Abstract
The article provides an overview of emerging disruptive technologies. These technical innovations render existing technologies and social relations obsolete or radically altered, possibly driving harmful direct and indirect social, economic and ecological disruptions. Creating taxonomic order for technology innovations and being able to parse out their key features starts the path to governance. The article also shows that it is important to assess the agendas at play, enable clear horizon scanning and establish adequate Technology Assessment practices that can determine the significance of an innovation and the options and means to govern it.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
An EcoModernist Manifesto. 2015. www.ecomodernism.org.
ARPA. 2017. MARINER. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=arpa-e-programs/mariner. Accessed 18 Oct 2019.
Cargill News. 2015. Eyes in the Sky. [online] Cargill News. https://agfunderweb.s3.amazonaws.com/slides/GothamAnalytics/EyesInTheSky%20-%20Cargill%20News.pdf?. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
Digiconomist.net. Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index. Web page. https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
Ellen McArthur Foundation. n.d. Circular Economy Overview. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/overview/concept. Accessed 18 Oct 2019.
ETC Group. 2017. Gene Drive Files. ETC Group. http://www.etcgroup.org/content/gene-drive-files. Accessed 5 Feb 2017.
Gingko Bioworks. n.d. A New Cultured Rose Oil from Yeast. Web page. https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/our-work/new-cultured-version-rose-oil-yeast/.
Hoekstra, Jon. 2013. What is Conservation 3.0 and Why Does it Matter? WWF Science. https://www.worldwildlife.org/blogs/science-driven/posts/what-is-conservation-3-0-and-why-does-it-matter. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
InnovaSea. n.d. About Us. https://www.innovasea.com/about-us/. Accessed 26 Feb 2018.
Licht, S. n.d. Carbion dioxide to carbon nanotube scale-up. Team C2CNT Round 2 Submission extracts nrg cosia CARBON XPRIZE. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1710/1710.07246.pdf. Accessed 26 Feb 2018.
Lipper, Leslie, et al. 2014. Climate Smart Agriculture for Food Security. Nature Climate Change 4: 1068–1072. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2437.
Neme, Laurel. 2016. Petition Seeks Ban on Trade in Fake Rhino Horn. Wildlife Watch. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160210-rhino-horn-wildlife-trafficking-pembient-poaching-conservation/. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
Nike. 2016. At Nike the Future is Faster and it is 3-D. News Release. https://news.nike.com/news/nike-hp-3d-printing.
Perls, Dana. 2016. Gene Drives: Who Decides for Hawai’i and Beyond? Heinrich Boell Stiftung. https://www.boell.de/en/2016/09/23/gene-drives-who-decides-hawaii-and-beyond. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
Revive & Restore. n.d. We are Building the 21st Century Genetic Rescue Toolkit for Conservation. http://reviverestore.org/. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
Revive & Restore. n.d. What We Do. Web Page. http://reviverestore.org/. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
Schumpeter, Joseph Aloïs. 1942. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. Allen & Unwin.
Spidey Tek. n.d. Technology. https://www.spideytek.com/technology.
Stinson, Liz. 2017. This Striped Beanie Shows the Promise of Synthetic Spider Silk. [online] Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/bolt-threads-synthetic-spider-silk-hat/. Accessed 5 February 2018.
SuriaLink SeaPlants. 2003. Comparing Commercial Seaweed Production Volumes by Country. http://surialink.seaplant.net/GIS/stats_prod.htm.
Vega, Nick. 2017. To Save the World’s Flora, Japanese Researchers have Designed a Tiny Drone that can Pollinate Flowers. [online] Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/bee-drone-pollination-japanese-researchers-2017-3. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
World Bank, The Potential of the Blue Economy: Increasing Long-term Benefits of the Sustainable Use of Marine Resources for Small Island Developing States and Coastal Least Developed Countries, 2017. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26843 Accessed 8 Oct 2019.
World Economic Forum (WEF). 2018. Precision Extinction: AI-Piloted Drone Ships Wipe Out a Large Proportion of Global Fish Stocks. http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2018/precision-extinction/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thomas, J. An Overview of Emerging Disruptive Technologies and Key Issues. Development 62, 5–12 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-019-00226-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-019-00226-z