Future Beat: Interesting times

Future Beat: Interesting times

The recent news cycle brings to mind a relatively well-known Chinese proverb, "May you live in interesting times".

Although I suppose it's subjective, I think it's safe to say that we're currently accomplishing this.

Whether you've been following quickening developments in artificial intelligence, the mercurial narrative of the US presidential election, or just the overall geopolitical friction in various parts of the world, these are indeed interesting times.

Not only are the times in which we live interesting, they're also very consequential. There will be decisions made and actions taken regarding technology and societal trends that will be felt for many years to come.

As always with Future Beat, we're doing our level best to make sense of it all and, in turn, help you along the way as these interesting times unfold.

Cody Sigel Combs , Future Editor

The Big Story

AI policy in the eyes of the beholder

There's plenty of political jockeying when it comes to AI
There's plenty of political jockeying when it comes to AI

In brief | Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware that the Republican National Convention took place this week, officially nominating Donald Trump as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. That, in and of itself, isn't a surprise at this point.

What is a surprise, to some extent, is that Artificial Intelligence was included in the 2024 Republican platform, the document that officially defines the party's stance on a range of issues.

In the platform, the Republican party vowed to repeal incumbent US President Joe Biden's executive order, passed in 2023, that sought to seize the promise of AI, while also putting in guardrails and ensuring personal data protection as the pace of AI development picks up.

Cryptocurrencies were also mentioned in the platform, with Republicans promising to undo the Biden Administration's executive order, which sought greater oversight of digital assets.

"We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin," the Republican platform read.

Why it matters | Many would disagree with the Republican Party platform's interpretation of the Biden Administration's stance on AI and cryptocurrencies.

Just four years prior, the 2020 Democratic platform acknowledged the need to "maximise the benefits of technological innovation while minimising risks and dislocations“. The platform also sought to "break new frontiers" in AI. That's hardly an anti-technology stance, and by any objective standard, AI development does not appear to have been stunted by any governments, though there have been calls for greater oversight, both from government officials and those in charge of Big Tech companies.

What's most interesting with regard to the Republican platform's mention of AI is that the technology has joined the lengthy list of subjects that have become politicised, but perhaps shouldn't be. In that sense, AI has definitely arrived, for better and worse.

Quoted | "We will repeal Joe Biden's dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing”

2024 Republican platform approved at the Republican National Convention

Future in focus

Valentyn Volkov and Roman Axelrod, co-founders of Xpanceo.
Valentyn Volkov and Roman Axelrod, co-founders of Xpanceo.

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Increasingly inaccurate | How smartphones and paranoia made polling more difficult

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Beverage autonomy | Palestine Cola's co-founder has big plans for the future of Arab brands

Predicting the future: Signal or noise?

Researchers at the University of Cambridge are working on a new type of battery technology inspired by electric eels. Getty Images
Researchers at the University of Cambridge are working on a new type of battery technology inspired by electric eels. Getty Images

Could a new type of battery technology inspired by electric eels be a much-needed solution to charging woes and a leap forward for wearable tech? Researchers at the University of Cambridge say they've had success using hydrogels, jelly-like materials with a layered structure similar to the muscle cells found in electric eels, capable of delivering an electric current.

This is a signal: The last great frontier in technology, and for that matter one of the last remaining hurdles to unlimited connectivity, is battery technology. Despite all the progress made with smartphones and smartwatches, at the end of the day, literally and metaphorically, you still need to plug your devices in and find an outlet to prevent them from being useless. While this sort of electric eel technology is still in the very early stages of development, it's very much something that there's a market for. Anything that reduces the tangled mess of charging cords that currently define our tech-based existence is a good thing, and you can expect to see more excitement revolving around these sorts of battery and charging developments in the years to come.

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Ragavan krishnamachary

Retired at Insurance Sector

5mo

This week Future Beat was nice as usual with latest events.AI is still talk of the place and going to dominate in the future.Have a nice week end to all readers.

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Cody Sigel Combs

Future Editor at The National News

5mo

Thanks for reading! Do you have any story ideas at the intersection of technology and societal trends? Message me on LinkedIn or shoot me an email, ccombs@thenationalnews.com

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