It was 50 years ago the astronauts of Apollo 11 landed on the moon, a stunning technological achievement given the limitations of compute power and data storage at the time. It’s worth noting that it took 400,000 people working to ensure the success of the mission, and the computer used to put man on the moon is 100,000 times less powerful than an iPhone hacked to mine Bitcoin today. It’s remarkable how technology has advanced in these decades without a return to the moon. With Mars the next big target for manned exploration, space technology will continue to be at the vanguard of innovation.
Fifty years on from the epochal Apollo 11 mission, critical infrastructure remains vulnerable. New York City experienced a blackout in Manhattan for several hours with the root cause unknown - 42 years to the day after the devastating 1977 blackout – and this has been followed by blackouts in other boroughs on subsequent days. There’s no question of the pressing need for utilities to embrace Connected Industry solutions such as predictive maintenance and distributed energy alternatives to deliver more resilient service.
As we look to the future, our explorations are also looking inward. Elon Musk announced the Neuralink – an implantable device that would connect a human brain directly to the internet – and this has caused a flurry of commentary among fans and skeptics of the idea.
Government is in the forefront of the technology news cycles of late, with policies and hearings highlighting the conflicts to come. The big tech companies are coming under increasing fire from politicians of both parties, with Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren calling for a breakup of the tech companies, and President Trump noting the call from investor Peter Thiel to investigate Google for its cooperation with the Chinese Government.
With the announcement of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project, there has been a groundswell of government interest – mostly quite skeptical. With requests to put the project on hold, and hearings on capital hill, skeptical comments from the President and Secretary of the Treasury, cryptocurrencies are pushing into the mainstream.
The ongoing US-China trade disagreements continue, with Huawei receiving a temporary reprieve from purchasing restrictions. However, the company remains in the crosshairs of regulators intent on limiting its presence in the US – with the dispute resulting in Huawei laying off R&D staff in the US. The outcome of the dispute is critical for the rollout of 5G and the Industrial IoT, as Huawei remains a key player in the ecosystem.
