The Shortlist: McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2023

Curated by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

Twice monthly, we bring you four new insights out of the dozens we publish that we think are worth a second glance from any business leader in any geography. In this edition, we look at gen AI’s meteoric rise, how digital twins could revolutionize product development, and more. We hope you enjoy the read.

—Liz and Homayoun

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What’s new

Generative AI makes a loud entrance. That’s one of the first findings of the McKinsey Technology Council’s roundup of this year’s 15 tech trends. The Council estimated the potential for value creation and laid out some strategies for how to do it. Applied AI is on everyone’s mind, but the Council also pinpointed exciting changes in advanced connectivity, green technologies, and much more.

Roll out the welcome mat with McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2023 by Michael Chui, Mena Issler, Roger Roberts, and Lareina Yee.

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What’s now

Start your engines. This time last year, almost nobody was even wondering about generative AI, much less planning how to utilize it. Now, it’s almost all we can talk about—and a third of respondents to the latest annual McKinsey Global Survey say their organizations are already using gen AI regularly in at least one business function. Looking ahead, three-quarters of all respondents expect gen AI to disrupt their industry’s competition in the next three years.

For more wow stats, and to chart gen AI’s path through your organization, scroll through The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year, a survey developed by Michael Chui, Bryce Hall, Alex Singla, Alexander Sukharevsky, and Lareina Yee.

An image linking to the web page “Digital twins: The key to smart product development,” on McKinsey.com.

What’s next

Copycats win? Launching new products—the lifeblood of most companies—is more challenging than ever. Customers want more for less, and they want it sustainable, too. Digital twins can thread that needle by helping organizations simulate real situations and their outcomes. Companies are taking note: we estimate that the global market for digital-twin technologies will reach more than $73 billion by 2027.

Dive deep into how these technologies can juice product development in Digital twins: The key to smart product development, by Roberto Argolini, Federico Bonalumi, Johannes Deichmann, and Stefania Pellegrinelli. And for some background, check out our Explainer on digital twins.

A paper-cut style illustration of a woman CEO running with an olympic torch. The shape of a forward pointing arrow emerges from the fire and is filled with shapes like charts, people, a compass, and modern buildings.

What’s needed

Should I stay or should I go? Every CEO who has excelled in the role has struggled with this question. Our new research offers the best practices for how to leave a company better than you found it.

Prepare your path with Sending it forward: Successfully transitioning out of the CEO role by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra, and Kurt Strovink.

We hope you find this synthesis helpful. See you in two weeks with four more ideas from McKinsey.

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