What is an emerging technology?

This paper addresses the absence of fundamental elements in studying technologies. It defines ’emerging’ and proposes a framework for operationalizing this concept. It merges insights from innovation studies to define five attributes: radical novelty, rapid growth, significant impact, and uncertainty. The framework employs scientific methods like trend analysis, reference analysis, and co-word analysis to detect and study technologies.

Introduction

This paper delves into understanding and measuring technologies. It acknowledges the lack of consensus in describing these technologies and highlights challenges in measuring their rise or appearance. These issues hinder effective research, resource distribution, and regulation development.

The paper aims to connect theoretical and procedural gaps by defining technologies using five key attributes: radical novelty, rapid growth, coherence, significant impact, and uncertainty. It suggests a framework based on scientometric methods for detecting andexamining the rise.

The structure of the paper includes sections addressing the concept of emergence, integrating innovation studies to define technologies, reviewing methods for detection and analysis, discussing limitations in current methodologies, and concluding with recommendations for future research.

Initiatives by MeitY in Technologies

Artificial Intelligence (AI): stands poised to revolutionize our work and lifestyles, carrying substantial potential for economic growth. Embraced worldwide as a pivotal element of the fourth industrial revolution, nations are actively integrating this technology. The Government of India, recognizing its impact, has initiated robust support for research, development, and adoption of AI. To craft a comprehensive policy framework in response to AI’s potential effects on the economy and society, MeitY established four committees dedicated to AI. The reports from these committees are accessible on the MeitY website.

“Hub of Excellence in the Internet of Things (IoT)

Under the Digital India initiative, MeitY, in collaboration with NASSCOM and state governments, established Centers of Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT) in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Gandhi Nagar, and Visakhapatnam. The first IoT center was founded in Bengaluru in 2016, in partnership with the Government of Karnataka and NASSCOM. These centers aim to position India as an innovation hub in IoT by democratizing innovation and bringing prototypes to life. They serve as connectors between startups, enterprises, venture capitalists, government bodies, and academia. These hubs empower startups working in IoT, Big Data, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics to achieve their full potential.

The Center of Excellence for Virtual and Augmented Reality (VARCoE) is located at IIT Bhubaneswar

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) hold significant potential for innovation across various industries and research sectors. Current research and innovation efforts span diverse fields such as product and skill development, healthcare, art and design, transportation, construction, tourism, entertainment, education, and productivity software. To explore the opportunities within this specific or focused domain, the Software Technology Parks of India, in collaboration with MeitY, the Government of Odisha, IIT-Bhubaneswar, and a philanthropic or altruistic entity, have established the Center for Entrepreneurship focusing on Virtual and Augmented Reality (VARCoE) at IIT-Bhubaneswar.

Centre of Excellence on Gaming, VFX, Computer Vision & AI at Hyderabad

In January 2020, this Center of Excellence (CoE) was established in partnership with MeitY, STPI, the gaming industry, and the Government of Telangana. Its primary aim is to furnish resources like mentorship, technological assistance, and funding to startups engaged in Gaming, Animation, VFX, Computer Vision, and AI. Through its incubation facility, it provides comprehensive programs such as CVLAB and Game Lab, facilitating startups in their scaling endeavors. This hub, known as IMAGE, offers the IMAGE accelerator program, which includes high-quality plug-and-play workspaces for startups. It also grants access to a robust ecosystem comprising intellectual property holders, mentors, initial funding sources, investors, and a platform aiding in the implementation of Go-to-Market strategies.

Centre of Excellence on Blockchain Technology at Gurugram

The STPI APIARY, functioning as a Center of Entrepreneurship specializing in Blockchain Technology, was established in March 2020 through a collaboration between MeitY, STPI, the Government of Haryana, Padup Venture Private Limited, IBM, Intel, GBA, and FITT. This initiative aims to scout and assess promising startups in the realm of Blockchain technology, providing them a home within the STPI Gurugram incubation facility. A Center of Entrepreneurship (CoE) denotes a specialized incubation hub tailored for startups in emerging technologies, offering top-tier infrastructure, technological resources, leadership guidance, mentorship, training, research and development support, funding opportunities, and networking avenues specific to the focused domain.

Design, Development, and Deployment of National AI Portal (INDIAai)

The National AI Portal of India (INDIAai) is a collaborative effort involving MeitY, NeGD, and NASSCOM, aimed at readying the nation for an AI-driven future. This platform hosts an abundance of research reports, datasets, case studies, educational institute listings, courses, and articles encompassing the expanding realm of Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence National Program

The India AI program, conceptualized as a comprehensive initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), aims to harness groundbreaking technologies to promote inclusion, innovation, and societal impact. The key components of India AI encompass Data for AI, Skill development, AI Ethics and Governance, Computing infrastructure, AI Research and Development, and the establishment of a National Center for AI, among others. To realize this vision, MeitY is executing the “National Program on Artificial Intelligence” with the goal of creating an extensive framework that utilizes transformative technologies to drive social impact through inclusion, innovation, and adoption. This initiative focuses on four primary pillars within the AI ecosystem: AI Skill development, Responsible AI practices, Data Management Office, and the establishment of the National Center for AI.

Quantum computing

Quantum computing, poised to transform industries, operates at an exponentially faster pace than classical computing due to its utilization of quantum mechanics. Its power lies in processing complex operations at incredible speeds using quantum bits or “qubitsRecent advancements, notably in hybrid quantum-classical methods, indicate substantial strides in computational progress. These advancements enable reliable outcomes, even with smaller datasets, benefiting domains like AI.

Quantum computing aims to empower computers, AI, optimization, and simulations to solve extremely complex operations faster than traditional methods, addressing once-unsolvable problems.

Conclusions

Emerging technologies have gained importance in shaping policy as they possess the potential to disrupt existing norms. This led to initiatives like the European Commission’s “Future & Emerging Technologies” (FET) in 2013 and the US-funded “Foresight and Understanding from Scientific Exposition” (FUSE) program, reflecting ad hoc governmental responses to this trend.

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