The internet is splintering in two, one led by the US the other led by China
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As individual nation states look to assert their dominance on the global stage we are witnessing the early stages of a splintered internet with multiple standards. The internet is disappearing, being replaced instead by a fabric of connected devices, like wearables and sensor systems,...
Estonia becomes the world’s first virtual nation capable of rebooting itself
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Technology is showing us how ancient the concept of the traditional nation state is, and as virtual nations take shape being able to reboot them in times of war is crucial. How do you reboot an entire country? It’s an odd question, but in...
Blockchain startups are lining up to decentralise and revolutionise the internet
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We think the internet is already decentralised, but the internet as we know it is evolving, and tomorrow’s internet will be truly decentralised. An increasing number of people want to fix the flaws of the internet by decentralizing it, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the father...
Microsoft gets rid of blockchain miners with new Ethereum blockchain service
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining blockchain has become a contentious issue because of the amount of energy it uses and its speed, Microsoft are trying to solve both problems. Hot on the heels of its interest in Iota, a blockchain-like peer to peer cryptocurrency that does away with...
After the goldrush comes the crash, over 800 cryptocurrencies are now dead
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Every market has its successes and failures and just like any investment ICO’s can gain and loose value too, making due diligence as important as ever. Anyone who reads any sort of business newspaper will know that cryptocurrency projects have been popping up left,...
IBM joins Sovrin Foundation to give individuals back control of their data
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today there is no way you can control who uses or shares your information, despite regulations like GDPR, but Self-Soverign ID systems like this one gives users the power to control their own online information. It looks almost inevitable that Facebook will be punished,...
Hackers use 51 percent attack to commandeer three cryptocurrencies, steal millions
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 51 percent attacks are rare, but as criminals continue to gain access to more computing power smaller cryptocurrency networks are in increasing danger of being comandeered. This week not one but three cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Gold, Verge Coin, and Monacoin, were hit with a rarely seen cyber...
Air France KLM and Microsoft use blockchain to improve MRO
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Blockchain has enormous potential to improve the efficiency of supply chains and especially MRO, and this is one of the world’s first proof of concepts. Air France KLM’s engineering and maintenance division is evaluating the potential for Blockchain to become its new digital ledger...
The world’s first Quantum blockchain is a “quantum time machine”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The introduction of Quantum computers threaten to undermine the encryption that supports all of today’s blockchain technologies so researchers are trying to develop blockchains that are immune from future attacks. A newly proposed Quantum Blockchain, which at first glance loosely resembles the Quantum Safe...
Basis creates a stable crypto currency, raises $133m from A-list investors
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies swing wildly by the day making them almost useless as a medium of exchange, Basis has designed a stable cryptocurrency and if it works it “could replace money”. On its debut nearly a decade ago, one of...
UPS bets on blockchain to transform the $1 Trillion shipping industry
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s global supply chains are plagued by a multitude of challenges, both bureaucratic and logistical, blockchain technology used correctly reduces the friction and eliminates many of them. The world is run by trade. Freight and logistics in the US alone account for nearly $1.5...
IBM wants to combine AI and blockchain to transform healthcare
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI and blockchain are two incredibly powerful technologies, but for different reasons, however, when they’re combined their significance, and impact, becomes even greater. The combination of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) “could bring significant improvements to a healthcare sector plagued by interoperability problems and...
China bans people with bad “social credit” from planes and trains
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Technology is a tool, it’s down to governments and individuals how they use and deploy it, and as such it can be used to do great good, or great harm. In another nod to Black Mirror, and to show it isn’t just a sci-fi...
Finland evaluates the results of its Universal Basic Income experiment
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As automation threatens to make tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people redundant, governments are trialling new welfare schemes to support them, one of which is UBI. The rise of the robots, whether it’s hardware robots that are taking over more manufacturing jobs,...
SpaceX will launch it’s global satellite internet ambitions today
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Elon Musk’s company SpaceX wants to bring high speed, quality internet access to every person on Earth, and they’re starting today. Now that the dust has settled from SpaceX’s first successful Falcon Heavy mission earlier this month, which was years in the planning, the...
Quantum sensor breakthrough could one day replace global GPS systems
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s sensors are sensitive, but Quantum sensors are millions times more sensitive, meaning that they can detect even more things with even more accuracy. Thanks to the miracle of GPS we can now work out where we are almost anywhere on Earth, but it...
ShiftWear’s custom E-Ink kicks bring clothing to life
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF E-Ink has many applications outside of just being able to help you read novels on your Kindle, and when combined with other technologies it could just be what we need to move away from smartphones and onto the “next” platform. If you’re one of...
Blockchain without the miners, IOTA unveil their revolutionary new cryptocurrency
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining cryptocurrency is an incredibly contentious, complex, and energy expensive operation, but now a German non-profit has built a cryptocurrency that does away with miners completely, and they’re being backed by the biggest names in tech. Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency on a hot...
The future according to Google search results
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Lots of people want to know what the future holds and Google, it has to be said, is most people’s go to reference, so is Google good at predicting the future? Well, check it out for yourself. Have you ever wondered what the future...
Pioneering blockchain experiment rewards volunteering and helping the community
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Most volunteering goes unrewarded and undocumented but Hull’s pioneering social blockchain experiment rewards people for helping the community. Volunteers and community workers in Hull in the UK will soon be able to obtain discounts at local retailers and even reductions in their council tax...
