Issue 104: Space is Just the Beginning
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about space – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Space is Just the Beginning
The UAE is deepening its commitment to space exploration and research. Last week, the UAE Space Federation announced more than $800 million in funding for new space initiatives. The first investments will focus on establishing a remote sensing satellite constellation called Sirb (Arabic for a flock of birds). The first satellite should launch in three years and will use synthetic aperture radar technology to capture high-resolution images. Beyond the science at work, the announcement has far-reaching implications for Earth.
Building a knowledge economy: The UAE’s relationship with space isn’t new. The country operates some of the most advanced commercial satellites in the world. In July 2020, the UAE launched the Hope Probe to Mars. The unmanned probe is designed to collect vital information about the Red Planet for possible human-crewed missions in the future. Driving the UAE’s decision to invest in space exploration and research is the goal of building a knowledge economy back on Earth. According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, space is one of its key “promising economic sectors.” Investment in research builds the local talent base.
Space is just the start: When the Hope Probe was launched, we reflected on the innovation
that it represents for the UAE. The Middle East has a long and vibrant history of scientific discovery and innovation. From early mathematics to decades of global exploration, science is woven into the fabric of our region. In today’s reality, this drive for scientific understanding is manifested in creating a viable knowledge economy that can train the next generation of programmers, engineers, and thinkers. Those words ring true today with the announcement of this critical new round of funding for space research.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Without space, there is no time.”
– Dejan Stojanovic, Serbian writer.
NFT explainer: An NFT, or a non-fungible token, is a unique digital item traded on a blockchain. The NFT market has cooled dramatically with the general downturn in markets. While the technology powering NFTs and blockchains is revolutionary, the fact is that NFTs have become asset classes just like stocks. They go up and down according to prevailing market conditions. They might be down now, but they will undoubtedly spike back up during the next rally. In this piece by Xische, we dive into NFTs. It’s a vital explainer of this fascinating technology.
Fresh approaches: Sticking with the technology theme this week, Xische recently published a piece looking at all the new and existing digital legislation passed in the UAE in recent months. Fresh off the heels of the World Expo 2020 and the World Government Summit, Dubai has announced a slew of new laws aimed at digital assets and quality of living updates. These laws once again demonstrate how the Emirate is pushing forward with profound changes designed to ensure that Dubai is one of the most innovative cities in the world.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Cybersecurity and the future of warfare: Recent cyberattacks on the Baltic states further demonstrate that the future of war will be digital. Lithuanian government and public service web portals were hit by a sustained cyber attack from Russian hackers. The attack was a response to Lithuanian enforcement of a European Union sanctions package on goods traveling to and from Kaliningrad. The quality of a nation’s cybersecurity will be critical for future conflicts.
Sentient AI. The debate about artificial intelligence continues to rage after a Google engineer claimed that an AI model at the company has achieved sentience. Writing in Noema, a philosopher of technology and a fellow at Google Research tackle the issue head on. The piece is dense but a must read if you are interested in the future of AI ethics. Whether the Google AI is sentient or not overlooks essential issues that will frame debates about intelligence, sentience, language, and human-AI interaction in the coming years.
QUICK HITS
The Webb Space Telescope’s profound data challenges.
Why write?
Too much reading.