Five Interesting Things: Today’s Scan Hits
Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today.
- An article outlines the debate about the concept of a “universal basic income,” a minimum income that could be provided to everyone in a society.
- According to this story in the New York Times, both the recent fire in a high rise garment factory in Bangladesh and rising costs in China are causing garment makers to seek alternative production sites. Only a few other nations have the infrastructure to quickly supply high quality clothing in large lots–Vietnam, Indonesia, and possibly Pakistan and Cambodia. Garment factory construction is booming in Indonesia and orders are expected to spread to other locations over the next two to three years.
- Singularity Hub offers an angle on the question of whether human labor will still be valued in a few decades.
- High altitude airship drones could be powered by solar energy and loiter in the upper atmosphere for months, serving as telecommunications relays. Networks of these airships could disrupt traditional satellite markets, and provide a cost-effective alternative to satellite communications, with benefits that include reduced communications latency and lower power requirements for antennas.
- A report from the UN states that insects could be a crucial tool in ending world hunger. The report lists 1,900 edible insect types, which could be used to create a high-protein diet. Last year the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded its Grand Challenges Exploration prize to a start up, All Things Bugs, that is seeking to develop viable ways to use insect protein to end malnutrition in Children.