Executive Summary

Big technology bets—mRNA vaccines, videoconferencing, and rapid delivery—won during the pandemic. In 2022, the tech industry will make some new bets on the future, including space-based internet, the metaverse, and voice-based internet. But it will also need to overcome consumer and government concerns about bias and privacy.

Questions this report covers:

• Will the hype over the metaverse influence the new products that consumers see?
• Will concerns about algorithmic bias and privacy affect the tech industry?
• Will the battle between tech giants lead to improvements in how we connect to the internet?

KEY STAT: Visions of the metaverse rely on widespread adoption of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets, which are set to become much more common in the next four years.