The demand for enterprise risk management will increase

Enterprise risk management (ERM) is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the activities of an organization in order to minimize the effects of risk on an organization's capital and earnings. An effective, integrated ERM program can help an organization identify and take action on risks that may be affecting the achievement of its core strategic objectives. ERM should align with a company's goals and objectives. ERM is becoming more than just a way of managing risk but also a way of doing business.

Risk management is going to become an extremely critical topic for both the public and private sector next year. As a nation, we are facing complex geopolitical issues and state-sponsored attacks targeting our businesses and government on an enormous scale. Large financial institutions and Silicon Valley companies have already experienced billions of dollars in losses due to decisions being made without effective enterprise risk management.

 Data is both an asset and a liability and next year we are going to see the regulatory environment become even more complex around data governance, which will see enterprise risk management become a huge priority for the C-suite and board. For the purposes of its work, the Committee developed the following definition: ERM is the process by which organizations in all industries assess, control, exploit, finance, and monitor risks from all sources for the purpose of increasing the organization's short and long term value to its stakeholders.

Personal Robotics Will Become an Important New Category

The idea of a “sociable” robot—one that people can have relatively natural interactions with—has been the lore of science fiction for decades. From Lost in Space to Star Wars to WallE and beyond, interactive robotic machines have been the stuff of our creative imagination for some time. In 2019, however, I believe we will start to see more practical implementations of personal robotics devices from a number of major tech vendors. Amazon, for example, is widely rumored to be working on some type of personal assistant-based robot leveraging their Alexa voice-based digital assistant technology.

Exactly what form and what sort of capabilities the device might take are unclear, but some type of mobile (as in, able to move, not small and lightweight!) visual smart display that also offers mechanical capabilities (lifting, carrying, sweeping, etc.) might make sense. While a number of companies have tried and failed to bring personal robotics to the mainstream in the recent past, I believe a number of technologies and concepts are coming together to make the potential more viable this year. First, from a purely mechanical perspective, the scarily realistic capabilities now exhibited by companies like Boston Dynamics show how far the movement, motion, and environmental awareness capabilities have advanced in the robotics world.

In addition, the increasingly conversational and empathetic AI capabilities now being brought to voice-based digital assistants, such as Alexa and Google Assistant, demonstrate how our exchanges with machines are becoming more natural. Finally, the appeal of products like Sony’s updated Aibo robotic dog also highlight the willingness that people are starting to show towards interacting with machines in new ways.

Rising sea levels are wreaking havoc on the Maldives

At an average of just 1.5m above sea level, the Maldives is the lowest lying country on the planet. Rising sea levels are now devastating its economy, one-third of which relies on tourism. The mere talk of a possible submersion had been denting investor confidence in recent years. By now, countless islands are being abandoned as the reality of global warming begins to bite.  A mass evacuation plan is underway, with many of the nation's citizens resettling in Sri Lanka, India and Australia.

Even small increases in sea level are likely to worsen existing environmental challenges on the islands, such as persistent flooding from waves often generated by storms far away. Sea level rise is also likely to place added stress on the Maldives' already scarce freshwater resources. Because of the low elevation of the Maldives, this island nation is especially at risk.

Warmer temperatures are causing sea level to rise for two reasons. The first reason has to do with warmer water temperatures. As water gets warmer, it takes up more space. With sea levels rising dramatically in the past few decades, the islands will suffer the most as they eventually become entirely submerged. Tuvalu could be uninhabitable by 2050, with some islands such as Kiribati being completely gone by 2100.

Expansion of London's Heathrow Airport

For many years, Heathrow Airport in London held the title of world's busiest airport when measured by international passenger traffic, as well as the busiest in Europe by overall passenger traffic. By the early 2010s, it was handling 70 million passenger journeys per year (though Dubai International would eventually overtake it) and forecast to reach 85 million by 2030. As the airport began to reach 100% capacity at peak times, concerns were raised about overcrowding and the need for expansion. Globally, air traffic in general was growing rapidly – due in large part to booming demand from the emerging markets of the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions – and the number of planes in service was projected to double between 2015 and 2035.

In 2009, the UK's Labour government announced that it would support the expansion of Heathrow and encouraged the airport operator (BAA) to apply for planning permission. However, these plans were cancelled the following year by the new coalition government of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Following several more years of planning and reviews, the Airport Commission recommended a third runway and sixth terminal. A full report was finally published in 2015 that confirmed a new expansion to the northwest as the chosen proposal. After further revisions, and with estimated costs of £14.3bn (funded privately), this northwest runway and terminal plan was approved by the government in 2018.

The new infrastructure would increase Heathrow's capacity from 85 million to 130 million passengers annually. It was predicted to create 180,000 new jobs and generate £200bn in total economic benefits by 2050. Up to 40 new long-haul routes would become available. In addition to the airport itself, a number of access improvements were planned – such as the 118 km (73 mile) Cross rail line running all the way from east to west London, along with a refurbished Piccadilly line providing more spacious, air-cooled trains at higher frequencies than before.

The International Linear Collider is completed

This project is the culmination of more than 25 years of concerted international efforts, with funding and research from Europe, Asia and the Americas. Over 300 universities and laboratories have taken part. It originated as a series of three separate collider proposals – the Next Linear Collider (NLC), the Global Linear Collider (GLC) and the tera_electron_volt Energy Superconducting Linear Accelerator (TESLA) – all of which were combined into the International Linear Collider (ILC).

Located in Europe, the ILC is the successor to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), building upon the work already done by that machine. Although its collisions are less powerful, it offers far more precise measurements. It also gives off less electromagnetic radiation. The ILC consists of two opposite-facing linear accelerators, together stretching 31 km (19.3 miles), that hurl particles and anti-particles towards each other at close to the speed of light.* Along with the linear accelerators, the facility contains two dampening rings, with a circumference of 6.7 km (4.2 miles). Energy levels of the collisions are initially 500 billion-electron-volts (GeV), but are soon upgraded to a trillion-electron-volts (TeV).

The extreme precision and exact recordings offered by the ILC help to reveal some of the deepest mysteries of the universe. Some experiments are concerned with extra-dimensional physics and super symmetric particles, while others provide research into dark matter.* Originally planned for completion in 2019, the ILC faced considerable delays due to funding, technical issues and international agreements. It is finally ready by 2026.