bioeconomy growth rates relative to gross based services, it is projected that hundreds of domestic product (GDP). In 2019, the United billions and eventually trillions of devices may States estimated its bioeconomy at nearly $1 be connected globally. trillion dollars annually, or approximately 5.1 Accelerated Societal Change. Privacy and percent of its total economy, while European Union and UN estimates from 2017-19, which anonymity may e昀昀ectively disappear by choice or government mandate, as all aspects of apply a broader de昀椀nition of bioeconomic personal and professional lives are tracked activities, show biotech contributing as much by global networks. Real-time, manufactured as 10 percent to Europe’s economy. or synthetic media could further distort truth Hyperconnectivity Uniting and and reality, destabilizing societies at a scale Separating Societies and speed that dwarfs current disinformation By 2040, the world will have orders-of-mag- challenges. Many types of crimes, particularly nitude more devices, data, and interactions, those that can be monitored and attributed linking together all aspects of modern life and with digital surveillance, will become less com- crossing political and societal boundaries. In- mon while new crimes, and potentially new creasing speed and global access will provide forms of discrimination, could arise. nations, corporations, and even individuals New Cybersecurity Paradigms. Greater with services and resources once limited to connectivity almost certainly will increase the prosperous countries. This hyperconnected vulnerability of connected individuals, insti- world is a future already beginning to emerge; tutions and governments as the presence of next generation networks, persistent sensors, hundreds of billions of connected devices vast- and myriad technologies will fuse together ly increases the cyber-physical attack surface. in a global system with billions of connected In addition, cyber security enforcement based devices. Today’s ubiquitous public cameras, on geographic borders is likely to become less for example, will lead to tomorrow’s smart relevant in an increasingly global web. cities, where optical and other sensors com- bine with AI to monitor people, vehicles, and BROADER IMPLICATIONS OF infrastructure globally. TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION By some estimates, the current Internet of Emerging technologies are rapidly improving Things, a precursor to a hyperconnected a broad range of human experiences and ca- future, will reach 64 billion objects by 2025, pabilities, but at least in the short term, these up from 10 billion in 2018—all monitored in same technologies may disrupt longstanding real time. Looking forward, a hyperconnected systems and societal dynamics, forcing individ- world could support up to 1 million devices uals, communities, and governments to adjust per square kilometer with next generation and 昀椀nd new ways of living, working, and man- cell phone systems (5G), compared with the aging. As with any disruption, some will thrive 60,000 devices currently possible with current whereas others will struggle, potentially facing cell networks, with even faster networks on increasing inequalities and imbalances. Emerg- the horizon. Networked sensors will become ing technologies are not solely responsible for ubiquitous; more than 20 billion devices were the following developments, but they are likely operative in 2020, and with new terrestrial to aggravate and amplify them. networks combined with an increase in space- A MORE CONTESTED WORLD 63 NASA / Unsplash