Human Tech Tree
About · as of October 2026

About the Human Tech Tree

The Human Tech Tree is a map of human knowledge and technology, from prehistory to October 2026. It shows what builds on what, which problems are still unsolved, what is missing, and what becomes possible once they are solved.

18fields
~930breakthroughs and problems
Oct 2026state of the map
01 · The map

How to read the tree

Time runs from left to right. Each box is a breakthrough, a line of current research or an open problem. A line between two boxes means that one builds on the other. To the right of the TODAY line the map reaches into what is not yet known.

How to read the tree, left to rightTime runs from left to right: past eras in gold, the present in cyan, a vertical line marking today, then the research frontier with unsolved problems and the open steps that lead to them, and finally what becomes possible once those problems are solved, in violet. Lines show which point builds on which.TODAYPast erasprehistory – 2015Present2015 – Oct 2026Research frontierunsolved todayIf solvedbecomes possiblePREHISTORYOCTOBER 2026WHAT COMES NEXT How to read the tree, top to bottomThe same map as a vertical sequence. Past eras in gold, the present in cyan, a line marking today, then the research frontier with unsolved problems and their open steps, and finally what becomes possible once they are solved, in violet. Lines show which point builds on which.TODAYPast erasprehistory – 2015Present2015 – Oct 2026Research frontierunsolved todayIf solvedbecomes possible
  • ResearchedA breakthrough that has been made. Its lines lead back to what it needed.
  • CurrentResearch that is under way between 2015 and October 2026.
  • UnsolvedAn open problem, with the open steps that lead to it.
  • If solvedWhat becomes possible once the problem is solved.
Click any box in the tree to see its research path: what it builds on, and what builds on it.
02 · Why it exists

Three reasons

Learn: following one point through the treeOne selected point in the middle. The points it builds on are joined by gold lines on the left, the points that build on it by cyan lines on the right. Other points fade into the background.

1Learn

Education

Understand how progress connects. Every point shows what it needed and what it made possible.

See: the whole map at a glanceA small overview map of the whole tree. Many small points in gold, cyan, coral and violet, a cyan line for today, and a white frame showing the part of the map currently in view.

2See

Visualisation

See the whole research landscape at a glance, from the oldest tools to the open questions of today.

Look ahead: open steps toward an unsolved problemThree open steps with different levels of AI leverage lead to one unsolved problem, which in turn leads to what becomes possible once it is solved.

3Look ahead

Future progress

Make the open problems and their next steps visible, with an honest view of where AI can help and where it cannot.

03 · AI leverage

Where AI can help, and where it cannot

For each open problem the tree gives a rough rating of how much AI could speed it up. The rating depends less on how capable the AI is than on what limits the work.

Where results can be checked quickly by a computer, as with proofs, simulations and code, AI can try many ideas fast. Where progress needs hardware, laboratories, supply chains, law or time, AI helps with parts of the work but cannot skip those limits.

The ratings are estimates, not predictions.

How much AI can speed up a problemThree levels of AI leverage. High: digital work whose results a computer can check, such as proofs, simulations and code tests. Medium: AI helps with parts, but the main bottleneck is physical, such as hardware, experiments and build-out. Low: progress is limited by the physical world, supply chains, law and adoption rather than by ideas.HIGHDigital work that can be checkedchecked by: proofs · simulations · code testsMEDIUMAI helps, the bottleneck is physicallimited by: hardware · experiments · build-outLOWLimited by the world, not by ideaslimited by: supply chains · law · adoption
04 · Plan

What may come next

PlanNext and Later are plans, not promises. Neither exists yet.

Now: the visual treeA small tree of connected points: researched points in gold, current research in cyan, one unsolved problem in coral and the possibilities it would open in violet.

Now Live

The visual tree: eras, fields, unsolved problems and the open steps that lead to them.

Next: projects attached to open stepsTwo open steps on the left. A project card is attached to the upper step by a green line; the lower step still has an empty, dashed slot.?

Next Plan

Projects attached to open steps, so that a step shows who is working on it.

Later: matching researchers and supporters (plan)A project card in the middle. Two researcher icons on the left present the project; a coin icon and a computer-chip icon on the right stand for funding and computing time offered by supporters. This is a plan, not something that exists today.

Later Plan

Researchers (left) and supporters (right) matched around the open steps.

The idea is to bring researchers and supporters together. Researchers would present projects. People and organisations could support them with funding or computing time.

This is planned as a non-profit. There is no decision on the legal form yet.

05 · Method and privacy

How it is made

Sources and errors

The content was compiled with AI research agents and then fact-checked. Every point carries its sources. The state of the map is October 2026.

Errors are possible. If you find one, please write to us.

Privacy

There are no accounts and no tracking cookies. Visits are counted with privacy-friendly statistics only.

Details are in the privacy notice.

Support

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