By 2028, genetic engineering and advanced gene therapy will routinely treat a wide array of human diseases, catalyzed by unprecedented leaps in artificial intelligence. This transformative outlook forms just a fraction of the insights featured in the newly published 2030 Technology Megatrends Report released by the IEEE.
The comprehensive study signals a profound transition in how modern innovation unfolds across the globe. Dejan Milojicic, an IEEE Fellow who chairs the Industry Advisory Board for the IEEE Future Directions Committee—the group that spearheaded the report—emphasizes that artificial intelligence has outgrown its historical isolation. Artificial intelligence is no longer operating in a vacuum, he notes; instead, it is now deeply and inextricably connected to global energy supplies, physical infrastructure, and everyday tangible systems. Milojicic, who also serves as a vice president at HPE Labs in Milpitas, California, and holds the title of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Fellow, points out that AI now underpins the vast majority of the report’s core findings.
Specifically, the comprehensive report outlines 30 distinct breakthrough technologies categorized across five major "megatrends." These megatrends represent sprawling technological shifts carrying the immense potential to reshape entire industries and daily human life for decades to come. Rather than focusing on isolated breakthroughs, the report defines a megatrend as a converging collection of related technological developments.
To compile the 2030 report, 166 distinguished experts spanning 38 countries and six continents contributed their insights. Drawn from diverse professional backgrounds across industry, academia, and government sectors, these specialists identified and evaluated 30 breakthrough technologies across five overarching megatrends: artificial intelligence, energy, health, space, and physical AI. Each trend was rigorously graded against five specific evaluation criteria: the likelihood of success, the magnitude of impact on humanity, technological maturity, market adoption rates, and the estimated horizon to widespread adoption.
AI as a Common Thread
Interconnected systems form the backbone of these modern megatrends, with artificial intelligence serving as the vital connective tissue binding them together.
According to the report, artificial intelligence technology is advancing at a velocity surpassing any previous historical revolution, outstripping the industrial, electrical, and digital revolutions in both speed and scope. This extraordinary pace has effectively transformed artificial intelligence into a form of general-purpose infrastructure, according to Milojicic.
However, this rapid evolution carries substantial risks and inherent challenges, the report’s experts caution. The analysis highlights critical bottlenecks, specifically pointing to shortages in computing infrastructure and reliable energy sources as severe constraints on the ability to scale artificial intelligence systems effectively. Furthermore, the report stresses that the exponential growth of the technology will necessitate a fundamental reshaping of the global workforce.
Workers have consistently needed to adapt throughout history to remain competitive in changing labor markets, Milojicic observes. He adds that organizational adoption of artificial intelligence does not have to be an all-or-nothing proposition, suggesting instead that modern businesses should strategically evaluate when and how to integrate these tools into their operations.
Achieving long-term success will demand a delicate balance between advanced technical capabilities and a mindful approach to the human-AI relationship. Conditions such as baseline trust, robust security, system explainability, and forward-thinking policymaking will ultimately determine which AI-supported technologies successfully scale to meet societal needs, the experts conclude.
Mary Ellen Randall, the 2026 IEEE president and chief executive officer, emphasized in a public news release that the findings elevate the dialogue surrounding technological progress. She noted that the report shifts the conversation toward a far more crucial objective: examining how these rapid advances will intersect with one another to shape human lives. The data makes it abundantly clear, she stated, that trust, safety, and meaningful human connection must guide every major breakthrough pursued over the coming decade.
Health Care Is a High-Impact Bet
Among all the fields evaluated in the study, the experts scored personalized medicine as the single highest-impact technology, assigning it an impressive score of 4.93 out of a possible 5 points due to its extraordinary potential to drastically improve human life.
The report attributes this high rating to AI-driven breakthroughs in personalized diagnostics and therapeutic treatments, largely pioneered by innovative biotechnology startups. Within the next two years, the report’s authors predict that genetic engineering and targeted gene therapy will transition into active, mainstream therapeutic areas.
Looking further ahead to a five-year horizon, the report anticipates that earlier, highly accurate disease diagnoses will migrate out of specialized research laboratories and into routine, day-to-day medical practice. Simultaneously, researchers are expected to achieve the capability to manufacture simple synthetic proteins—molecules engineered entirely from scratch rather than harvested from nature—to execute specific biological tasks within the human body, such as precisely targeting a malignant tumor or supplying a missing metabolic enzyme.
Energy Wakes Up for AI
The escalating power demands driven by artificial intelligence are rapidly outpacing the global energy sector’s current capacity to keep pace. Modern tech infrastructure, encompassing massive data centers, complex communication networks, and heavy computing hardware, already consumes an estimated 10 percent of all electricity generated globally, as highlighted by the IEEE news release.
Despite this surging demand, the experts predict that energy storage capabilities will double in developed nations within the next two to three years.
The energy industry has remained relatively dormant for decades, Milojicic remarks, experiencing very little fundamental, breakthrough innovation since the pioneering eras of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Modern data centers possess the ability to ramp up power consumption within milliseconds, he notes, whereas the power and energy sector requires months or even years to scale its infrastructure accordingly. Consequently, governments around the world will be forced to fundamentally rethink their approaches to power generation if they hope to stay ahead of soaring consumption demands.
Furthermore, the experts cite the Jevons paradox—the established economic observation that technological efficiency gains tend to increase, rather than decrease, overall resource consumption. As the energy efficiency of AI microchips improves, organizations will inevitably deploy larger quantities of hardware to build increasingly massive frontier models, which are the highly advanced artificial intelligence systems currently under development. As a result, data centers will continue to draw as much electrical power as local power grids can possibly supply, leaving virtually no surplus for other sectors, the experts predict.
Physical AI Moves the Fastest
Physical AI refers broadly to advanced systems embedded directly within physical machines designed to sense and interact with the physical world, including autonomous vehicles and sophisticated robots. In earlier phases of the report, this category was designated as "hyper-automation and robotics," encompassing broad software-driven process automation paired with physical hardware. Eventually, the Industry Advisory Board streamlined these concepts into a single comprehensive megatrend known as physical AI.
The evaluation revealed that human-AI interaction boasts the shortest adoption horizon of any of the 30 scored technologies, estimated at just two to three years. Furthermore, the experts concluded that physical AI holds the greatest probability of profound technical advancement of any megatrend over the next four years.
Smarter, more operationally efficient robots are expected to substantially reduce overall energy consumption within the next two years, according to the report’s findings. Communication between humans and AI systems—whether housed inside an android form factor or another smart device—will rapidly shift away from text-based keyboard commands and transition predominantly toward natural audio and video instructions within a two- to three-year window.
Furthermore, androids deployed in manufacturing and industrial settings will increasingly incorporate tactile and haptic feedback technologies within two to five years. This capability will allow robots to physically sense what they are touching and dynamically adjust their grip strength or applied force in response. Parallel advancements in bio-inspired artificial skin, flexible tissues, and advanced sensors are projected to mature within the same timeframe, granting robotic systems a level of physical perception that much more closely mirrors human touch.
Space Is Just Getting Started
Space technology, as defined within the scope of the IEEE report, extends far beyond traditional exploration missions. It encompasses satellite communications, in-space manufacturing, advanced launch vehicles, and a wide array of supporting orbital infrastructure. Despite its immense potential, it remains one of the lower-profile megatrends in the report, not due to a lack of promise, but rather because of the sector’s current stage of maturation.
It is not lagging behind, Milojicic explains; rather, it reflects the current state of industry maturity. People frequently talk about satellite communication today because it is undeniably cool and practical, but it currently constitutes a relatively small market segment compared to the overwhelming attention commanded by artificial intelligence.
Looking forward, Milojicic expresses confidence that the space sector will command significantly greater prominence in the coming years. He notes that space is an area of technology bound to become increasingly important, particularly as terrestrial communication and transportation networks increasingly push their operational boundaries out into the cosmos.
The report highlights two primary technologies sitting on the near-term horizon: semiconductor manufacturing processes that utilize specialized parts constructed directly in space, and more economically accessible, reusable rockets. Additionally, the report identifies clean energy generation based in space and the eventual commercialization of orbital debris removal as crucial prospective technologies to monitor over the coming decade.
What’s Next?
To navigate this rapidly evolving landscape successfully, the report strongly recommends close collaboration between academia, private industry, government bodies, and professional associations.
To cultivate a well-prepared and thoroughly trained workforce, the report advises private industry to forge strategic partnerships with professional organizations to establish targeted training programs and revive traditional apprenticeships focused on the physical sciences, including chemistry and physics. Businesses are also urged to treat their AI infrastructure—encompassing computing hardware, data repositories, and reliable energy sources—as foundational, long-term strategic assets.
Additional recommendations include expanding broad access to affordable, high-quality education focused on STEM coursework and building baseline AI competency across the general populace. Governments are encouraged to take a leadership role in establishing sensible regulatory policies and implementing comprehensive reintegration programs designed to support workers whose jobs may be displaced by automation and AI adoption.
Professional organizations, including the IEEE itself, are advised to develop innovative products and services leveraging AI, strengthen established safety and data governance standards, and serve as active collaboration platforms uniting industry leaders, academic researchers, and political policymakers.
The report also provides tailored strategic recommendations for end users, digital content creators, institutional investors, and corporate leadership teams on how to thrive successfully in an increasingly AI-driven future.
Underpinning all of the report’s recommendations is a singular, persistent theme: the imperative to never lose sight of the human-AI relationship.
As a public charity dedicated fundamentally to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, the IEEE firmly believes that true progress must be measured by much more than simple technological development and the sheer speed of implementation, noted Sophia A. Muirhead, IEEE executive director and chief operating officer. Whether the objective is retraining the global workforce or responsibly weaving artificial intelligence into the fabric of daily life, the ultimate success of these major megatrends depends entirely on ensuring that innovation actively strengthens human well-being and preserves public trust.
