People within organizations charged with harnessing innovation have always had to consider a technology’s practicality, maturity, and ROI. And today, as AI and computing power smash through assumptions about the limitations of technology, the same executives must increasingly consider implications that include regulations, ethics, social responsibility, sustainability, and societal impact. These technologists brought that kind of thinking to their work in 2024.
Andy Parsons, Adobe
For bringing transparency to AI-generated content
As AI has taken content creation and alteration light years beyond the digital airbrush, there’s a clear mandate to label what it has played a part in creating. Adobe’s Andy Parsons, senior director of the Content Authenticity Initiative, leads an industrywide effort to promote trust and transparency around digital content. The coalition he’s driving spans over 3,000 members spanning hardware, software, AI, and media companies. Content Credentials, which he drove across Adobe products, has laid the foundation for the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, where he represents Adobe in furthering the open standard designed to fight misinformation.
Natalya Lopareva, Algorized
For detecting humans in danger
Algorized has developed software that uses human-presence detection technology to locate people trapped under bricks and walls. CEO Natalya Lopareva led the evolution of the company from research at the University of Zurich, where a team spent months analyzing buildings, environments, and how children and adults breathe and move. The company has now formed strategic partnerships with major manufacturers of ultra-wideband chips and conducted four paid pilot programs in the automotive and industrial automation sectors.
Daniela Herrmann, Dynex
For democratizing access to quantum computing
Today, most quantum computers are acquired by institutions such as governments, tech giants, universities, and research labs. But Dynex seeks to democratize the technology’s leading-edge capabilities via a pioneering publicly accessible option: the company’s neuromorphic quantum computing cloud. Cofounder Daniela Herrmann drives the company’s goal of sustainability-conscious innovation. In mimicking the neural structure and function of the human brain, the company has set a world record for graph solving, and says its technology—offered via subscription for $99 per month—is up to 90% more affordable than conventional supercomputers.
Valentyn S. Volkov, Xpanceo
For bringing a new focus to lenses
Spatial computing could be compelling enough to propel us past the smartphone, but anything worn on the face can’t give away that it’s overstuffed with electronic components. Xpanceo cofounder and CTO Volkov’s research led to the development of an optical biosensor that can detect molecule-level changes in light refraction. That breakthrough enables the creation of smart glasses and smart contact lenses that offer a private, unlimited field of view for apps and digital objects while seamlessly enhancing our ability to see distant objects and in dark environments.
The companies behind these technologies are among the honorees in Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech awards for 2024. See a full list of all the winners across all categories and read more about the methodology behind the selection process.
Zaloguj się, aby dodać komentarz
Inne posty w tej grupie
There are so many ways to die. You could fall off a cliff. A monk could light you on fire. A bat the size of a yacht could kick your head in. You’ve only just begun the game, and yet here you are,
Former Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg launched Meeno less than two years ago with the intention of it being an AI chatbot that help
The most indelible image from Donald Trump’s inauguration in January is not the image of the president taking the oath of office without his hand on the Bible. It is not the image of the First Lad
Ernest Hemingway had an influential theory about fiction that might explain a lot about a p
The first 100 days of Trump’s second presidential term have included a surprising player that doesn’t seem likely to go away anytime soon: Signal.
The encrypted messaging pl
Cancer research in the U.S. doesn’t rely on a single institution or funding stream—it’s a complex ecosystem made up of interdependent parts: academia, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology start
Dive into the exhilarating world of innovation with FC Explains, a video series that spotlights the game changers and visionaries from Fast Company’s prestigious Most Innovative Companies list. Th
