“Green” concrete could help cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Concrete is a huge contributor to global green house gas emissions, so finding new ways to curb those emissions helps in the bigger battle against climate change. In an age where we can 3D print houses and entire communities using a range of different...
Blockchain startups are trying to break big tech’s hold on AI
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Companies with better brand recognition, and deeper pockets, are cornering the market for AI talent, but now companies want break that hold, and they have a way to do it. Despite how easy the combination is to mock, the idea of applying the Blockchain...
Ownerless companies on the rise as startups experiment with new business models
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Blockchain will let us build new types of companies in new ways, including ownerless companies where funds and profits are divided automatically between individuals. Slowly, very slowly, we’re seeing the emergence of the world’s first fully autonomous companies, from small hedge funds in Hong...
Jeff Bezos lays out his vision to take millions of people to the stars and beyond
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the world gets more crowded billionaires are lining up to make humans an inter-stellar species, with interesting results. The plan of Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, to transport humans from Earth to the Moon and house millions of us in space colonies...
Government can’t do it alone any more, says Apple’s CEO
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As individuals and organisations start becoming more powerful than many governments, people are wondering if private companies can solve humanity’s problems faster. As I travel around the world, from America to Africa, Europe to the Middle East, and Japan to Singapore, talking to people...
Colour night vision breakthrough turns the darkest midnight into day
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to see in colour, even during the darkest nights, is a game changer that will have ramifications for multiple industries. When we think of night vision our minds automatically turn to grainy black and green images. But today things have begun to...
Deepfake President Trump looses itself in Eminem’s raps
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In a couple of years time you won’t be able to tell what’s fake from what’s real. We all love DeepFakes – unless that is you’re a celebrity, a news corporation, or a fan of democracy. But all that asides if you look past...
Food breakthrough lets researchers grow fish meat on demand
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the Earth’s population and its appetite for protein grows this latest breakthrough will help alleviate famine and hunger. We are on the cusp of a food production revolution, one that could eradicate global famine and let us make food, of all types, from...
Game changing “Unhackable” MORPHEUS computer chip re-configures itself every 50 milliseconds
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to create an unhackable computer sounds like science fiction, but that doesn’t stop researchers from giving it a go. “Unhackable” is a strong word. And so far many of the technologies that people have described as being unhackable, even awesome science fiction...
Scientists have created a decoder to turn brain activity into speech
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF For a wide range of reasons many people have speaking disabilities, but now a Brain to Speech breakthrough gives them their voices back. Scientists have announced a breakthrough in Brain Machine Interface (BMI) technology that has, for the first time, let them translate electrical...
Amazon’s AI reportedly tracks, monitors and automatically fires hundreds of employees
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we entrust machines with more decision making powers it brings both pros and cons, and being fired by an AI is definitely a con. There’s been a lot of news coverage about how Artificial Intelligence (AI), robots and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), will,...
First of a kind material lets solar panels generate electricity from snow
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As our knowledge of materials and how they behave improves we can generate electricity from almost anything. Scientists have announced that they’ve developed a first of its kind material that generates electricity from nothing other than, wait for it… snow. Based upon the principles...
Perfect fit one size fits all clothing is here, thanks to robots and smart materials
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Inventory is one of retailers biggest cash sinks, but now a new technology combo means retailers can buy one size from the manufacturer and custom fit it to every body shape in house. You’re shopping for a sweater, and you spot one you love,...
This is the first ever photo of a black hole
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Up until now it’s been thought it’d be impossible to take a photo of a black hole, but where there’s a will there’s a way. Recently scientists managed to find a way to read information from the very heart of a black hole, but...
Electrical brain stimulation rejuvenates memory by 50 years
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we age our memory capacity degrades, but his latest breakthrough turns the clock back over 50 years. Over the past couple of years I’ve been closely watching the field of Neuro-Training – an emerging technique that helps people with brain training, memory retention,...
Amazing ray tracing mod pack makes Minecraft look stunning
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI tools become better it’s getting easier for us to turn even the simplest graphical designs into stunning hi def visions. If you were to make a list of all the graphically intense, amazing looking games in the world, Minecraft wouldn’t be on...
Google’s AI enlisted to help crack the secret of nuclear fusion
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Trying to create an artificial Sun on Earth is no mean feat, and scientists have turned to Artificial Intelligence to help them. With the click of a mouse and a loud bang researchers blast jets of super hot, ionized gas called plasma into one...
Doctor Dolittle researchers use AI to decode mice chatter
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Using AI to translate human languages is nothing new, but now we’re using the technology to help us decipher animal languages. Dolphins are getting in on the act, and now so are mice – having their language translated into something humans can understand using...
Nvidia’s GauGAN turns your crappy sketches into masterpieces
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Increasingly AI is being used as a tool to help democratise creativity and unlock people’s creative potential. It’s long been known that I’m a crappy artist – despite my best efforts at school it was evident early on that I was just never cut...
Scientists gene hacked lizards to make them albino
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As gene editing tools become more powerful scientists are starting to push the boundaries by modifying the genes of more complex animals. For the first time reptiles, which are comparatively complex organisms, have been gene-edited with CRISPR technology after scientists at University of Georgia...
