By 2028, genetic engineering and advanced gene therapy will transition into routine treatments for a wide variety of diseases, supercharged by rapid developments in artificial intelligence. This major projection is just one of many detailed in the newly released 2030 Technology Megatrends Report from the IEEE, which outlines how emerging technological shifts are poised to fundamentally reshape everyday human life, global industries, and physical infrastructure over the coming decade.
According to IEEE leaders and global experts who contributed to the study, the evolution of technology has entered an entirely new era. "We are seeing a fundamental shift in how technology evolves," says IEEE Fellow Dejan Milojicic, who serves as the chair of the IEEE Future Directions Committee’s Industry Advisory Board, the group directly responsible for producing the comprehensive report.
Milojicic, who is also a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Fellow and vice president at HPE Labs in Milpitas, California, notes that artificial intelligence is no longer operating in an isolated digital vacuum. Instead, AI has become deeply and inextricably connected to global energy grids, physical infrastructure, and heavy industrial systems.
Underpinning many of the report’s 30 identified breakthrough technologies are five overarching "megatrends"—massive directional shifts in technology that carry the potential to transform entire economic sectors and everyday societal practices for decades to come. The authors of the report emphasize that a megatrend is not a singular, isolated scientific breakthrough, but rather a complex, interconnected collection of related technological advancements.
To compile the 2030 report, a diverse panel of 166 experts hailing from 38 countries across six distinct continents was assembled. Representing a broad cross-section of industry, academia, and government sectors, these global minds identified 30 distinct breakthrough technologies categorized under five primary megatrends: artificial intelligence, energy, health, space, and physical AI. To ensure rigorous evaluation, the panel graded each trend against five core criteria: likelihood of ultimate success, potential impact to humanity, current technological maturity, anticipated market adoption, and the expected horizon to widespread adoption.
AI as a Common Thread
At the heart of the report’s findings is the concept that interconnected systems are driving these megatrends, with artificial intelligence acting as the ultimate unifying thread binding them all together.
The report highlights that artificial intelligence technology is currently advancing at a pace faster than any previous historical revolution, including the industrial, electrical, and digital revolutions. This blistering speed has transformed AI from a specialized computing tool into a fundamental, general-purpose infrastructure that supports modern society, according to Milojicic.
However, this unprecedented evolution carries significant risks and hurdles, the experts caution. The report explicitly cites a severe lack of adequate computing infrastructure and sufficient clean energy sources as primary constraints limiting the ability to scale up AI systems. Furthermore, the report stresses that the rapid growth and integration of artificial intelligence will inevitably require a major reshaping of the global workforce.
Workers have always had to adapt to remain competitive in changing economic landscapes, Milojicic points out, noting that AI adoption should not be viewed as an all-or-nothing proposition. Instead, businesses must strategically evaluate when, where, and how to apply these emerging tools to maximize benefit while mitigating disruption.
Long-term success in this new technological landscape will require a careful balance of raw technical capabilities alongside a dedicated focus on the human-AI relationship, according to the panel. Factors such as baseline trust, system security, algorithmic explainability, and proactive policymaking will ultimately determine which AI-supported technologies successfully scale in the real world.
"This report shifts the conversation to something far more important: how these advances will intersect with one another to shape human lives," said Mary Ellen Randall, the 2026 IEEE president and CEO, in an official news release regarding the publication of the report. "The data makes clear that trust, safety, and human connection must guide every major breakthrough in the decade ahead."
Health Care is a High-Impact Bet
Among all the sectors evaluated in the study, the experts scored personalized medicine as the highest-impact technology overall, giving it an impressive rating of 4.93 out of a possible 5 points due to its immense potential to dramatically improve human life and longevity.
The report attributes this high score to AI-driven breakthroughs in personalized diagnostics and therapeutic treatments, which are increasingly being pioneered by innovative biotechnology startups. Within a mere two years, the expert panel predicts, genetic engineering and advanced gene therapies will see widespread use across numerous clinical therapeutic areas.
Looking further ahead within a five-year horizon, the report projects that earlier, highly accurate disease diagnoses will successfully transition out of high-tech laboratories and into day-to-day medical practices worldwide. Simultaneously, researchers are expected to gain the capability to manufacture simple synthetic proteins—molecules engineered entirely from scratch rather than harvested from nature—designed to execute specific, targeted jobs inside the human body, such as hunting down tumors or supplying missing cellular enzymes.
Energy Wakes Up for AI
As artificial intelligence systems proliferate globally, the sharply increased power demand required to run them is drastically outpacing the energy sector’s traditional ability to keep up. Current tech infrastructure, including sprawling data centers, complex communication networks, and heavy computing hardware, already consumes an estimated 10 percent of the world’s total electricity, according to data highlighted in the IEEE release.
To counter this looming deficit, the report’s experts predict that within the next two to three years, energy storage capabilities in developed countries will double to help stabilize fluctuating power loads.
Historically, the energy industry has remained relatively dormant for decades, with very few breakthrough innovations occurring since the foundational pioneering eras of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, Milojicic observes.
"Data centers can ramp up within milliseconds, yet it takes months for the power and energy sector to ramp up," Milojicic explains, pointing to a dangerous temporal mismatch. "The governments of various countries will have to rethink their approach to power generation to stay ahead of demand."
Compounding this challenge, the experts cite the Jevons paradox—the economic principle stating that efficiency gains tend to increase, rather than decrease, overall resource consumption. As the energy efficiency of AI computer chips continues to improve, organizations will simply deploy larger volumes of hardware to build increasingly massive frontier models, which are the highly advanced AI systems currently under active development. Consequently, data centers will continue to draw as much electrical power as local power grids can possibly supply, leaving virtually no surplus for other sectors.
Physical AI Moves the Fastest
Physical AI refers broadly to intelligent systems embedded directly within physical machines that are capable of sensing and acting upon the real world around them, a category that encompasses advanced industrial robots and autonomous vehicles. Originally termed "hyper-automation and robotics" in early drafts—referring to broad software-driven process automation paired with physical hardware—the IEEE Industry Advisory Board ultimately folded the concept into a single, unified physical AI megatrend.
The study revealed that human-AI interaction boasts the shortest adoption horizon of any of the 30 scored technologies, projected to reach maturity within just two to three years. Furthermore, the experts concluded that physical AI carries the single greatest potential for dramatic technical advancement of any megatrend over the next four years.
Smarter, more energy-efficient robots are anticipated to substantially cut overall industrial energy consumption in the next two years, according to the report. Furthermore, the primary modes of communication between humans and artificial intelligence—whether housed within humanoid androids or standard smart devices—will shift away from traditional text-based typing and toward predominantly audio and video instructions within the next two to three years.
Within a timeframe of two to five years, advanced androids utilized in factory environments are expected to incorporate sophisticated tactile and haptic feedback systems. This capability will allow robots to physically sense the objects they are touching and dynamically adjust their grip strength or applied force in response. Parallel advancements in bio-inspired skin, artificial tissues, and specialized sensors will mature during the same window, granting robots a level of physical perception that much more closely mirrors human touch.
Space is Just Getting Started
Space technology, as defined by the IEEE report, encompasses far more than deep space exploration. It spans satellite communications, in-space manufacturing, next-generation launch technology, and various forms of orbital infrastructure. While space technology currently ranks as a lower-profile megatrend in the study, this is not due to a lack of long-term promise, but rather a reflection of the sector’s current stage of commercial and technological maturity.
"It’s not lagging," Milojicic says, clarifying the sector’s status. "It’s the current state of maturity. People are talking about satellite communication right now because it’s very cool and practical. But it’s a small segment compared to the attention AI gets."
Milojicic expresses strong confidence that the space sector will command significantly more prominence in the coming years. "This is an area of technology that will become increasingly important, especially as terrestrial communication and transportation push the boundaries for space as well," he notes.
Looking ahead, the report highlights two specific space technologies hovering on the near horizon: semiconductor manufacturing processes that utilize parts built directly in microgravity, and more affordable, reusable orbital rockets. Over the course of the next decade, the panel also advises watching for the emergence of clean energy generation based in space and the gradual commercialization of orbital garbage collection initiatives to clean up space debris.
What’s Next?
To navigate these sweeping technological changes successfully, the IEEE report strongly recommends deep, coordinated collaboration among academia, private industry, governments, and professional engineering associations.
To build a well-trained, adaptable workforce, the report advises industry leaders to partner directly with professional organizations to establish targeted training programs and revive traditional apprenticeships in core physical sciences such as chemistry and physics. Businesses are also urged to treat their AI infrastructure—encompassing computing power, data reservoirs, and energy supplies—as critical, long-term strategic assets.
Additional recommendations include expanding broad public access to affordable, high-quality education focused on STEM coursework and baseline AI competence. Meanwhile, governments are encouraged to take the lead on forward-thinking public policy and implement effective reintegration programs designed to support workers whose jobs may be displaced by automation and artificial intelligence.
Professional organizations, including the IEEE itself, are called upon to develop innovative products and services leveraging AI, strengthen global safety and data governance standards, and act as neutral collaboration platforms uniting industry, academia, and policymakers.
The report also provides strategic guidance for end users, content creators, investors, and corporate leadership on how to successfully navigate an increasingly AI-focused future.
Throughout all the report’s extensive recommendations, a single consistent theme remains paramount: humanity must never lose sight of the vital human-AI relationship.
"As a public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, IEEE believes progress must be measured by more than technology development and implementation speed," said Sophia A. Muirhead, IEEE executive director and chief operating officer. "Whether retraining the global workforce or integrating AI responsibly into daily life, the success of these megatrends depends on ensuring innovation strengthens human well-being and public trust."
