Introduction
Rapid advances in technology continue, bringing new regulatory challenges. As with previous Tech Horizons reports, this edition identifies some important concerns posed by selected technologies, alongside their applications and associated risks.
Our last report explored eight emerging technologies, including genomics, immersive virtual worlds, neurotechnologies and quantum computing. This third edition explores four more technologies likely to be significantly adopted in the next two to seven years:
- Connected transport: the convergence of technologies that is transforming how vehicles operate and interact with their environment and the people they are carrying.
- Quantum sensing and imaging, which offer new or radically improved capabilities compared with existing sensors and imaging techniques. We focus on use cases in healthcare and medical research.
- Digital diagnostics, therapeutics and healthcare infrastructure, such as smart pills, digital twins and AI-assisted diagnosis.
- Synthetic media and its identification and detection: content that has been wholly or partially generated using AI/machine learning technologies (such as images, videos and audio) and its detection.
In each chapter we explain the technology, explore its emerging use cases, outline its current adoption, and discuss potential future privacy and data protection risks.
- We say more about how we select and evaluate technologies in the annex.
These chapters represent our early view on often highly uncertain, evolving technology areas. You should not consider as formal guidance the data protection and privacy issues we’ve explored, and the recommendations we’ve set out in this report. They do not necessarily reflect our current or future policy positions.
For the first time, this report includes a retrospective review of selected technologies covered in previous Tech Horizons editions, updating areas of significant development. In the last year, we have also released dedicated reports on quantum technologies and genomics, which delve deeper into regulatory thinking about these emerging technologies. We have also worked with our partners in the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) to publish insights on digital identity, synthetic media, and further insight into quantum technologies.
By identifying early the privacy and data protection implications of emerging technologies, we can provide timely regulatory advice and support innovators to embed safeguards during the design phase. We offer further support to organisations developing these technologies through our Regulatory Sandbox.