Technological Impact Timeline (1800–2026)

This interactive chart visualizes major technological advancements over time, with each dot representing a technology. The Y-axis shows impact scores, reflecting both historical influence (Realized Impact) and potential future influence (Potential Impact), combined with a 70/30 weighting. A toggle allows viewing "Net Impact," which adjusts scores based on estimated negative consequences. Colors indicate the technology domain, and labels show technology names.

Data Sources: Lists of technologies were generated by GPT-5 mini, Gemini 3, Grok 4, and Claude Sonnet 4.5 using a structured prompt. Claude Sonnet 4.5 merged, deduplicated, and consolidated the data into the dataset used for this visualization.

Data Generation Prompt

You are asked to generate a comprehensive list of **major technological advancements** from 1800 to 2026. Use your training data and all immediately available relevant sources to make the list as comprehensive and objective as possible. For each technology, provide the following data in **CSV format** with these columns: Year – the year the technology was developed, invented, or became widely deployed. Technology – the name of the technology. Domain – the domain or sector of the technology (e.g., Energy, Transport, Medicine, Communication, Computing, Military, AI, Biology, Security, Manufacturing, Electronics). RealizedImpact – a numeric score (0–100) representing the **actual historical impact** the technology has had on the world. Higher values mean greater historical impact, without regard to positive or negative consequences. PotentialImpact – a numeric score (0–100) representing the **possible unrealized or future impact** of the technology. CombinedScore – a weighted score combining RealizedImpact and PotentialImpact. Use the weighting **RealizedImpact 70%, PotentialImpact 30%**. NegativeImpactFactor – a decimal (0–1) representing the fraction of the technology's impact that is plausibly negative, harmful, or destructive. 0 = no harm, 1 = fully harmful. **Instructions:** The list should aim to include up to 50 major technologies across all domains. Impact scores should reflect **total impact on the world**, regardless of whether the technology is positive, negative, or mixed. Assign PotentialImpact scores based on plausibility and expected influence if the technology reaches full development or deployment. Assign NegativeImpactFactor based on measurable harm, systemic risk, or large-scale negative consequences. Avoid moral bias; this is purely for quantitative modeling. Only use objective or well-supported historical data wherever possible, but provide reasonable approximations if needed. The CSV should be ready to use for plotting and analysis. **Example CSV header (do not include sample data unless asked for):** Year,Technology,Domain,RealizedImpact,PotentialImpact,CombinedScore,NegativeImpactFactor Please output the **full CSV**, following the exact format above.