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On June 18 2019, Facebook announced Libra, its own currency. Its purpose is ostensibly to allow people to make transactions without needing a bank account. A Facebook account is presumably enough. Its stated goal is to make e-commerce and online trading more viable for people who are un- or under-banked.
There is no European equivalent to Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook or Amazon – all are American companies. There is also no European equivalent to emerging Chinese giants such as Alibaba, Huawei, Tencent or ByteDance (the publisher of music social media service TikTok). Rather than wondering why, we might want to take a look at what […]
Many governments consider STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields a priority in education and are actively pushing students towards them. The idea is that graduating from a STEM education is not just the best guarantee to get a job but that it also fosters innovation, a crucial aspect to getting ahead in the global […]
It is hard to think of a profession more steeped in tradition and conservatism than a notary. This is also part of its appeal to reliability: save for some innovations such as computer technology, a notary who was born in 1780 would not notice many changes if they were to be transported to the office […]
Ever since its inception, the auto industry has been at the forefront of technology innovation. From integrating radio and air condition technologies to fully incorporating software and GPS, a new technology aboard a car is the surest sign it has become mature enough for mass-production and mass-consumption.
Environmental concerns top the popular political agenda in a lot of countries these days. There are mass student protests in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, but the ‘gilets jaunes’ of France were also partially driven by environmental taxes deemed too high and too unfair on the working class.
Mass consumer adoption of new technologies often runs ahead of legal frameworks. In fact, many Silicon Valley visionaries are self-professed believers in as little regulation as possible, as they believe it stymies innovation, an ideal that’s also encapsulated by Facebook’s maxim “Move fast and break things”.
Predicting technology trends has always been a favorite pastime of analysts, industry leaders and futurists. Some predictions turn out to be spectacularly wrong in hindsight – flying cars and Mars colonies by 1980, for instance –
Cryptocurrencies are unfortunately often associated with ‘dark’ money, crime and legal twilight zones. However, cryptos’ underlying technology – blockchain – can actually be used to increase transparency and help fight crime. This will require walking a fine line.
Healthcare is one of the domains that has taken the most advantages of the successive waves of digitalization, from cross-sharing patient records to sharper radiology imaging to better camera technology and remote patient care. Blockchain may add yet another strategic advantage.