New software applications are using sound to transport users to sonic spaces, bringing audio to the forefront of AR experiences — and as a gateway to the metaverse. The richness of sound can transport users to new experiences, affecting moods and behaviors. PairPlay, for example, is an iOS app that guides friends or family through imagined scenarios within their own homes, while Apple’s recent Airpods patent includes the ability for users to create illusions of a sound source somewhere in a listening environment.

Big tech has been inching into healthcare, and now Google’s Alphabet is set on AI-drug discovery. With its recent formation of Isomorphic Laboratories, Alphabet is building on research by artificial intelligence lab DeepMind, acquired by Google in 2014. Pharmaceutical empires are pairing with tech giants to process massive amounts of medical data and research to spot promising therapies.

The move to take concrete climate adaptation measures has an economic upside: creating new jobs, such as Chief Heat Officers. We can expect to see new roles surfacing that didn’t exist before clear climate action. Cities where climate change is marked by extreme heat, from Phoenix to Miami, have introduced Chief Heat Officers to implement everything from resiliency centers, where residents can go cool off, to planting trees and educating city dwellers on climate action.

Advances in carbon technology are paving the way for brands to develop not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative products as the technologies become cheaper and more accessible. Over the last few years, startups have explored folding carbon dioxide – captured from smokestacks and other sources of pollution – directly into their products.

Barcelona-based Novameat’s 3D printed steaks mimic the taste and flavor of beef and pork. The bioengineering firm is just one startup developing lab-grown alternatives for earth-friendly diets. The World Bank estimates that 20 to 30 percent of the Earth’s carbon emissions stem from agriculture, and making the right food choices can curb that carbon footprint.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are disrupting long-set notions of value, setting up creators and brands alike to monetize digital collectibles from artwork to memes and movie scenes. Popularized by the art world, and memes like ‘little girl in the backseat’ (which was sold as an NFT), NFTs are creating a digital economy that arms users with the power to assign value, cutting out the middleman.

The field of mRNA therapeutics is exploding, setting unprecedented advancements in medicine — as well as the prospect of superhuman immunity to future viruses. Two years ago, mRNA therapeutics were unheard of outside of the lab of mRNA pioneer Dr. Anna Blakney, a now TikTok famous bioengineering professor from the University of British Columbia. But the pandemic has skyrocketed mRNA vaccines into the mainstream as a safer and faster vaccine than traditional vaccine development.

The longstanding might of the U.S. as an entertainment powerhouse is shifting with the importing of global mainstream content in series, movies, and entertainment from around the world. The desire for entertainment skyrocketed amid the pandemic, highlighting a growing appetite for everything from K-pop to hit series like Squid Game from Korea and Nordic Noirs from northern Europe.

The pandemic has highlighted societal and economic disparities, including wage inequities in the workplace. Among a wave of resignations, rising inflation, and growing dissent among workers, many businesses are responding with wage increases, particularly in lower paid sectors which have previously been left without benefits or mass increases.

The pandemic quickly manifested new ways of working, which, for many, can be from anywhere. It’s a change that has fundamentally shifted employees’ expectations – and they will look to future employers to meet their needs for flexibility in where and how they work. The untethered worker is one example of a new emerging workforce, unattached to a location and willing to explore.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers are looking for new jobs, while a record number have called it quits altogether. Nine out of ten executives say they’re seeing higher turnover than ever. It’s no wonder, when 94 percent of workers say they’re stressed. The demands of coping in a pandemic while working – whether it’s stretched parents, airline pilots dealing with a constant cycle of long shifts, or quarantines and related isolation – are leaving their mark with long-term physical and emotional stress.