Woebot, the World’s first AI counsellor, manages 2 million conversations a week
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mental health issues seem to plague modern society, but the number of people who seek out professional help is minimal, so companies are developing AI counsellors that are free and accessible anywhere 24/7 Mental health has been increasingly on people’s minds, if you’ll excuse...
World first as Chinese surgeon performs remote robotic surgery across a 5G network
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Globally there is a shortage of trained surgeons, but robo-surgeons and 5G networks could soon solve that. Recently dentists in China used the first autonomous robot dentist to replace a patients teeth, and the US Military started trialling what they call “remote robotic procedures” that...
World first as scientists use tractor beams to make objects dance
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Increasingly the things we think of as science fact are becoming reality, but tractor beams also have more practical applications, such as transforming healthcare and manufacturing. In addition to creating tractor beams like the ones straight out of Star Trek researchers have also been making more...
Aleph Farms serves up the world’s first lab grown steak
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF By 2050 there will be an estimated 10 billion people on the planet, producing our food in new ways will let us alleviate hunger and feed them all. Over the past couple of years I’ve been watching the rise of vertical farms, that produce...
Hyundai unveils the worlds first car with a solar power panoramic roof
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In the future electric cars won’t solely be reliant on Lithium Ion batteries, as battery technology and new materials evolve we’ll see the emergence of battery-less electric vehicles. If you ever watch one of my keynotes on the Future of Transportation, like the one...
World first as scientists re-grow a frogs amputated leg using a “silk bioreactor”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Some of us are unfortunate enough to loose a limb, or multiple limbs, and one day this technology, and technologies like it, could help us regrow them. Like something, out of a science fiction movie or everyone’s favourite “Merc with a mouth”, Deadpool, researchers...
This million core neuromorphic computer simulates a whole mouse brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Exponential computing platforms that have more processing power than mammalian brains are now a reality, simulating a whole human brain is next. Neuromorphic computers are self-learning computing systems capable of packing all the power of today’s top of the line supercomputers, like Summit, which...
Worldwide surveillance, Hawkeye satellites use radio to track illegal shipping
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Over $3Trillion worth of goods are transported illegally, and this new technology gives law enforcement a major new weapon in the race to find them. A little while ago I talked about a company called Planet, that can watch the world, and everything on...
The UK’s new Quantum Compass makes GPS satellites obsolete
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF GPS signals are often unreliable and they don’t reach every part of Earth, such as the deep oceans, this breakthrough replaces GPS everywhere. Over the past year I’ve been increasingly discussing how researchers around the world, from the US to China, have been experimenting...
Triton’s $48million submarine takes the super rich to the bottom of the deepest ocean
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Technology isn’t just democratising mobility above ground, it’s increasingly reducing the cost of exploring the world’s deepest oceans too. There’s a lot of talk recently about conquering space, whether it’s by living on the Moon or Mars, and space tourism, but the fact still...
China debuts the world’s first AI news anchor
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As it gets easier to create high quality, natural sounding “human-like” avatars we’ll see more emerge and take on new and varied roles. Over the past couple of years there’s been a huge increase in the amount of press columns devoted to the topic...
A portrait created by an AI just sold at Christies for $432,000
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We’re told that machines can’t be creative, at least in the human sense, but nevertheless they can still “create” art – and sell it. A few months ago I wrote an article about a Google backed Artificial Intelligence (AI) based out of Germany that...
Singapore, the world leader in education, bans all student rankings
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Education that prepares children for the changes in the decades to come is vital, and Singapore have one of the most ambitious education visions of any country. By whatever yard stick you care to measure it by Singapore has one of the highest achieving...
Three people played Tetris telepathically together in world first
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we unlock more secrets of the human brain we are slowly but surely getting better at communicating with each other telepathically. Telepathic communication is nothing new but it’s still in its early years as a technology. The first major telepathic breakthrough came in 2012...
Virgin Atlantic completes world’s first biofuel trans Atlantic flight
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The global airline industry is one of the world’s heaviest polluters, and new clean sources of fuel are vital in helping the industry become more sustainable. First Alaskan Airlines flew an aircraft using nothing more than wood pellets, but now Virgin Atlantic has gone...
Researchers 3D print human corneas in world first
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Tens of millions of people a year go blind because of a lack of donor corneas, this work will, literally, give them a new outlook on life. There are so many parts of the human body now that can be 3D printed that it’s...
World first as scientists just turn human blood cells into human eggs
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Biology keeps surprising us, and scientists are finding amazing new ways to treat infertility and create new life. Scientists at Kyoto University in Japan have announced they’ve made significant progress in the quest to combat infertility by creating the precursor to a human egg cell in a...
World first as Japanese rovers relay incredible photos from distant ancient asteroid
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In galactic terms Earth’s neighbourhood is huge, and we’re only just beginning to explore it. First Japan wants to be the world’s first country to drill a hole through the Earth’s mantle, and build the world’s first space elevator, and now the Japan Aerospace...
World’s first AI government policy maker gives China a diplomatic advantage
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI will play an increasingly central role in both government policy making and governing as China rolls out their first AI policy maker. If you’re a foreign policy maker with a government then, whether you like it or not, you’ll soon be working with...
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...
