The 21st century is the Asian century.

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This is the second of our new weekly strategic series of Top Ten Strategic Anticipations for 2025 – 2030.
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Topic number one, Quantum technologies, can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gssCYWfd
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Worldwide, the 19th century was dominated by the UK.
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The 20th century was dominated by the USA.
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Asia not only will be the dominant global area of the 21st century - it arguably already is.
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Asia is rich tapestry, a patchwork quilt - though a very unequal one.
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The world’s population is now more than three times larger than it was in the mid-twentieth century.
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By 2030, the population of the world is projected by the United Nations to be 8.5 billion, up from approximately 8 billion presently.
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Despite changing demographics, currently the majority call Asia home.
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Asia has a huge, young, and hungry population, providing not only a massive labour force, but also a vast consumer base.
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There will be a continued emphasis on educational development to create a highly skilled and adaptable modern workforce, ready to meet the dynamic demands of a digital-first economy.
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Economic growth in the region has been unmatched, and Asia's rising middle class is driving demand for quality goods and services, stimulating further economic activity.
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Known as "the factory of the world", 2030 and beyond will see this continue for both local and international consumption.
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There will be particular focus in advanced technologies such as clean energy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, and robotics.
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Strong intraregional trade networks enhance economic resilience.
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The period to 2030 will see infrastructure investments - such as in transport and telecommunications - in Asia improving connectivity and efficiency, further bolstering the region's competitive edge.
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The global popularity of Asian culture, including entertainment, cuisine, and fashion, is enhancing Asia's soft power and sway.
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Asian countries are also increasingly playing a significant role in global governance and international organisations.
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Increasing economic and technological prowess translates into greater authority, with the region playing a leading role in shaping global trade, technology standards, and international relations.
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Thus by 2030, Asia's supremacy in worldwide governance and its cultural impact worldwide will further cement its dominant position.
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There will be setbacks - such as the anticipation that by 2030 China will have invaded Taiwan, an event which will cause far-reaching ramifications to global markets and collective prosperity.
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Nevertheless, from economic power to cultural influence, Asia is already reshaping the global landscape in profound ways to 2030 and far beyond.
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Collectively, these signal that the 21st century is the Asian century.
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Third in our series of Top Ten Strategic Anticipations for 2025 – 2030 is titled "Demographics, Xenophobia, Racism: Innovation papering over cracks" - which we'll deliver in HORIZON next week.

5th November 2024, somewhere between Canada and Mexico, there will apparently be a national election.

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You may not be aware of it; it's been very low key, hardly mentioned.
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Emerging technologies may be a factor in determining the winner - either positively or negatively, depending on your political persuasion.
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Outcomes from a poll by Pew Research Center​, conducted from Aug. 26 to Sept. 2, 2024 and surveying 9,720 US adults, found the majority were worried about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the forthcoming election.
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57% were extremely or very concerned that people or organisations seeking to influence the election will use AI to create and distribute fake or misleading information about the candidates and campaigns.
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To have a sizeable proportion of voters default to the presumption that AI will have been used to control, confuse, choreograph, or confound the electorate is a dangerous situation.
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A crumb of comfort in an increasingly entrenched and polarised world may be that results from those identifying as Democrats or Republicans were nearly identical.
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Fake "robocalls" have already been used, with a voice generated by AI to mimic that of President Joe Biden: it was used to mislead and manipulate citizens by encouraging them not to vote.
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Political parties have been been attempting to leverage innovative digital means with the likes of micro-targeted advertising, without being perceived as cascading into the realm of deepfakes or spreading false information.
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One presidential candidate shared a slew of AI-generated images that falsely depicted Taylor Swift and her fans endorsed his campaign on the Truth Social platform run by Trump Media & Technology Group​.
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Low levels of trust in politicians, confidence in institutions, and faith in the veracity of journalism has in many countries around the world eroded the very foundations of the democratic system.
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Viral examples such as the racist, antisemitic, and offensive AI deepfake clip that divided the community centred around Pikesville High School in Baltimore earlier this year have fuelled both prejudices and insecurities.
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Algorithms that are specifically designed and operated to serve up more of the same slivers of content also subtly solidify beliefs and biases.
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In 2014, Steven Hawking said that "the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race"; somewhat ironic given the tech he used to communicate incorporated a basic form of AI.
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Nevertheless, the great genius was proven to know a thing or two...so perhaps it might persuade all to pause for thought when we view something triggering in what is an increasingly degraded information space.
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The volume of misinformation and disinformation already overwhelms the capacity of fact checkers, so individuals have a duty to be vigilantly skeptical - using our own Intelligence rather than relying on the Artificial sort.

2025: the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ).

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Building on the first Top Ten Strategic Anticipation for 2025 – 2030, the forthcoming year has been declared as such by none other than the United Nations​ (UN).
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This worldwide initiative will "be observed through activities at all levels aimed at increasing public awareness of the importance of Quantum science and applications".
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The UN is optimistic that Quantum will have a tremendous impact on critical societal challenges highlighted by the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, including climate, energy, food safety and security, and clean water.
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The year 2025 was chosen as it recognises 100 years since the initial development of Quantum mechanics - enhancing our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of our universe.
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Quantum mechanics has already contributed to many advancements in physics, chemistry, material science, biology, and information science - and the next few years will see this progress accelerate significantly.
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Healthcare is being advanced with Quantum photonics, which provides rapid, clean detection solutions in medical imaging and diagnosis.
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Quantum chemistry is supporting the development of new vaccines and drugs.
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In industry and infrastructure, Quantum engineering is leading to more energy-efficient and affordable solar cells, as well as low-emission LED light sources.
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For environmental monitoring, Quantum physics is enabling scientists to develop next-generation sensors, while Quantum processors are being developed to improve the accuracy of long-term climate models.
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As well as highlighting the contribution of Quantum science, the year-long push aims to ensure that all nations have equal access to Quantum education and opportunities - inspiring the next generation of scientists.
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The future Quantum economy will rely on the widespread and sustained adoption of these new technologies; that, in turn, requires wide-ranging agreement on their underlying fundamental characteristics.
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Whether this is practicable remains to be seen, given the unstable world is facing challenges leading to restrictions on trade and scientific collaboration much broader than the evolution of Quantum-enabled technologies.
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With initial business advantages from specific use cases being realised in the coming 3-5 years, senior leaders must appraise themselves on the potential impact and implications of this emerging technology.
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Understand Quantum capabilities, limitations and the types of problems it can solve - as always with a nascent innovative paradigms, start small and identify problems it may be able to solve or value it may unlock.
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Think bold. Think broad. Think beyond.

Flat and flaccid, or extended and hard.

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A team of Engineers at RMIT University have designed an innovative polymer tubular structural system that can transform between these two states.
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This experimental breakthrough is made possible by a self-locking system inspired by curved-crease origami: a technique that uses curved crease lines in paper folding.
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The researchers also drew on the ingenuity of nature, given the internal structure of their invention provides natural reinforcement resembling that of bamboo.
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Flat-pack tubes already exist today - they are used extensively in aerospace structures, biomedical devices, civil construction, and robotics.
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These tubular structures bring benefits in that they do not take up much space when folded flat like a rectangle; the downside is that once deployed they are not as strong as conventional tubes.
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When considering use cases such as forming pop-up shelters as part of disaster recovery efforts, this tendency to buckle under load matters just as much as the flat-pack nature results in relative ease of transportation.
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The new technology still allows for being folded flat, but the tubes are not completely hollow - each has a row of laser-cut polyethylene discs inside (the red elements in the picture).
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Applying pressure to either side of the tube at its fold lines causes the discs to pop into a curved state in which they press out and lock against the inner walls of the tube - ensuring the tube remains in the open form.
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The new system makes these tubes quicker and easier to assemble, with the capability to automatically transform into a strong, self-locked state without the need for extra mechanisms or human intervention.
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To demonstrate this super strength, the team arranged four of the tubes side-by-side and placed a thin panel on top (combined weight: 1.3kg); this supported a load of 75kg without deforming.
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Next steps will be to experiment with varying designs and sizes of the tubes, while also further testing the durability when impacted by external forces.
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The research, "Self-locking and stiffening deployable tubular structures", is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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In the future this may result in creative, flexible yet strong designs to be deployed much further afield, including potentially in spacecraft to support the deployment of solar panels once orbit is achieved.

"Sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!".

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Not yet, but perhaps in the future - which would please a certain Dr. Evil.
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Troubled aerospace firm Boeing​ announced a rare fillip of positive publicity with the news that an experimental laser has successfully downed a larger type of flying drone for the first time.
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The US Military classifies Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) into "Groups" according to their size and capability; the higher the number, the more advanced the capabilities of the craft.
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Boeing’s direct-energy system took down Group 3 drones in a recent joint US-Saudi exercise, demonstrating it can defeat more advanced threats.
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The modular Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS) used a 5-kilowatt laser to engage and neutralise Group 3 drones during a counter-UAS test at the Red Sands Experimentation Center in Saudi Arabia.
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CLWS units recently returned from a successful multi-year deployment with the United States Marine Corps​, and have previously been integrated with a military all-terrain vehicle to defeat small drones in various scenarios.
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CLWS can function in both fixed (see pic) and mobile configurations, operating at distances ranging from 200 metres to 2.5 kilometres.
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CLWS has successfully taken down nearly 500 drones, including Group 3 drones, First-Person-View (FPV) drones, and swarms, during numerous demonstrations in various scenarios and environments.
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Operators have used an Xbox controller to achieve this with just one hour of training.
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The purpose of the Red Sands exercise was the testing of 15 different systems employing various kinetic and non-kinetic innovative techniques to destroy and disable UAS, in response to the growing threat they pose.
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Lasers have long had promise in military applications, but they have not yet matured to be reliable and cost-effective: they have limited range, need huge amounts of power, plus produce excess amounts of heat.
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With unmanned systems - both controlled and autonomous - rapidly becoming an ever larger asymmetric threat, lasers as a short-range defensive option are becoming more appealing.
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Conventional approaches to intercept drones today fall into two distinct buckets: either inaccurate (bullets), or expensive (missiles), and supplies of these at any location are finite.
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In contrast, with a consistent power supply lasers can "shoot" continuously - albeit on the infra-red spectrum so don't expect to see them with the naked eye a-la Star Wars and other science fiction.
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Do expect to see more direct-energy defensive laser weapons in the coming years; not only in conflicts, but also as part of layered security measures against drones at public gatherings like sporting events.
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Hopefully the sharks are left alone for a while longer.