Sustainable computing, direct-to-bring computing and, of course, generative AI are among the top 10 emerging technologies listed on Monday by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

“New technologies have the power to disrupt industries, grow economies, improve lives and safeguard the planet — if designed, scaled and deployed responsibly,” said Jeremy Jurgens, managing firector, World Economic Forum and Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “We hope that this year’s report serves as a powerful tool for business leaders and policy-makers to unlock the transformative potential of emerging technologies and shape their inclusive adoption.”

The top 10 emerging technologies of 2023 are:

Flexible batteries. Standard rigid batteries may soon be a thing of the past as thin, flexible batteries – made of lightweight materials that can be twisted, bent and stretched reach the market, according to the World Economic Forum. They have applications across medical wearables, biomedical sensors, flexible displays and smart watches.

Generative artificial intelligence. Generative AI is set to disrupt multiple industries, with applications in education, research and beyond.

Sustainable aviation fuel. Sustainable aviation fuel produced from biological (e.g. biomass) and non-biological (e.g. CO2) sources could be the answer to decarbonize the aviation industry in the short to medium term, according to the World Economic Forum.

Designer phages. Phages are viruses that selectively infect specific types of bacteria, according to the WEF. Scientists can now reprogramme phages to infect the bacteria of their choosing, allowing them to target one type of bacteria in a complex community of co-existing types of bacteria such as in plant, animal and human microbiomes. They eventually may be used to treat microbiome-associated diseases or eliminate dangerous bacteria in food supply chains.

Metaverse for mental health. Video games are already being used to treat depression and anxiety and VR-enabled meditation is on the rise.

Wearable plant sensors. Plant sensors are small, non-invasive devices that can be “worn” by individual plants for continuous monitoring of temperature, humidity, moisture and nutrient levels. They could be used to improve plant health and increase yields.

Spatial omics. By combining advanced imaging techniques with the specificity of DNA sequencing, spatial omics allows scientists to “see” biological processes at the molecular level inside cells, according to the WEF. The new technology is poised to speed up our understanding of biology and help researchers develop new treatments for complex diseases.

Flexible neural electronics. Brain machine interfaces allow direct communication between the brain and external computers. They have potentially applications in medicine and neuroscience such as the treatment of epilepsy, depression or paralysis, according to the WEC.

Sustainable computing. Data centres consume approximately 1% of the electricity produced globally, according to the World Economic Forum. Multiple technologies are intersecting to make the dream of net zero-energy data centres an achievable reality. They include liquid cooling systems, AI analytics and modular data centres that can be co-located with existing energy sources such as methane flares.

AI-facilitated healthcare. AI could do everything from monitoring pandemic outbreaks to reducing hospital wait times by optimizing resource allocation.