It is always interesting to select the top ten emerging technology areas from a long list. On June 27 , the World Economic Forum announced the top ten emerging technologies of 2016. The annual list of top ten emerging technologies was compiled by the Forum's Emerging Technologies Council and published in cooperation with Scientific American magazine. The selected technologies focus on areas that can improve people's lives, promote industrial changes and maintain the earth's ecology. Before various technologies are widely used, the forum also provides a platform for debate to discuss the risks and concerns that technologies may bring to humans, society, economy and the environment. "We want to consider ethical issues, such as the impact of biochips, and whether it will be beneficial not only to human well-being but also to the planet," said SangYup Lee, a distinguished professor at the Korea Institute of Advanced Science and Technology , when introducing this year's top ten technologies. The top ten technologies include: 1. Nanosensors and Nanoscale Internet of Things Nano sensors can enter the human circulatory system or be implanted in building materials. By 2020 , the Internet of Things is expected to have 30 billion connected devices. Once connected, the nano-scale Internet of Things will have a huge impact on the future of medicine, construction, agriculture and drug manufacturing. 2. Next-generation batteries Matching supply and demand is one of the biggest barriers to renewable energy adoption, but recent advances in energy storage using sodium, aluminum and zinc batteries are making it possible to build small grids and provide clean, reliable energy to entire villages. 3. Blockchain technology Previously, the distributed electronic ledger that records Bitcoin transactions has made blockchain technology widely used. In 2015 alone , venture capital firms invested more than $1 billion in the blockchain industry, and its economic and social impact, which fundamentally changes the way markets and governments work, is only beginning to emerge. 4. Two-dimensional materials Graphene is perhaps the best-known single-atom-layer material, though it’s not the only one. Drastically lower production costs have helped 2D materials find a wide range of applications, including air purifiers, water purifiers, a new generation of wearable devices and batteries. 5. Self-driving cars Although driverless cars are not yet fully legalized in most countries in the world, their potential advantages in saving lives, saving energy and reducing emissions, promoting economic development, and improving the quality of life of the elderly have led to the rapid development of important technology pioneers related to them. 6. Organ Chips Miniature models of human organs, only the size of a memory card, will allow researchers to witness biological mechanisms and behaviors in unprecedented ways, bringing about a revolution in medical research and drug manufacturing. 7. Perovskite solar cells The new photovoltaic material offers three improvements over current silicon solar cells, making them easier to produce, usable almost anywhere, and, to date, increasingly efficient at generating electricity. 8. Open AI ecosystem The combined advances in natural language processing and social cognition algorithms, coupled with an unprecedented wealth of data, will soon allow intelligent digital assistants to serve every aspect of a person’s life, such as managing their finances and health, and even helping them choose what clothes to wear. 9. Optogenetics Using light and color to record the activity of neurons in the brain is not new, but recent studies have found that light can also penetrate deeper into the brain and be used to better treat brain diseases. 10. Systemic metabolic function Advances in synthetic biology, systems biology and evolutionary engineering mean that it will become increasingly common to produce higher quality bulk chemicals from cheaper plant fuels, thus replacing the fossil fuels that are being consumed in large quantities. A diverse range of breakthrough technologies could soon solve the world’s most pressing challenges, including batteries that can power entire villages, “socially aware” artificial intelligence and a new generation of solar panels. If we look at the lists of the past four years, these technologies may not yet have been able to be applied around us, but this year's list does select some new technologies that will not only appear in the future, but may also appear within a certain period of time in the short term. When selecting the list, the Council attaches great importance to whether the development of a certain technology has an important turning point in 2016. Therefore, the list includes some technologies that have been well-known for many years but have only now reached a mature level and have a significant impact. These technologies have also attracted the attention of investors, but whether to invest in emerging fields obviously requires more consideration. "There are many factors that influence the selection of research projects. When we consider research projects, we will be influenced by funding and environmental drivers. In the early research of some disciplines, the challenge is that the industry and investment cannot give a good return on the funds." Jeffrey Carbeck, leader of cutting-edge materials and manufacturing technology experts at Deloitte DC Innovation , said in response to questions from a reporter from Caixin. In this regard, Lee believes that in the early stages of research, investors want to know what returns they will get and can choose to withdraw at any time, while scientists can also refuse to conduct research that investors want to conduct, so early negotiations are very important. He divides the investment cycle into three different types of cooperation: 3-5 years, 10-15 years, and investors who do not seek returns. "Every investor will ask me when they can see a return before leaving my room. Scientists are of course looking forward to those who do not want a return," Lee said. | 
