Jason Pontin Editor in Chief and Publisher MIT Technology Review
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Jason PontinEditor in Chief and Publisher MIT Technology Review
Since 2001
Track Record
SUCCESS
MicrofluidicsStephen Quake2001
Track Record
NOT YET PROVEN
Social TVMarie-José Montpetit2010We’re still waiting.
Track Record
SUCCESS
Intelligent Software Assistant (Siri)Adam Cheyer2009
Track Record
NOT YET PROVEN
Universal Memory2005We’ve not yet seen ultradense data storage from nanotubes.
Track Record
SUCCESS
Data MiningUsama Fayyad2001
Track Record
NOT YET PROVEN
Green ConcreteNikolaos Vlasopoulos2010
A commercial method of reducing cement’s carbon footprint has not been perfected.
Track Record
Problem
Cancer remains a leading cause of death.
Breakthrough: Immune Engineering
Image: Cancer Research UK
Key Players
Why It Matters
Cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV could
all be treated by engineering the immune
system.
Problem
Climate change is increasingly damaging agricultural productivity.
Breakthrough:Precise GeneEditing in Plants
Key Players
Institute of Genetics and Developmental BiologyChinese Academy of Sciences
Why It Matters
We need to increase
agricultural productivity to feed the world’s growing population, which is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050.
Problem
We need better ways to interact with our devices.
Breakthrough: Conversational Interfaces
Key Players
Why It Matters
It can be time-consuming and
frustrating to interact with
computers by typing.
Problem
Space travel is far too expensive.
Breakthrough: Reusable Rockets
Key Players
Why It Matters
Lowering the cost of flight would open
the door to many new endeavors in
space.
Problem
The time it takes to program robots restricts the use of the technology.
Breakthrough: Robots That TeachEach Other
AshutoshSaxena
StefanieTellex
Pieter Abbeel, Ken Goldberg,
and Sergey Levine
JanPeters
Key Players
Why It Matters
Progress in robotics could accelerate
dramatically if each type of machine didn’t have to be
programmed separately.
Problem
We need cheap and easily access to our genetic data if we’re to control our own health.
Breakthrough: DNA App Store
Key Players
Why It Matters
A lower entry point for genetic tests could entice many more
consumers, providing a foundation for new
business opportunities and
crowdsourced medical research.
Problem
Solar cells are far too expensive.
Key Players
Why It Matters
The solar industry needs cheaper and
more efficient technology to be more competitive with fossil fuels.
Problem
Email sucks.
Breakthrough: Slack
Key Players
Why It Matters
In many kinds of workplaces, the
“water cooler” effect that lets people overhear their
colleagues’ conversations can
enhance productivity.
Problem
People aren’t very good drivers.
Breakthrough: Tesla Autopilot
Key Players
Why It Matters
Car crashes caused by human
error kill thousands of people a day worldwide.
Problem
Batteries are too large to powertiny electronic devices.
Breakthrough: Power from the Air
Key Players
Why It Matters
Freeing Internetconnected devices from the constraints
of batteries and power cords will open up many new uses.
WHY DOES ANY OF THIS MATTER?
New technologies solve big problems and expand human possibilities.
WHY DOES ANY OF THIS MATTER?
New technologies solve big problems and expand human possibilities.
Technology isn’t an absolute good.
Technology isn’t an absolute good.
Jason PontinEditor in Chief and Publisher MIT Technology Review
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