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SPRING 2003

THE TECH OUTLOOK

The Tech Outlook
Some bright shafts that pierce the gloom: health and biomedical companies and artificial intelligence


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Discussions of war and the dismal economy have drowned out most other topics in recent weeks. That has left little room in the headlines for the technological advances that continue to stream from America's top companies. Some of these innovations are momentous -- and get underplayed because of the war threat. Others gain importance and credibility precisely because of the nation's heightened sense of alert.


Health and biomedical companies, from drug giant Pfizer Inc. (PFE ) to device maker Medtronic Inc. (MDT ), occupy 16 slots on the BW50 list this year, and their passion to innovate is on display. For example, Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ ) drug-coated stent for heart patients sets a new standard for therapies merging drugs and devices. Medtronic, St. Jude Medical (STJ ), Abbott Labs (ABT ), and others have such treatments on the market or in development.

Come war or recession, companies such as these are maintaining a high level of research spending. But there is a whole different brand of can-do thinking that thrives in today's environment of military and civilian alert. The innovators, in this case, are often too small to appear on the BW50 list. But if a startup can forge a market for new composite materials, a versatile new radio technology, or drugs to combat potential bioweapons such as anthrax, that company could end up competing with General Dynamics Corp. (GD ) or Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC ) for a slot on BusinessWeek's list 10 years down the road.

In most cases, however, technologies with the power to transform society do not spring full-blown from the mind of a lone inventor. World-beating ideas more often resemble a loose-knit fabric that is the handiwork of many inspired minds. Nothing illustrates this more eloquently than the field of artificial intelligence, whose myriad threads stretch across a broad swath of military and civilian industries. In some cases, it's hard to tell if a person or AI deserves the credit for a challenge well met. But whether human or artificial, intelligence is a hallmark of the innovators on this year's roster.

MARCH 24, 2003




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