What emerging technologies or applications do you know about that few people are aware exist and when you talk about it the majority tell you it is in

Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, robotics, etc. are all emerging technologies which have been getting increased media attention and are typically labelled ‘disruptive’.

I believe we (tech startups, agency/consulting firm folk, digital agencies, …) sometimes live in somewhat of a bubble and assume there is more widespread awareness than actually exists.

99.9% of people has never heard of ‘blockchain’ and those that have likely associate it with Bitcoin.

But beyond the above-mentioned technologies and the automation they will bring to our lives and work, a few tech/applications where I encounter frowns:

• Digital biology: Tools like CRISPR-Cas9 allow us to edit our genomes while we’re still alive. By changing one targeted gene more than 5,000 diseases could be cured. This technology is becoming increasingly democratized – the cost of reading DNA has for example decreased by a 100,000-fold. One day we might pick & choose our children’s sex, intellect or athletic ability.
• Brain-computer interfaces: Systems that allow for enhanced intelligence such as speed learning and one day connecting our brain to a computer. ‘Matrix-style’ learning, anyone?
• Bioprinting: The use of 3D printing techniques to create organs or tissue with materials that incorporate stem cells. This will become key in reconstructive surgery.