Learn Russian: Благодаря современным технологиям развитие идёт быстро. - Thanks to modern technologies, development is going quickly.

They follow the preposition благодаря (thanks to). In Russian, this preposition always requires the Dative case. A helpful trick is to remember that you are directing your thanks to something, just like giving a gift to someone takes the Dative.

Can I use благодаря to say "thanks to" for a negative reason, like "thanks to the bad weather"?

No, благодаря is strictly used for positive or helpful causes. It comes from the verb благодарить (to thank). If you want to say "due to" or "because of" for a negative or neutral reason, you should use the preposition из-за followed by the Genitive case.

Why does технологиям end in -ям instead of the standard Dative plural -ам?

The nominative singular form is технология (technology). Because it ends in the soft vowel -я, its plural endings will also be soft. Therefore, it takes the soft Dative plural ending -ям instead of the hard ending -ам.

Why is the verb for walking (идёт) used with an abstract word like развитие (development)?

The verb идти is very versatile and isn't just for physical walking. Russian frequently uses it to describe ongoing processes, events, or the passing of time. You will also see it used for weather (идёт дождь - it is raining) or entertainment (фильм идёт - a movie is playing).