New analysis by the McKinsey Technology Council highlights the adoption, development, and industry effects of advanced technologies. Despite challenging market conditions in 2023, continuing investments in frontier technologies promise substantial future growth in enterprise adoption. Generative AI (gen AI) has been a standout trend since 2022, with significant interest and investment unlocking innovative possibilities across interconnected trends like robotics and immersive reality.
While the macroeconomic environment with elevated interest rates has affected equity capital investment and hiring, underlying indicators—including optimism, innovation, and long-term talent needs—reflect a positive long-term trajectory in the 15 technology trends analyzed. This year’s analysis reflects shifts in the technology landscape with two changes in the list of trends: digital trust and cybersecurity, integrating Web3 and trust architectures, and the future of robotics. Robotics technologies’ synergy with AI is paving the way for groundbreaking innovations and operational shifts across economic and workforce landscapes.
The McKinsey Technology Council identified the most significant technology trends unfolding today. This research is intended to help executives plan ahead by understanding potential use cases, sources of value, adoption drivers, and the critical skills needed to bring these opportunities to fruition.
The notable trends in 2023 included gen AI, which saw a 700 percent spike in Google searches from 2022 to 2023, along with a notable increase in job postings and investments. The capabilities of gen AI have expanded, allowing for more advanced applications such as video, image, and audio generation. This expansion has spurred significant investments in developing more powerful and efficient computing systems.
To assess the development of each technology trend, McKinsey collected data on search engine queries, news publications, patents, research publications, and investment. These tangible measures provided insights into the momentum and adoption levels of each trend. The analysis includes updates on the selection and definition of trends to reflect the evolution of technology.
The survey involved approximately 1,000 respondents from 50 countries, assessing the enterprise-wide adoption scores for each trend. Survey representation was balanced across various regions and company sizes and targeted senior-level professionals knowledgeable in technology. The adoption scores ranged from frontier innovation to fully scaled technologies.
