Five Things Tech: European Tech, Inclusive Semiconductor Future, Reality Labs, Space Lasers, Robot Dexterity

Everything you should read about Tech right now.

Hello again, and welcome back to Five Things Tech!

As you can see by the topics mentioned in the $subject, there is a lot to unpack this week in Five Things Tech. I can tell you from many conversations I have had in the last 100 days that digital sovereignty is a huge topic these days in Europe. There has always been the issue that European data should stay in Europe. Also, many political decision-makers don’t think it makes sense to spend taxpayers’ money for American tech products. And now, of course, these debates become much more heated as many people fear that the USA is turning into an irrational actor and a partner that could no longer be fully trusted. Let’s see how fast we can build something that has been neglected for 30 years.

Another huge story are the losses Meta’s Reality Labs accumulated over the last few years while trying to build the newfangled metaverse thingy, which to me always seemed like a dystopian idea taken right out of Snowcrash (hence the name) and Ready Player One, which is just a wonderful book about a future I’d rather not have. On the one hand I applaud Zuckerberg for being so bullish on VR, on the other hand I simply cannot see how VR will ever be a consumer product. Apple also didn’t exactly reach mainstream with their Apple Vision Pro goggles, even though they have created a huge experience for its users. I think the AR glasses that Meta and Ray-Ban are selling are a much better product, but the product development could have happened without all the metaverse fanfare. Sometimes I wonder how huge companies create their own reality distortion field and then do something that baffles almost everyone.

Also, let’s learn more about inclusive semiconductor chip design, space lasers and robot dexterity. Fun topics, so please dig in!

Enjoy!