GINC Trends
Design System
Trend · rank 170 of 250

AI inference efficiency

Model compression, specialised hardware and better inference methods are cutting the cost of running AI, widening access for nations where energy, connectivity and computing resources are constrained.

Critical TechnologyAI, compute & quantumaicomputepower

Second pass: Added in the second pass. Held by two of the three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
170of 250
Sensitivity
4.2rank 216
Breadth
0of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
32.5rank 136
Eigenvector
1.5
Betweenness
15.3
Links
12trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
16.1

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
190
Over a year
+58%Surging
Over three years
+303%
Peak
26328 Jun 2026
Sources
Bothagreement 0.79
Coverage
2languages · 53 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (2 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English96%212+82%
Japanese4%121+38%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

Singapore

South Korea

China

United States

Taiwan

Netherlands

Japan

Australia

Canada

Israel

Switzerland

New Zealand

100

96

77

30

29

27

20

19

18

17

16

15

The 12 highest of 53 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English191−14%+56%+472%
EuropeGoogle in 1 country225−25%+208%+1997%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese142−54%+128%+285%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country149−46%+81%+240%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
CanadaGoogle204−45%+297%+2158%
IndiaGoogle149−46%+81%+240%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese139−58%+142%+287%
South KoreaGoogle171−61%+236%+2258%
United KingdomGoogle225−25%+208%+1997%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English185−10%+36%+429%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
3 · ModerateAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
2 · LowAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health

Related trends

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
5 · Very highCompute scaling & AI infrastructureAI, compute & quantum133
4 · HighAutomated AI researchAI, compute & quantum83
4 · HighGeneral-purpose AI capabilityAI, compute & quantum95
4 · HighOpen-weight AI diffusionAI, compute & quantum149
4 · HighFrontier model concentrationAI, compute & quantum168
3 · ModerateAI & knowledge-work automationPeople, health & work53
3 · ModerateCapital concentration in AIAI, compute & quantum67
3 · ModerateAI safety & governanceState capacity & governance69
3 · ModerateAI chips & accelerator supplyAI, compute & quantum111
3 · ModerateData-centre power & water demandEnergy, networks & climate resilience144
3 · ModerateAdvanced semiconductorsAI, compute & quantum165
3 · ModerateGeneral-purpose & humanoid roboticsAI, compute & quantum225