A new European project is trying to make a digital twin of your brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF If we can create a digital twin of the human brain we can learn more about how our brains work, develop better treatments, and improve human life. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about...
EU mulls offline CBDC transactions to help users maintain privacy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF CBDC’s would let the government see every transaction you make, which could be used to stimulate the economy, cut fraud, and “spy” on people, so the EU is thinking hard about how to please privacy critics. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community,...
Europe’s floating gas terminals will save lives this winter but environmentalists worry
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Russian aggression and military actions have jeopardised European fuel imports so the EU have had to spin up new ways to import LNG and fast which means developing floating terminals. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential...
Europe’s new Artificial Intelligence Act can demand AI models are retrained and deleted
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Regulating AI, which is often seen as a black box is at best incredibly difficult and at worst impossible especially as we see AI’s spontaneously evolve as we have several times now. But it needs to be regulated. Love the Exponential Future? Join our...
Scientists are trying to control lightning with a giant laser lightning rod
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Rocket launches and other activities are affected by lightning, so if you can control it then it reduces risks. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. A team of researchers from the University...
Blockchain, EU GDPR privacy law could finally give users back control of their privacy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF None of us have any control whatsoever over our personal privacy and the information that companies store on us, but Europe’s new GDPR law is about to change all that and as companies struggle to meet the deadline a paradigm shift in the way we...
Europe will debate robot rights, ethics and AI kill switches in February
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Machines are increasingly becoming autonomous and intelligent and it’s one of the greatest dangers humanity has ever faced, later this year law makers in Europe will finally determine how we govern, monitor, manage and tax them in order to minimise the damage to society. ...
Airbus will test its new “Sky taxi” later this year
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF With more people moving into the cities gridlock is becoming the bane of most people’s lives, Airbus and others, including Uber propose taking to the skies but people with vertigo should watch out. Airbus has been eyeing the increasingly interesting, and viable, flying taxi...
New EU report recommends Universal Basic Income for all 27 member states
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The rise of robotics and new, intelligent AI automation systems that threaten Blue and White collar jobs is spurring governments around the world into action, so far a Universal Basic Income is the only idea they seem to have to dampen societal unrest and poverty....
NASA’s new $8.7Bn space telescope can detect a bumble bee on the Moon
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The James Webb’s impressive array of near field IR sensors and high grade optics will allow scientists to learn more about the formation of planets and galaxies as well discover more about the origin of life itself. The Hubble Space Telescope has given humanity...
Encryption’s arch nemesis is a ticking quantum time bomb
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Encryption is the primary tool that organisations and governments use to keep data safe and secure, when Quantum computers become more wide spread criminals, hackers and state sponsored actors will be able to use them to decrypt data and render most encryption algorithms obsolete. ...
Uber and Airbus team up on urban sky-taxi project
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Uber is eyeing up the next generation of transport – think Star Wars’ urban transport systems crossed with a DJI drone. Always on the lookout for new opportunities Uber is eyeing the skies for its next big project and it’s partnering with Airbus to achieve it....
Scientists discover a way to 3D print bone on the fly
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Doctors will be able to treat people with broken, or missing bones faster than ever before. If you shatter a bone in the future, a 3D printer and some special ink could be your best medicine. Researchers have created what they call “hyperelastic bone”...
Autonomous Roboats to sail the canals of Amsterdam
Cities might have a monopoly on driverless cars but Amsterdam has driverless ships The idea of self-driving cars cruising our roads may not be a new idea, but a plan to release autonomous boats into the canals of Amsterdam would be the first of its kind. The Amsterdam Institute for...
The end of fossil fuels, Asia and Europe draw up a Global Energy Grid
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As renewable energy becomes more reliable countries around the world are seriously exploring connecting their energy grids together to form a Global Super Grid. Northeast Asia, the region encompassing China, South Korea, and Japan, has not yet gotten around to connecting its electricity grids...
