Transhumanism

• [New] The upcoming Perseverance landing will feature seven minutes of terror, but for today's orbital insertion, the UAE Space Agency will be experiencing 27 minutes of terror.
• [New] With the incoming Biden administration, the rules governing the H-1B visa (and employment-based immigration in general) could undergo a radical shift over the next few years.
• [New] Companies, including H&M, Marks & Spencer, Target Australia and C&A, will aim to develop systems that capture post-production fashion waste to then use in the production of new textile products.
• The remotely piloted races will present to the world for the first time close-quarter flying circuit racing at speeds of more than 120 km/h (75 mph).
• The current requirements that 13 H Funds invest a certain portion of their funds in Singapore-based portfolio companies or overseas portfolio companies with economic spin-offs to Singapore could be relaxed.
• The technology, which will be commissioned in 2022, will treat up to 2,200m 3/h of landfill gas and inject 70 GWh of biomethane a year into the gas network of Spanish operator Nedgia.
• In response, China's Ministry of Education issued a notice warning potential applicants that visas had been restricted for Chinese students wishing to study in the United States, as the visa review period has been extended, the validity period has been shortened and the refusal rate has increased.
• Building 350 kilometers of railway that could allow a speed of 200 km/h became the most important Chinese project in Europe.
• If vehicles are set to only display to kilometers, all functions tied to speed limit like Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Speed Assist will convert mapped data from mph to km/h, resulting in the vehicle speed automatically matching the appropriate speed limit.
• As both domestic and Dutch gas supplies fall further in coming years, Germany will need to rely exclusively on high-calorific gas (H-gas), which makes up the rest of its supply, including from Norway, Denmark and Russia.
• The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the retail sector and transformed consumers as it is rapidly changing the $25 trillion global retail landscape, so much so that global e-commerce sales are set to grow from $4.13 trillion in 2020 to $4.8 trillion in 2021.
• By the end of 2021, we expect 30% of Global 2000 companies to have a significant digital product portfolio and 20% to stand up digital divisions dedicated to launching disruptive products to accelerate their transformation to full ecosystem participation.
• Organizations are projected to spend nearly $2 trillion on digital transformation in 2022, spurred by a proliferation of new technologies and a fear of disruption by tech-enabled competitors.
• Close to US$ 3.8 trillion is expected to be invested by businesses in digital transformations in 2019, up 3.2 percent on the previous year, as companies try to transform the way they work in the face of technological change, market disruption, and unrelenting competition.
• Infrastructure changes and disruptive technologies will underpin the transformation of the energy system from a failing carbon economy to a successful clean economy by 2050.
• Digital transformation to improve customer experiences and online purchasing, fintech banking, blockchain, augmented reality and virtual reality are some of the technologies that will disrupt the South African ICT industry in 2019.
• The upward trajectory of SDN solutions will carry over into next year as digital disruption and transformation will continue to challenge customers in 2019.
• Banking seems to be more attracted to digital disruption, given that investments in digital transformation initiatives are expected to surpass $2.7 trillion by 2020 according to Fintech Innovation.
• In 2019 and beyond, expect digital transformation to further disrupt industries, companies, and jobs, pressuring more people to enhance their digital skill set.
• 100% of players in the energy market expect it to be completely turned upside down by digital disruption within the next five years, and 86% are said to already be transforming their business model as a result.
• Artificial intelligence will contribute close to US$16 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and is set to be the key source of transformation, disruption and competitive advantage in the world's fast-changing business arena.

Last updated: 21 February 2021