megatrends shaping the future.
Incorporating psychology into cybersecurity will be a key trend to look out for in the future. Incorporating psychology into cybersecurity can deepen the understanding of why cyberattacks occur and improve how businesses can reduce cybersecurity threats.
Cyberbiosecurity awareness and education will also emerge as a key trend needed to mitigate the risks arising from technological development. Awareness of cyberbiosecurity remains low around the world and some regions are less prepared than others, particularly the countries of Southeast Asia. Irrespective of regulations, it is essential to raise awareness of cyberbiosecurity threats among biotechnology companies, research institutions and policymakers through education and training, ensuring that researchers and practitioners from all relevant disciplines are involved.
4. Energy boundaries: Game theory and clean energy
Energy and the path to net zero will also be a key megatrend shaping future development. The global net-zero economy is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050 and it is estimated that this will require approximately $275 trillion in capital spending, with an average annual investment of $9.2 trillion and reaching a peak of 8.8 percent of global gross domestic product between 2026 and 2030.
However, reaching this goal is not straightforward as many aspects come into play. Game theory is a model for interactive decision-making where the outcomes depend on anticipating the strategies and associated decisions of others. Applied to net zero, game theory can help – together with climate models – to influence interactions and decisions within multiple scenarios aiming towards net zero.
Another trend shaping the future of the energy industry is clean energy. This sector presents an extraordinary growth opportunity, with markets set to triple to $650 billion annually by 2030 as nations fulfill their climate commitments. This expansion is driving strategic diversification of manufacturing capabilities and supply chain resilience across regions. The sector promises to create 8 million new manufacturing jobs globally by 2030.
5. Evolving ecosystems: Regeneration and acoustic AI
Driven by resource scarcity, climate change, and shifts in social values, environmental impact management will be one of the major megatrends shaping the future of the world. Environmental impact management will increasingly move towards a focus on ecosystems as opposed to the environmental impact of specific processes, products or services.
One trend to note is the concept of regeneration which became increasingly popular in the 1990s in urban development as an innovative response to climate change looking beyond making buildings green. While sustainability focuses on balancing human needs with environmental protection, regeneration takes efforts further by focusing on restoring natural resources, enhancing biodiversity and rejuvenating damaged ecosystems.
Another major area of focus will be acoustic AI which holds the potential to understand and improve marine, wildlife, urban and other ecosystems. AI has already been successfully used to monitor whale vocalizations, improving species detection and marine conservation strategies.
6. Borderless world: Digital asset regulation and transdisciplinary education
Advances in communications, computing and advanced machine intelligence will accelerate a borderless world that will change the way we work, live and communicate, making it one of the major megatrends shaping the future of human life and interaction.
Digital asset regulation emerges as a key focus amid this shift. Overall tokenized market capitalization, excluding Bitcoin and Tether, could hit approximately $2 trillion by 2030 due to the increased use of these currencies in mutual funds, bonds, exchange-traded notes, loans, securitization and alternative funds. However, digital assets lack a universal definition despite the fact that two-thirds of 86 jurisdictions surveyed by the World Economic Forum already regulate or are planning to regulate digital assets.
The Financial Stability Board and the International Organization of Securities Commissions are working on providing universal definitions, and the Principles of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law offer a framework connecting digital assets to existing legal structures. However, gaps persist.
The next 10 years will also see many environmental, societal, technological and economic global risks that cannot be solved by individual countries alone. In a borderless, interconnected world, addressing such complex cross-border and cross-sectoral issues requires a transdisciplinary approach, a trend expected to emerge as needs grow in the future.
Universities and training institutions can promote transdisciplinary education programs that combine law, technology, ethics and international relations, encouraging cross-sector understanding and collaboration. These programs can be co-developed by academic and industry leaders to ensure that they address practical, real-world challenges
7. Digital realities: Emergence of virtual reality
As quantum technologies, such as quantum computing, communications and sensors, become more scalable and reliable, immersive experiences will start to feel like reality, making virtual worlds a major megatrend that will likely shape the future world.
The home entertainment and cinema markets continue to grow, with an estimated worth of $100 billion in 2023 and an expected increase of 8 percent annually between 2024 and 2030. The impact of technology has also been transformative in drama and the arts. With technological advances, new forms of theatre have emerged that encourage viewers to actively participate and interact within narratives. Many performing arts theatres, some of which had never previously offered digital broadcasts, made their performances available online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual reality will also emerge as a key trend shaping the future of human life. While sales of AR/VR headsets have gone down by 40 percent since 2022, and start-up funding has dropped by 50 percent, shipments of AR/VR headsets started to grow again in the third quarter of 2024 and are expected to rebound in 2025, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 86 percent by 2028.
8. Life with autonomous robots and automation
Driven by advances in mechanical engineering design, robots will increasingly expand into other industries beyond the automotive, manufacturing, and supply chain logistics sectors, making them on the major megatrends that will likely impact the future.
Biomimicry, a key trend in the robotics sector, draws inspiration from nature to enhance quality and functionality across domains and offer innovative solutions to global challenges. Soft robotics, a high-potential application of biomimicry, focuses on the development of adaptable robots made of materials that feel like biological tissue.
The development of larger numbers of collaborative robots (cobots) and humanoid robots signals a shift towards more adaptable robots that can work alongside humans in varied environments. However, widespread adoption faces several obstacles. As the industry evolves, establishing trust between humans and robots will become crucial for successful integration. This challenge encompasses both technical reliability and the more complex emotional aspects of human-robot collaboration, setting the stage for future developments in the field.
9. Future humanity: The need for arts and AI-powered dispute resolution
With advanced machine intelligence and technological breakthroughs, people’s understanding and expectations of self-realization will shift. The traditional boundaries between self, society and institutions will also evolve, making human interaction a key megatrend shaping the future of life.
A key trend to look out for in the future is the need for arts. The creative economy generates $2.3 trillion annually, contributing 3.1 percent of the global GDP and employing 6.2 percent of the global workforce. Besides current funding challenges, dropping enrolments in arts education poses another risk for future growth.
Another trend to watch for is AI-powered dispute resolution which is showing promising potential for increasing access to justice globally. The global justice crisis affects at least 5.1 billion people around the world. For example, in the United States, low-income Americans receive little to no legal help in 92 percent of civil cases. Therefore, a cross-border online dispute resolution lab could further advance AI-enabled tools for handling disputes across jurisdictions and languages.
10. Advanced health and nutrition: Epigenetics and personalized medicine
The last megatrend shaping the future of human life is advanced health and nutrition. Progress in advanced machine intelligence, nano- and biotechnology, additive manufacturing and the Internet of Things (IoT) will change people’s understanding and experience of health and nutrition.
A key trend to watch for in this sector is air quality epigenetics. The environment influences epigenetics, which studies the processes that activate or deactivate specific genes, influencing not only individual health but also the health of future generations. Particulate matter in the air may include organic and inorganic compounds that have epigenetic effects linked to poor health. The global epigenetics market reached a value of $14.6 billion in 2023 and is expected to increase by nearly 15 percent annually up to 2030.
Personalized medicine is another emerging trend in the healthcare sector. In 2023, precision medicines made up 38 percent of the FDA’s new therapeutic drug approvals and over a quarter of all approvals since 2015. With nearly 94.5 percent of current genomic data in genomic studies coming from European ancestry, expanding research to include diverse populations is a future opportunity.
