... disrupt the status quo, alter the way people live and work, and rearrange value pools.

It is therefore critical that business and policy leaders understand which technologies will matter to them and prepare accordingly.

McKinsey Global Institute's Michael Chui defines disruptive technologies thus: "Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy".

The report cuts through the noise and identifies twelve technologies that could drive truly massive economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years. The report also looks at exactly how these technologies could change our world; also their benefits and challenges, plus guidelines to help leaders from businesses and other institutions respond.

MGI estimates that in toto applications of the report's twelve technologies could have a potential economic impact between $14 trillion and $33 trillion a year come 2025.

This estimate is neither predictive nor comprehensive. It is based on an in-depth analysis of key potential applications and the value they could create in a number of ways, including the consumer surplus that arises from better products, lower prices, a cleaner environment, and better health.

Some technologies detailed in the report have been gestating for years and thus will be familiar. Others are more surprising.

Examples of the twelve disruptive technologies include:

• Advanced robotics — ie increasingly capable robots or robotic tools, with enhanced “senses,” dexterity, and intelligence — can take on tasks once thought too delicate or uneconomical to automate. These technologies can also generate significant societal benefits, including robotic surgical systems that make procedures less invasive, as well as robotic prosthetics and “exoskeletons” that restore functions of amputees and the elderly.
   
• Next-generation genomics marries the science used for imaging nucleotide base pairs (the units that make up DNA) with rapidly advancing computational and analytic capabilities. As our understanding of the genomic makeup of humans increases, so does the ability to manipulate genes and improve health diagnostics and treatments. Next-generation genomics will offer similar advances in our understanding of plants and animals, potentially creating opportunities to improve the performance of agriculture and to create high-value substances—for instance, ethanol and biodiesel—from ordinary organisms, such as E. coli bacteria.
   
• Energy-storage devices or physical systems store energy for later use. These technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells, already power electric and hybrid vehicles, along with billions of portable consumer electronics. Over the coming decade, advancing energy-storage technology could make electric vehicles cost competitive, bring electricity to remote areas of developing countries, and improve the efficiency of the utility grid.

Read the original unabridged McKinsey article.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... Qualcomm processor chip brand Snapdragon - the sponsor of the Mashable.com series.

The New York Times notes that the Mashable.com article, titled What's Inside, "looked for all the world like the hundreds of other articles on the digital media site". But journalistically, they were something very different.

The articles, about technology topics in a wide variety of products, including modems and the Hubble Space Telescope, were paid for by Snapdragon, a brand of processor chip made by Qualcomm, and the sponsor of the series.

Most of the articles were written by Mashable editorial employees - presumably to Qualcomm's brief.

Another Mashable article on Google Glass technology was shared almost 2,000 times on social media, indicating that readers may not have cared, or known, if it was journalism or sponsored content, although the series was identified as such.

Advertisers and publishers have many names for this new form of marketing [sic], including 'branded content', 'sponsored content' and 'native advertising'.

But whatever it's called, the strategy of having advertisers sponsor or create content that looks like traditional editorial content has become increasingly common as publishers try to create more sources of revenue.

Read the original unabridged New York Times article.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... technology has changed at an exponential pace over a mere two-year timescale.

In particular, the UK government notes the pace of changes in such areas as 3-D printing, robotics and energy production and management via technologies like smart grids.

According to Wall Street Journal blogger Ben Rooney: "One of the more interesting suggestions is the importance of smart fabrics such as technology woven into fabric which could be used to make clothes to monitor potential falls of an elderly wearer or the heart-rate of a patient.

Rooney also notes that: "What links many of the technologies that the UK government believes will be defining for the next decade is connectivity, they will rely on being able to talk to each other, to servers, or with sensors.

“There is also a stronger trend in the way that sensors, miniaturized communications and processing provide constant feedback and permanent connections to networks."

Read the original unabridged WSJ article.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... "in the ranks of innovative nations" by 2020, spurring efforts to reform China's scientific and technological system.

The nation's leadership also aims to accelerate the building of a national innovative system and lay a foundation for the country to become a technological titan by 2049 when the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of a united China.

The government document puts forward new measures to spur technological development, among them:

• Enterprises should become pillar for innovation;
• Supervision of research funds should be enhanced;
• Outstanding researchers aged below 35 should be encouraged to lead scientific projects.

With the international economic meltdown continuing to unfold, China is at a key stage of transforming its development model. The country's overall technological strength and competitiveness have played a leading role in economic and social development and safeguarding state security.

The framework document sets the goal for the country to be "in the ranks of innovative nations" by 2020, urging efforts to deepen the reform of the scientific and technological system. It also aims to step up the building of a national innovative system.

The longterm implications for the world's businesses and marketers are significant.

Read the original unabridged article.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... even the most skilled humans.

Reports The New York Times: "One robot arm endlessly forms three perfect bends in two connector wires and slips them into holes almost too small for the eye to see. The arms work so fast that they must be enclosed in glass cages to prevent the people supervising them from being injured. And they do it all without a coffee break — three shifts a day, 365 days a year."

Ok, so a single Swallow does not a summer make!

But it's a situation that could trigger a seismic change in the Western world's current practice of outsourcing manufacturing processes to low labour-cost economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Predicts the NYT: "This is the future. A new wave of robots, far more adept than those now commonly used by automakers and other heavy manufacturers, are replacing workers around the world in both manufacturing and distribution.

"Factories like the one here in the Netherlands are a striking counterpoint to those used by Apple and other consumer electronics giants, which employ hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers."

Claims  electrical engineer Binne Visser, who oversees the Philips assembly line in Drachten:“With these machines, we can make any consumer device in the world.”

Doubtless Apple Inc, the world's largest company [by share valuation], has already taken note of this trend - maybe asking itself whether US-domiciled robots might do a more cost-effective job than its current China-based subcontractor?

Read the original unabridged article.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... "[in which] the technology has advanced to the level where anyone can do it.” 

It seems Mr Spangenberg is not exaggerating. For example:

• Singapore Airlines uses a scent called Stefan Floridian Waters to perfume the cabins of its airplanes.
• Samsung has reportedly pumped the summery scent of honeydew melons into its New York flagship store.
• British Airways diffuses the fragrance of meadow grass in business-class lounges.
• The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York greets guests as they step in from the street with the aroma of Sequoia, a scent designed by Lorenzo Dante Ferro. 
• Victoria’s Secret and Juicy Couture customers just walk into the stores and sniff the air, no longer having to hunt-down a sample bottle of the stores’ branded perfumes to experience their aroma.

Says Andrew Kindfuller, ceo of ScentAir, the largest manufacturer of scent diffusers in the US: “Brands realize now that this is a part of doing business. We’re implementing these systems in many different environments—not just hotels and retail—but funeral homes, retirement villages, and medical and dental and law offices.”

Reports AdAge: "According to Zev Auerbach, executive creative director for Miami-based Zimmerman Advertising, an ambient scent works best when it evokes imagery that’s tied to the merchandise.

“If you see a bathing suit in a store, and you smell the scent of ocean, you’re more likely to want to buy the suit and go on vacation,” he says. “It’s the combination of the see and the smell.”

Auerbach points out that such a connection isn’t just anecdotal. “This is pure science,” he says.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... triggering the required emotions in those passing the displays.

According to CURB's website, the firm helps brands to amplify out of home media and PR effectiveness using innovative, cutting edge techniques. "We deliver attention-grabbing media helping clients stand out and inspire their audience."

Initially functioning via Clear Channel's digital media network, the platform enables advertisers to run multisensory ad campaigns.

According to the partners, major retailers are already using multisensory techniques to influence mood and engage customers on an emotional level, citing examples that include fast food restaurants playing instore music at a faster speed, in order to increase the rate at which diners eat.

Brands will be able to use surround-sound billboards that also deliver scent in a way that CURB founder Anthony Ganjou believes can both influence consumers’ moods and trigger a wide range of emotions.

Asks Ganjou rhetorically: "‘Did you know that the nose is responsible for triggering approximately 75% of daily emotions?"

"The scientific evidence in favour of multisensory communication is compelling, and we can now offer the technologies, methodologies and expertise across Out-of-Home and experiential events that have been retail’s best kept secrets for the past couple of decades."

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... resist legally binding cuts in carbon emissions; the latter that it will do likewise in the face of China's instransigence.

The confontation between the globe's two major superpowers has potentially damaging implications for world business, given that ongoing uncertainty over the next eight years could have dangerous side effects - not least for the marketing, media and advertising industries.

Likewise the economies of developing nations, which stand to lose the most in the event of rising sea levels and extreme-weather events, like droughts and floods, that scientists predict are likely to increase in frequency if global temperatures continue to rise.

According to Todd Stern, US climate envoy and lead negotiator: "With no major climate deal in sight until 2020, the US plans to stick to an emission-reduction pledge it made in 2009 in Copenhagen and implement a package of nonbinding agreements that nations reached last year in Cancun, Mexico."

Continued Stern: "What is true about Cancun and Copenhagen is that all major parties have taken steps together, which had never happened before," Stern told reporters Tuesday. The agreement may be nonbinding, but it "represents a solemn commitment by all the parties. No one takes it lightly."

Japan, Russia and Canada have said they don't plan to sign on to a second round of the Kyoto treaty unless the world's major emitters, particularly the US and China, also agree to cut their emissions - a stance also iterated by European countries.

Questioned earlier this week about progress in the US, where a road emissions-reduction program has failed to make it through Congress [thanks to the good ol' boy oil and coal lobbyists], Stern cited the work of President Barack Obama's administration to cut carbon-dioxide emissions from gasoline-burning vehicles and coal-fired power plants, two major sources of greenhouse gases.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has tightened vehicle-emissions standards, but the power-plant rules are still pending.

Meantime, the world's nations will meet in Durban, South Africa, next week to work out the details of the Cancun agreements. Delegates also will be negotiating a fund that would provide $100 billion per year by 2020 to poorer countries to develop clean-energy resources and offset the costs of handling droughts, floods and other effects of climate change.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... and the beneficial knock-on effect on retailers' and manufacturers' bottom lines.

Proposed November 16, the rules mark the latest step in a lengthy campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption. They would build on the administration's ambitious standards that raise average gas consumption to 35.5 mpg over five years ending with the 2016 model year.

The latest standards would be phased-in starting with the 2017 model year.

When he disclosed his intent in July, President Barack Obama was flanked by executives from thirteen major automakers and the head of the United Auto Workers Union, signaling their broad support for the final proposal.

With exemptions and other provisions, actual mileage may be about 42 mpg for cars, with significantly lower requirements for light trucks, including minivans, SUVs and full-size pickup trucks.

The standards demand a substantial leap from the 2011 model-year average of 27.8 mpg and environmentalists praised the proposed new rules.

"These standards are the biggest single step any nation has taken to fight global warming," said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign at the Center for Auto Safety. "You will see most 2025 cars and light trucks getting the mileage of today's Prius and Ford Escape hybrid. Most of the changes will be under the hood."

Carmakers have backed both the current and the proposed standards, but the National Automobile Dealers Association [NADA] criticized the proposed rules for adding a claimed additional $3,000 to average vehicle prices by 2025.

Wails NADA: "This regulation gambles that millions of consumers will be able to afford thousands more for generally smaller, more expensive vehicles that may not meet their needs.  This policy is contrary to what most consumers are actually buying today, despite the wide availability of more fuel-efficient models."

But the administration asserts that the new fuel economy standards won't push Americans to drive smaller vehicles and pointed out that truck and SUV makers are already working to manufacture far more fuel-efficient versions of their current models.

Moreover, the new, combined sets of fuel economy standards will save Americans more than $1.7 trillion at the pump, according to administration estimates - equating to about $8,000 per vehicle. The standards also would reduce the nation's oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day — "enough to offset almost a quarter of the current level" of oil imports.

Another claimed benefit is that heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 6 billion metric tons over the life of the programs, according to Federal estimates.

The new standards will be open for public comment for 60 days after being published in the Federal Register. The administration said the Environmental Agency and the Transportation Department will also hold public hearings nationwide.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

... the European Union to up its current 20% carbon emissions target to 30% by 2020. As the United Nations summit in South Africa approaches, the London statement called on the EU to increase its ambition and pledge a reduction in emissions by 30% from 1990 levels by 2020, rather than the current target of 20%. 

Senior officers in the UK armed forces warned that the price of commodities such as fuel is likely to rise as conflict provoked by climate change increases.
 
A statement agreed by the meeting adds that humanitarian disasters will put more and more strain on military resources, and urges governments worldwide to adopt ambitious targets for curbing greenhouse gases.

Another key factor is food and water security which, said speakers, is interwoven with the climate issue.

Given that scientific studies suggest the most severe climate impacts will fall on the relatively poor countries of the tropics, UK military experts pointed out that much of the world's trade moves through such regions, with North America, Western Europe and China among the societies heavily dependent on oil and other imports.

Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, climate and energy security envoy for the UK Ministry of Defence [MoD], said that conflict in such areas could make it more difficult and expensive to obtain goods on which countries such as Britain rely.

"If there are risks to the trade routes and other areas, then it's food, it's energy," he told BBC News. "The price of energy will go up; for us, it's [the cost of] petrol at the pumps - and goods made in southeast Asia, a lot of which we import."

A number of recent studies have suggested that climate impacts will make conflict more likely, by increasing competition for scarce but essential resources such as water and food.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies, for example, recently warned that climate change "will increase the risks of resource shortages, mass migration and civil conflict", while the MoD's view is that it will shift "the tipping point at which conflict occurs".

Alejandro Litovsky, founder of the Earth Security Initiative, said that even without the increasing effect of conflict, prices of essential goods were bound to rise: "From the year 2000 onwards, we have been seeing commodity prices climb, and this is not likely to stop.

"It is primarily driven by resource scarcity, and the trends suggest that depletion of these natural resources is unlikely to be reversed in the near future without drastic interventions."

He also said that degradation of natural resources such as forests and freshwater was removing much of the resilience that human societies formerly enjoyed.

Last week, multinational coffee house Starbucks warned that climate change threatened the world's coffee supplies in 20-30 years' time.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.