Artificial intelligence (AI) has become all the rage recently. This can largely be chalked up to the release and subsequent success of ChatGPT, which recently reached 100 million users.
Other AI technologies such as stable diffusion have also caught investors’ imaginations, allowing anyone to create AI-generated artwork at the push of a button.
Although the impact of AI technologies cannot be understated, they could also be undergoing a bit of a meme stage before the euphoria of these inventions wears out. There are also plenty of other disruptive technologies to invest in that may have fallen off your radar. Let’s investigate what those could be.
Blockchain
Blockchain technologies, which provide the backbone for popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD), are certainly worth paying attention to. This tech went through a similar euphoric rise only a few years ago in 2020, when Bitcoin crossed the $20,000 mark for the first time.
There are some good reasons to stay bullish on blockchain tech. The first reason is that some prominent investors expect Bitcoin to rise to $1 million over the next decade. Cathie Wood is by far one of the biggest proponents of this thesis, who successfully predicted the rise of tech stocks like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the recent past.
Wood believes that investors will flock to Bitcoin as a store of value as the world becomes increasingly destabilized.
Then there’s the internet’s transition to Web 3.0, which could see blockchain tech become its building blocks while also offering increased utility to cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Nuclear Power
You might be surprised to see nuclear power on a list like this, but I feel it’s one of the most important technologies investors should be aware of.
For better or for worse, nuclear power has undergone a renaissance recently as governments worldwide are desperately trying to meet their carbon emissions targets. Countries that previously shut down their nuclear plants like Japan are now restarting their operations, and even planning to build new ones.
The surge in interest for nuclear power comes from the climate emergency as well as the technological leap provided through small modular reactors (SMRs). These new reactors are much cheaper and faster to build than traditional-sized nuclear power plants, which are two of the biggest roadblocks that inhibit their construction.
With their smaller size, these reactors may be able to quickly plug the holes left over by the discontinuation of thermal coal burning, with coal being one of the world’s most harmful pollutants. There’s also evidence that the market may not be pricing in the potential of nuclear power, as stocks like Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS:PALAF) track in line with the spot price of uranium.
Nuclear power may also help enable the realization of power-hungry technologies like quantum computing.
Internet of Things
The internet of things (IOT) is another piece of tech that could have fallen by the wayside — despite holding great potential for investors in the future. IOT is expected to grow around 20% this year as more devices become capable of interacting with one another.
The economic potential of IOT is inseparable from technologies like AI. The technology is integrating into products that we use every day such as Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa and Echo products. It’s inevitable that more of these products will hit the market.
IOT is the connecting piece that draws tech like AI together, and will also benefit through the rise of nuclear power.
In short, IOT is another bit of tech that investors should keep their eyes on.
On the date of publication, Matthew Farley did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
