On autonomous navigation, neuromorphic computing and Spanish Tapas

It's been busy for neurobotx. Great things are happening across several industries, but especially in aerospace and defense. Funding going into robotics and AI research is now higher in the UK than it has in the last 20 years, and that will likely lead to a wave of funding. Very importantly, a few of us working in AI for Autonomy were lucky enough to enjoy a trip to Galicia and learn more about future Boeing plans related to autonomy and AI. We are very, very grateful for this opportunity and we absolutely love that the location chosen to push the boundaries of aerospace is this lovely Spanish town with tapas and Spanish wine.

We've discussed issues around integrating AI pilots into existing systems at Boeing and partners, and there is nothing like live brainstorming in a historical building. As an AI company, we've learned early on that access to data will be important as well as challenging, in aerospace but especially in defense. So we learned to be creative with this, and add value as this is a time when it is most needed. It is amazing to see governments and large corporations like Boeing, the government of Galicia, and the government of the UK, actively looking to incorporate the latest state-of-the art in machine learning and autonomy as soon as possible. It also served as an important reminder that the final aim of Defense is to limit civilian casualties and to keep peace and order. I am really excited about the projects we will be announcing this week with Boeing and partners, and the several governmental ones in our pipeline.

We also had the pleasure of visiting the Galician Supercomputing Centre (CESGA) and some of the capabilities that will be needed for the future developments we have in mind. For neurobotx at least, the vision and the hope is that all future wars will only be carried out in the Metaverse, and in people's subconscious. And the developments in neuromorphic computing allow for building such a future. In fact, a combination of realistic gaming, stronger AI governance as outlined in my previous newsletter, and some imagination can very well make that a reality in a relatively short time.

One of my favorite childhood sci-fi books was called Ender's Game. It is a form of military science fiction that, together with the early Star Trek series, has formed a big part of my political ideology when it comes to governance and especially defense. I've never had much interest in being a politician, but I certainly love thinking about new technology, and the philosophy behind it. So in the book, Ender is a sort of warfare prodigy child, that gets a lot of simulation training for intergalactic warfare against an arachnid alien species. The issue in the book, and the movie, is the boundary between simulation and reality, the morally and ethically gray areas, are very relevant for the technology that we are trying to build today. Although I am only alluding to what neurobotx is planning to launch, I can safely say I am glad to have thought about these issues since childhood, as they are to be taken very seriously if we are going to evolve into an interplanetary species.

Now back to autonomous pilots, Boeing and Spain. We've been meeting with most research teams and learned about internal efforts for autonomous navigation, as well as how Boeing has successfully previously integrated and scaled visionary startups, together with some visionary VCs along the way. The path to that is centered around hard work and a lot of testing, but also around finding a balance between generations and cultures, as was previously shown by Boeing and many other corporations. Aviation is especially tricky when it comes to the balance between generations and cultures, as a clash between technical and sales teams can lead to major issues when there is a mismatch since one cannot be without the other.

So in my mind, simulation training for defense has a philosophical dimension, as well as a somewhat retrofuturistic aspect to it, as I was reading sci-fi books and playing arcade games when I first experienced these thoughts. Which might explain my taste in music - I am offering you the neurobotx spotify playlist - we're just getting started, but I hope you'll appreciate the mix of synthwave, which combines some 80s music with fairly emancipated techno.

Enjoy!