Bill Gates outlines technology breakthroughs that can change the world

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently outlined what he believes will be technology breakthroughs, including custom cancer vaccines, better toilets, lab-grown meat and more.

The MIT Technology Review recently published Gates’ views of what he believes could revolutionize the world and help save lives. These ‘breakthrough’ technologies include personalized cancer vaccines, wearable electrocardiograms and such.

The customized cancer vaccines, according to Gates, can trigger a patient’s immune system ‘to identify a tumor by its unique mutations’ and ‘could effectively shut down many types of cancers’. However, Gates acknowledged that there will be many hurdles to overcome before developing them, including costs and time taken to make them.

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He further mentioned that robot revolution is upon us and further breakthroughs for robots are needed to ‘master the advanced dexterity needed in a real warehouse or factory’. These robots can further assemble our gadgets or load dishwashers, reported CNBC.

Introducing advanced technologies to take carbon dioxide out of air to lock away greenhouses will also play a major role to impact human lives. Sustainable meat and burgers, meat grown in lab from animal cells will be helpful where no animal slaughter is involved, wrote Gates.

Gates mentioned that a tool such as wearable electrocardiograms can help detect strokes or heart attacks and help save lives beforehand. Gates also pushed on the idea of cheap, self-contained toilets that will prevent spreading of bacteria, parasites or viruses that cause various diseases.

Other technology breakthroughs according to Gates include development of new nuclear energy reactor designs to make nuclear power ‘safer and cheaper’; a blood test to predict if a baby is likely to be born prematurely and thereby increase chance of survival; a pill-sized probe that can be swallowed to take detailed pictures of the gut without anesthesia; and AI assistants with which you can have a conversation and that can ‘deal with daily minutiae like taking meeting notes, finding information, or shopping online’.