Bio-hybrids providing new energy sources, AI helping shoppers to try before they buy, currencies becoming a free-for-all and algorithmically-driven peak journey planners helping train operators avoid congestion are just some of the future forces that will shape 2018. A key overarching theme is digital decentralisation: where technology is empowering brands and communities to seize the initiative and challenge centralised ways of doing things. This trend is being seen across all sectors but specifically in finance, in the form of cryptocurrencies and energy with the rise of micro-grids. Trends are less about forecasting the future than reshaping the present by unlocking possibilities and helping businesses to deepen their understanding of what is achievable. In 2018 the most interesting techno-societal changes are happening in energy, retail, mobility and money.