Good morning! Schedules are still skewed and Omicron disruptions seem to still be rife across the world. Hope everybody is safe and well. Bear with me while the new year settles into rhythm. Here’s this week’s InnovationEx.
Pragmatic Optimism vs Informed Skepticism
Every major technology, from the telegraph to the Internet, starts with the promise of democratising knowledge, bringing information into an open and egalitarian world, and contributing to making the world a fairer place. Yet, ultimately they descend under capitalist forces and monopolistic tendencies, to vastly unequal environments. The Internet is probably at the mid-stages of this, having lost the early missionary zeal and positivism, and now deeply commercial, with plenty of dark edges and harms. This is the argument of Tim Wu's book - The Master Switch.
And so this piece by Elizabeth Renieris, looking at the cycle of hope and cynicism around Web3.0 talks eloquently along the same dangers. Don't be misled by the cries of democracy in this brave new decentralised version of the blockchain fuelled Internet. Often, the new landscape will still be unequal, but perhaps there will be a different set of winners. As Renieris says "Computational or technological attempts to “decentralize” power without addressing the social, political and economic enablers of concentrated power and wealth, such as decades of neo-liberal policies predicated on the illusion of individual choice and control, are bound to fail." The problem with the world today isn't the technology companies, but rather the capitalist system with its rewards and incentives. In other words, the issue with big tech is the 'big', not the 'tech'. And if you've followed the protracted trial of the Theranos founder Elizabeth homes, you'll know what I mean about the over-reach of incentives. You can also apply this argument to the metaverse. Much talked about, thanks to Facebook, its easy to buy into these 7 rules of the Metaverse. But read it a second time and substitute 'Internet' for metaverse, and you'll see why this is the same dream, repackaged.
The other line that stands out from Renieris' piece is about the role of criticism. "Criticism is the hard work of accepting the reality of what is, understanding how and why it came about, and addressing the deeper issues and forces involved. It is the opposite of the “building” ethos of continually punting to new tech or the next thing, as if on a blank slate of human nature and culture." Although I disagree about the negative implication of building - after all, that's what gave us vaccines, the Internet, the smartphone, and genomics. But I love the description and role of criticism.
Renieris talks about informed skepticism, but I think the sweet spot lies in pragmatic optimism, where we can forge a way forward without falling prey to the lure of utopian promises. One of my favourite quotes of all time is "Progress is just having better problems to solve".
And at the recently concluded CES, you can always get a glimpse of the future through products that are aspiring to solve today's problems. One of my favourites is MyEli from France, which puts IoT sensors into jewellery to keep wearers safe and notify friends & family in case the wearer is in distress, or shows signs of any violence. The Samsung Eco remote charges over WiFi and by harnessing radio waves. That's 99 million triple A batteries saved over 7 years. (What else could be charged remotely?) And how about blending autonomous drones, with 3D scanning, planned flight paths, and intelligent video technology? That's what Skydio looks to do with its latest version. The drone also plans the best key frames to focus on based on its analysis of the object - which could be a bridge, or an accident landscape.
Search even earlier in the cycle of future products, and you can see the patterns in patent filings. Clearly AI is one of the most dominant areas, with almost 100,000 patents filed for AI products in the past year (from 60,000 in 2020). Take a closer look at individual patents and you might see examples such as Facebook's patent for a mechanical eyeball which can be placed in a robot's head. (You may now dial up your cynicism to your preferred level). But in the interest of balance, here's a great piece by Rory Cellan Jones on the use of AI in ophthalmology. I believe we can classify that as a benevolent eye!
Reading this week
Tesla: An interesting analysis of why Tesla is truly a technology company. In a nutshell, while most automakers use standard chips, Tesla uses high end custom chips, which are far more profitable for the chipmakers. Consequently, faced with a supply crunch chip makers are ensuring that their most valuable lines are not impacted. Result: Tesla is the one auto maker which has not suffered financially from chip shortages, in the past year. (Medium)
Sustainability: We recently organised our annual TCS UK Innovation Forum at the design museum, where the exhibition on waste was running. This piece takes that further, and is a companion to the exhibition. It asks the question of whether the burden of sustainability is only on consumers using less, or do designers have a role in creating products that drive sustainable behaviours. (Aeon)
Failure: How far should you venture from your competence. A question that Balmuda - Japan's prominent toaster maker is discovering, perhaps the hard way with its failed mobile device. (FT)
Data --> Knowledge: Here's an interesting take on knowledge - one of my persistent fascinations. This piece argues that data science will evolve to knowledge science over time (Medium)
Sustainability: According to this piece, BP's Charging stations are overtaking fuel pumps for profitability. (Reuters)
Ethics: What limits should be set for elected officials to invest in the stock market? This piece on Day Trading by the US congress throws light on some questionable activities. (BigTechnology/ Substack)
Cyber-Warfare - did Russia attack Ukraine? Ukraine thinks so. Or more likely did it encourage the cyber attacks much like the former US president goaded the incursion into Capitol Hill? (BBC)
Have a great week!