25 Technologies That Have Changed the World

Published on December 26, 2023 at 3:18 pm by Zarah Hamid in Business, Lists, News, Tech

In this article, we will be analyzing the evolution of technology while covering the 25 technologies that have changed the world. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis, you can move directly to the 5 Technologies That Have Changed the World.

Technology Over the Years

Following the dot com bubble burst, technology successfully rebounded. As reported by the World Economic Forum, people who had Internet access grew from less than 7% in 2000 to more than half of the total world’s population by 2020. The cellphone technology also penetrated strongly across the world. Technology became more personal when Apple launched its first iPod and then its iPhone.

Technological change has also been rapid in today’s world. Technologies that were introduced in the older times continued to be prevalent for a long time. However, modern-day technology is subject to ongoing change. The inventions of agriculture, writing, and the wheel were separated by numerous years. Before 2000, the world witnessed major technological developments including the television, antibiotics, the first computers, and the Internet. As of now, mixed reality, genomics, and generative AI have been emerging technologies that are expected to generate a profound economic and social impact in the coming years. Artificial intelligence is all set to transform the global scenario further. You can also take a look at the most advanced countries in artificial intelligence.

Tech Companies Leading the Way

In an era of rapid technological progress and innovation, technology companies tend to play their role by inculcating modern-day technologies. Some of the leading tech companies in this regard include Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), and Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL).

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is a renowned technology company based in the United States. On December 20, the company reported that it has supported ai.io in carrying out an efficient scouting process across the world. Intel-powered artificial intelligence technology helps sports coaches and clubs to find the right kind of athletes. While players can identify areas they need to work on through real-time feedback, clubs can seek the right kind of athletes that cater to their requirements. Hence, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has been fostering the use of AI as a dominant technology trend through this partnership. Ai.io has also incorporated Intel Corporation’s (NASDAQ:INTC) hardware and software solutions across its platform. These include OpenVINO, 5G communications technology, Intel Xeon, and Intel Core processors.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is an American digital communications technology conglomerate corporation. On December 5, the company reported the introduction of Cisco AI Assistant for Security. This assistant has been trained on one of the largest security-focused datasets globally. Under this development, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) has introduced an AI-powered encrypted visibility engine that helps identify if the encrypted traffic carries malware and AI Assistant for firewall policy which will boost troubleshooting and configuration tasks.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) is a leading American multinational technology company. The company develops, sells, and supports computers and related products and services. On December 14, Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) reported its agreement with CoreWeave. CoreWeave serves as a specialized cloud provider for large-scale NVIDIA GPU-accelerated workloads and will be using Dell PowerEdge XE9860 servers with NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs to power its cloud solutions. This will support intensive workloads such as AI, machine learning, and large-scale simulations.

Let’s now take a look at the 25 technologies that have changed the world.

25 Technologies That Have Changed the World

Our Methodology:

In order to compile a list of the 25 technologies that have changed the world, we used a consensus approach. We made a comprehensive list of technologies that have changed the world using multiple sources. These sources include Forbes, World Economic Forum, Insight and Innovation, Cnet, and MIT Technology Review. Moving on, we assigned a score to all of these technologies, as represented by the ‘insider monkey score’ in our list. This score is an average and is calculated by summing up the respective rankings for a specific technology across every source and dividing the sum by the number of sources across which the technology appears. Since this score reflects how commonly a technology appeared across our sources, a lower average score depicts a technology more commonly known for changing the world.

Finally, we ranked the 25 technologies that have changed the world in descending order of their calculated average scores, using a consensus.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using different consensus approaches, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

25 Technologies That Have Changed the World

25. Virtual and Augmented Reality

Insider Monkey Score: 15.0

Virtual and augmented reality are technologies that have changed the world. These technologies have created an immersive digital experience in a multitude of fields, ranging from gaming to retail. They continue to gain popularity.

24. 5G

Insider Monkey Score: 13.0

Another technology that has changed the world is 5G. This fifth generation of wireless connectivity has been predicted to significantly contribute to the global economic value in the coming years.

23. Robots and Cobots

Insider Monkey Score: 13.0

The world has witnessed rapid development in robotics and automation. This has led to a new concept of collaborative robots also known as cobots, which aim to work in the same environments as humans. Hence, robots and cobots have transformed the world.

22. Facial Recognition

Insider Monkey Score: 11.0

Facial recognition ranks as one of the 25 technologies that have changed our world. This form of artificial intelligence detects the human face in a visual image. This technology has been a part of everyday life, from surveillance cameras to mobile locks.

21. Genetic Engineering

Insider Monkey Score: 9.5

The technologies that have transformed the world include genetic engineering as well. This technology has led to major developments such as human insulin and genetically modified plants.

20. Natural Language Processing

Insider Monkey Score: 9.0

Natural language processing ranks as one of the top technologies that have changed the world. This technology can interpret and respond to human language. It is widely used in chatbots and voice assistants.

19. Digital Twins

Insider Monkey Score: 9.0

The most transformative technologies in the world include digital twins as well. The digital twin technology replicates a physical entity made using real-time data. This has helped organizations make better decisions and reduce costs.

18. MP3

Insider Monkey Score: 9.0

MP3 is another known technology that has impacted the world, especially the music industry. It transformed music sharing across the world. MP3 files also made transferring music more convenient. This technology enabled the creation of portable MP3 players.

17. Blockchain

Insider Monkey Score: 8.7

Blockchain, a distributed digital database, has been utilized in a wide range of industries. While food companies use this technology to track food, it has also been used in the travel sector to refrain from wrong bookings. Hence, blockchain is one of the 25 technologies that have changed the world.

16. GPS

Insider Monkey Score: 7.5

GPS is another transformative technology that has changed the world. GPS navigation systems have transformed traveling by making it easier. GPS trackers further ensure safety.

15. Lithium Metal Battery

Insider Monkey Score: 7.0

Lithium metal batteries rank as one of the technologies that have changed the world. This technology has powered electric vehicles which are a popularly growing concept. These batteries are also deemed to have a long-lasting life and a higher energy efficiency.

14. Data Trusts

Insider Monkey Score: 7.0

A data trust offers one central source of data which is accessible to all stakeholders. It aggregates data from different organizations and provides better insights through an extensive pool of data. Hence, data trusts serve as another technology that has changed the world.

13. Green Hydrogen

Insider Monkey Score: 7.0

Green hydrogen is another technology that has shaped the world by combating an issue as important as climate change. This carbon-free energy source offers an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

12. Cloud and Edge Computing

Insider Monkey Score: 7.0

While cloud computing offers centralized data processing, edge computing allows data processing near data sources which enables a faster and efficient data transmission. Hence, the complimenting cloud and edge computing ranks as one of the technologies that have shaped the world.

11. Voice Interfaces and Chatbots

Insider Monkey Score: 6.7

Digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa have been capable of responding to humans. Apart from voice-activated chatbots, text chatbots also continue to efficiently cater to human queries.

10. VPN

Insider Monkey Score: 6.0

Another commonly known technological advancement is the VPN, the virtual private network. VPN has emerged from being used by businesses to being commonly utilized to avoid restrictions that streaming services face in certain locations.

9. Artificial Intelligence

Insider Monkey Score: 5.6

Artificial intelligence is another dominant technology that has gained traction over the years. The applications of AI continue to expand. From enhancing diagnostics in medicine to shaping learning in education, this technology has continued to evolve.

8. Personalized Medicine

Insider Monkey Score: 5.0

Personalized medicine serves as one of the 25 technologies that have changed the world. It has enhanced disease diagnosis as well as prevention. It has also reduced the time and cost spent on drug discovery.

7. Bluetooth

Insider Monkey Score: 5.0

Bluetooth is a wireless communication technology that has transformed the world. This technology has been used to connect a wide range of devices to audio sources. Bluetooth-enabled devices across the world continue to rise.

6. Wearables and Augmented Humans

Insider Monkey Score: 4.5

Human augmentation technology has deeply impacted the world through wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers which have become increasingly common. Other wearables include prosthetics which aim to improve physical capabilities.

Click to continue reading and see 5 Technologies That Have Changed the World.