The White House believes China will use its platform in the UK to spy on Washington. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP As the UK government prepares to decide whether or not to allow Huawei to be involved in setting up a key portion of the nation’s infrastructure, US officials have issued a stark warning that allowing the Chinese firm a role would put transatlantic intelligence sharing at risk. Why are the Americans so concerned? To put it bluntly, the White House believes the Chinese state will use Huawei to help it spy. Officials in Washington believe…
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And justice for all: new issue of Future Power Technology
Future Power Technology is now available on all devices. Read the new issue here. At the Business Booster event in Paris, former Irish President Mary Robinson highlighted the need for a “just” energy transition. We consider whether renewable power can deliver social change, as well as technological change, and some of the companies and projects leading the way. Also, we look at whether California’s energy infrastructure can keep up with its ambitions, ask what makes a PPA more attractive than buying energy off power companies, and talk to Good Energy about…
Read MoreMind-reading technology lets you control tech with your brain — and it actually works
LAS VEGAS — It’s not the self-driving cars, flying cars or even the dish-washing robots that stick out as the most transformative innovation at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show: It’s the wearable gadgets that can read your mind. There’s a growing category of companies focused on the “Brain-Computer Interface.” These devices can record brain signals from sensors on the scalp (or even devices implanted within the brain) and translate them into digital signals. This industry is expected to reach $1.5 billion this year, with the technology used for everything from…
Read MoreTechnology in 2050: will it save humanity – or destroy us?
Composite: Guardian Design; Reuters; Getty Images/iStockphoto Futurism is a mug’s game: if you’re right, it seems banal; if you’re wrong, you look like the founder of IBM, Thomas Watson, when he declared in 1943 that there is room in the world “for maybe five computers”. David Adams knew these risks when he wrote about the future of technology in the Guardian in 2004 – even citing the very same prediction as an example of how they can go awry. And from our vantage point in 2020, Adams certainly did a better…
Read MoreU.S. And China Technology Conflict—Here’s Why 2020 Is So Critical
As we approach 2020, the heated technology conflict between the U.S. and China shows no signs of a thaw. U.S. President Trump’s campaign against leading Chinese technology firms—including but not only Huawei—may have grabbed the headlines, but there is also China banning most leading U.S. consumer content-based technologies, Russia architecting its sovereign internet, political pressure on western tech players over international research collaboration. As we approach 2020, a decade and more of ever-tightening technology globalisation looks very much at risk. A key part of the divide is the so-called splinternet or balkanisation of the…
Read MoreBest of The Interpreter 2019: Technology
The endless blessings of technology – where would we be without them? Not reading this page, for a start. Several decades into the so-called digital revolution (depending where you mark the start), tech has become almost as essential to our everyday lives as air and water, and yet behind the utopian glimmer, doubts linger that we have tricked ourselves, and the Luciferian fire that brings light also has the power to consume us and destroy us. The Interpreter traced how technology has continued to influence and infiltrate international affairs this past…
Read MoreApple is reportedly developing satellite technology to support its devices
A new report from Bloomberg claims Apple is working on satellite technology to beam data to users’ devices, and could launch a new initiative using the tech within five years. There are a lot of unknowns and caveats, though. The project is “still early and could be abandoned,” says Bloomberg, and it’s not clear what Apple’s end goal is. It’s also not known if the company wants to develop its own satellites or simply utilize others’ satellite data. With the technology in hand, though, the iPhone maker could do a number of useful things. It could…
Read MoreMy One Big Fat Digital Technology Prediction For 2020
Yes, it’s that time of year, when we are bombarded with top-10 lists (or even top 20) with all manner of technology predictions. Here, I will only bombard you with one single significant development for the year to come. For the year ahead, 2020, after many years of rising expectations, we see technology democratization come to fruition in a big way. That is, users — even those with the minutest technical training — will gain access to tools and data that they will be able to put to work in…
Read MoreHow Technology Is Disrupting The Fitness Industry
Technology today has disrupted every business. It is strategically integrated into every industry and has helped advance it, be it health, education or automobile. Fitness industry is no exception. New technological innovations are regularly changing the way we exercise, which then over time creates a transformation within the health and fitness industry. People today who work out are not satisfied by only knowing their weight, height, waist line etc. They are interested in knowing more about their day to day progress, food macro and calorie consumption, body-fat percentage, sleep quality,…
Read MoreBenefits and importance of open source technology for enterprises
Technology should be carefully selected to actively grow business over the long term, so it requires careful consideration and foresight. Open source has been gaining popularity or a long time due to the benefits it comes with. Those who don’t know the difference between the two, open source software’s source code is available to everyone. Anyone can modify its code while proprietary software is owned by enterprises or individuals and its source code can only be modified by its owners. Enterprises that use open source software enjoy many advantages over…
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