To mark a decade of TFD, we’re spotlighting ten of the most dynamic and disruptive areas in technology.
In collaboration with acclaimed tech journalist Jane Wakefield (ex-BBC), we’ve hand-selected the brightest minds working at the frontier of technology, offering you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at what the future of deep tech might hold.
This is The Future Disruption…
Read the essays below, or download the PDF here.
01
How close are we to a quantum future?
Name
Ilyas Khan
Role
Founder and Chief Product Officer
Company
Quantinuum
The promise of quantum computing is huge. Such machines could, in the words of physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, “tackle the last frontier of complexity”. That could mean a solution for some of the biggest challenges facing the world, from climate change to personalised medicine and more efficient ways to grow food and provide energy. But how far away are we from that being a reality?
02
Where will AI take us next?
Name
Daniel Verten
Role
Head of Strategy
Company
Synthesia
Whatever the next ten years bring in the world of tech, Artificial intelligence will likely be at the heart. From healthcare to government, finance to fishing, AI is changing the way society is shaped. But what part will it have to play in the post-truth era?
03
Robots are coming – progress or peril?
Name
Mike Lawton
Role
Co-Founder and Director
Company
Oxford Dynamics
Robots have fascinated humans throughout history and are already standard in factories, warehouses, and even hospitals. But what industries will be disrupted next? Will we see them in our homes? And what are the obstacles that we need to overcome for us to benefit from and live in harmony with these intriguing machines?
04
Digital twins could save cities – and maybe your life
Name
Burkhard Boeckem
Role
Chief Technology Officer
Company
Hexagon
Digital twins are a 3D replica of an object, a process, or even a person, and have the potential to change both our physical environment and the way we live. The technology has already helped transform cities and give robots sight. But could it solve the greatest of human questions: how to live longer?
05
Rethinking the cost of open-source software
Name
Bruce Perens
Role
Co-founder
Company
Open Source movement
Open Source Software (OSS) has become the foundation of our digital economy, comprising 70-90% of any modern application. Not only is it pervasive in our digital lives and at the core of many of the companies that provide our digital services, but it still has huge relevance. Some of the big generative AI models have been built using open-source models. But has it fulfilled the potential and the promise the early OSS pioneers hoped for?
06
Are we leaving small businesses behind in the cybersecurity arms race?
Name
Stephanie Itimi
Role
Director of Information Protection and Compliance
Company
Age UK, Seidea CIC
Cybersecurity affects us all – nations, businesses, and individuals. AI threatens to change the nature of the digital threats we face as a society, from the scams that are taking over our inboxes and threatening to drain our bank accounts, to providing new vectors for nation-state hackers to disrupt our lives. But what does the rise in cyber threats mean for third and public sector organisations with fewer resources at their disposal?
07
Here comes the Sun — rethinking how we power the world
Name
Mohamed Gaafar
Role
CEO and Co-Founder
Company
GRYD
The need to harness renewable energy sources gets ever more urgent each year. Emissions must be reduced by almost half by 2030 and to net zero by 2050 if we are to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. But with the rise of energy-intensive AI systems, is there a bright future for renewables like solar?
08
Can green innovation and protectionism work hand in hand?
Name
Puja Balachander
Role
Green tech founder and Principal
Company
Ocean 14 Capital
There is plenty of green tech innovation out there: new materials are replacing plastics, and robots are monitoring forest fires and ocean pollution. But how do we turn this wave of ingenuity into real change before it’s too late?
09
Space has a dark side – will we use it for good or bad?
Name
Shahida Barick
Role
Space and Defence Expert
Company
Airbus, European Space Agency, and L3Harris Technologies
The new space race is on, involving not just nations but billionaires too. While satellites can help fight climate change and global inequality, they also present new threats of surveillance and conflict. With the final frontier up for grabs, will its future be one of cooperation or conflict?
10
Decoding life itself
Name
Glen Gowers
Role
Co-Founder
Company
Basecamp Research
The convergence of technology and biology could help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, from finding cures for diseases to providing new ways to feed an ever-growing population. As AI begins to decode the building blocks of nature, from remote ice caps to deep-sea trenches, we're approaching an inflection point that may reshape everything from drug discovery to who controls the future of healthcare. But which players stand to gain from the transition, and are we ready for what comes next?