Flying taxis, humanoid robots and AI-powered cures for cancer – a look into the near future
Never mind the distant future – the near future looks both fascinating and terrifying.
We are at the start of a massive acceleration in innovation and growth that will power global economic growth to unprecedented levels. Just look at the graph below.
Here are five big ideas that ARK Investments argues are about to change our world.
Public blockchains
All money and contracts will likely migrate to public blockchains that enable and verify digital scarcity and proof of ownership. Cryptocurrencies are just the start. Public blockchains increase transparency, reduce the influence of capital and regulatory controls, and collapse the costs of contract execution. In such a world, Digital Wallets will become increasingly necessary as more assets become money-like and corporations and consumers adapt to the new financial infrastructure. Corporate structures may be called into question. The chart below shows digital wallets such as that offered by 80eight accounting for 72% of all e-commerce transactions by 2030.
Source: ARK Investments
AI
You might be impressed with OpenAI and DeepSeek now, but look at what’s coming. The adoption of Neural Networks capable of solving problems much like a human does should prove more momentous than electrification and potentially create tens of trillions of dollars of value, says ARK. The potential for end-users is clear: a constellation of AI-driven Intelligent Devices that permeate people's lives, changing the way that they spend, work, and play. Nothing will be left untouched by AI.
Energy storage
The declining costs of Advanced Battery Technology will produce an explosion in self-driving vehicles that will collapse the cost of transport. Expect to see a momentous drop in electric drivetrain costs, followed by flying taxis, self-driving taxis to replace car ownership, and frictionless transport that will increase the velocity of e-commerce, powered by batteries and small-scale fission (which will replace liquid fuels).
Multiomics and the study of human biology
Powered by AI and unprecedented access to DNA, RNA, protein, and digital health data, we will see a transformation in cancer care, collapsing costs of drug discovery, and precision therapies that target and cure rare and not-so-rare conditions.
Robotics
3D printing is already changing manufacturing by churning out products and parts on demand. Humanoid robots are already here but will become far more sophisticated and take over many of the functions currently done by humans. Reusable Rockets will reduce the cost of launching satellite constellations and enable uninterruptible connectivity and earth observation. Robotics could collapse the cost of transporting across distance with hypersonic travel, the cost of manufacturing complexity with 3D printers, and the cost of physical work with AI-guided robots.
