Several years ago, Amazon chief technology officer Werner Vogels began sharing predictions on how technology would likely impact our lives the following year. In the past, he has foreseen the impact of digital technology in sports, AI assistants in developer productivity, machine learning embedded in production lines, and “fem tech” on women’s health.
As CTO of Amazon (No. 2 on the Fortune 500) since 2005, he occupies a unique perch to see and even shape what’s next. Vogels also has a vested interest, of course, in embracing the technologies that his company creates. In this year’s forecast, Vogels predicts 2026 will be the year in which “interdisciplinary cooperation influences discovery and creation at a pace we haven’t seen since the Renaissance.” He sees technology becoming a force that will reduce loneliness, empower a new breed of developers, accelerate personalized learning, and spawn military technology that will quickly cross over to areas like health care. On a more cautionary note, he warns that breakthroughs in quantum computing will force a shift in how we handle cybersecurity.
