The scientific advances ready to change the world: the Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2026

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

Revolutionary healthcare treatments, a rethink of energy systems, and advances in AI, quantum and biotechnology: these are all among the breakthroughs contained in the latest Top 10 Emerging Technologies report.
We look at each of the technologies in the 14th annual Top 10 Tech report from the World Economic Forum.
Guest:
Kimmy Bettinger, Lead, Expert and Knowledge Communities, World Economic Forum
Links:
Top 10 Emerging Technologies report: https://www.weforum.org/publications/top-10-emerging-technologies-of-2026/
Related podcasts:
Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2025: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/top-ten-emerging-tech-2025/
Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2024: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/top-10-emerging-technologies-2024/
Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2023: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/top-10-emerging-technologies-2023/
AI can lie, hack and blackmail: Yoshua Bengio on how to tame the "baby tiger" of tech: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/yoshua-bengio-honest-ai/
Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: the view from Interpol and the threat to ‘OT’: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/global-cybersecurity-outlook-2026-interpol-dragos/
AI may spark a new era of progress, but that depends on more than just the tech: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/carl-benedikt-frey-ai-work-jobs-economics/
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts:
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Radio Davos – subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164
Meet the Leader – subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560
Agenda Dialogues – subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4pXNZldHs

Renminbi and the World

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

More than $150 trillion moves across borders each year through the global financial system, the vast majority of it still denominated in dollars. As geopolitical tensions fragment trade relationships and middle powers look to diversify their financial exposure, alternative currencies are gaining quiet traction, such as the recent renewal of a 200-billion-yuan swap line between the Bank of Canada and the People’s Bank of China.

How might a growing willingness among these economies to transact in alternative currencies reshape the structure, stability and sovereignty of the international financial system?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlJjwlaUUfk

Less Talk, More Deals

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

With multilateral trade governance under strain, countries are turning to smaller strategic groupings with defined spheres of interest to advance trade agendas.

Is minilateralism an effective alternative to the global trading system that dominated the last century?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciz7Nd9U1XA

Media Session: Meet the Founders on the Frontier

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

Emerging businesses are reshaping the global economy, scaling rapidly and achieving market influence once reserved for established institutions. Today, eight of the world’s ten largest publicly listed companies are technology firms, most built on innovations that did not exist a generation ago. Join leading Technology Pioneers and Innovators to explore what distinguishes their business models from traditional market players and how they are poised to shape the next decade of growth and transformation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvOleT3X_VM

What if Fixing the System Isn’t the Answer?

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

Many of today’s systems are under strain, yet solving global challenges increasingly depends on them. From climate to healthcare, meaningful change often requires coordination across complex, slow-moving structures. But what if transformation doesn’t always start by fixing the system?

Join this session to discover how “workarounds” can become powerful pathways to systems change, unlocking progress where traditional approaches stall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk6XhFXlghA

What’s the Limit for AI-First Enterprises?

Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

As AI inference costs have dropped by over 90%, enterprises are embedding data and intelligence at the core of their operating and business models, enabling always-on, global execution beyond human limits.

How are these AI-first enterprises reorganizing around AI in practice, and under what conditions does this actually translate into long-term value for society?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGjcbbWQ0d4