2016’s Top 12 Game-Changing Tech Stories
2016 has proven to be an unpredictable and spontaneous year. A year when the unthinkable became reality and when instability was rampant worldwide. With my background in tech, and as a manager for the Future Labs at NYU Tandon, I decided to reflect on some of the most groundbreaking and surprising news the technology industry offered us this year. I’d love to hear your feedback, if we’re set up for a promising year ahead, as well as what new tech you’re excited to see in 2017. . . Enjoy!
January 2016
Hyperloop gets REAL!
California-based Hyperloop Transportation kicked off the year with a bang with their announcement of their first test track in Quay Valley, turning Elon Musk’s vision from a theorized design to potentially a future reality. With major metropolitan cities dealing with serious congestion and the constant need to put more people to work, Hyperloop isn’t just a cool technology; it might be the answer to so many of our problems.
“This will be the world’s first passenger-ready Hyperloop system,” said Dirk Ahlborn, the company’s CEO, in a statement. “Everyone traveling on California’s I-5 in 2016 will be able to see our activities from the freeway.” — “Hyperloop Transportation is about to break ground on its first test track”| Andrew J . Hawkins | VergeHQ
February 2016
Apple goes to war with Uncle Sam
We’ve seen industry giants such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter stand up to the CIA, NSA, and other governmental groups, but Apple’s case with the FBI took things to another level, increasing the public’s awareness as to how a government could gain access to the data we store.
Here’s Why Apple Is Going To War Over FBI ‘Backdoor’ Order
“The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data.” — Tim Cook in “Here’s Why Apple Is Going To War Over FBI ‘Backdoor’ Order” | David Meyer | Fortune
March 2016
Microsoft’s TAY gets CRAY! When AI goes wild, thanks to humans
When Microsoft introduced their AI chatbot Tay into the world to understand teens better — which is a really tough job; trust me, I was one — they obviously didn’t take into account what else Tay would pick up along the way. Though Tay did some harm in its short life, it served a great purpose by showing what can happen when AI is released prematurely. It highlighted that, although we see the benefits of AI, it’s still a technology that very few people understand with even fewer able to predict the outcomes.
“It took less than 24 hours for Twitter to corrupt an innocent AI chatbot. Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled Tay — a Twitter bot that the company described as an experiment in ‘conversational understanding.’
“It’s a joke, obviously, but there are serious questions to answer, like how are we going to teach AI using public data without incorporating the worst traits of humanity?” — “Twitter taught Microsoft’s AI chatbot to be a racist asshole in less than a day” | James Vincent | VergeHQ
April 2016
Facebook gets botted
The chatbot ecosystem got a HUGE boost when Facebook joined Slack in providing a much needed, widespread platform for bot companies. An interesting thought isn’t necessarily how many bots live on this platform but how much data Facebook can now access via these conversations/transactions. Who run the world? Facebook.
“Facebook on Tuesday made a series of big announcements at its F8 developer conference, and one of the biggest was the hotly anticipated launch of a new bot platform for Facebook Messenger. These machine-powered chat accounts allow companies to interact with Facebook Messenger users without, you know, actually having to interact with Facebook Messenger users.” —“40 of the first Facebook chatbots in the world” | Zach Epstein | BGRmedia
May 2016
Bitcoin founder, going once, twice, three times…
Though Apple’s deal with SAP was big news, in terms of what seems like a new enterprise focus for Apple, the story that took the cake for May 2016 was bitcoin and its potential birth. The most recognized digital currency had never had a true founder except for a kind of mystical figure named Satoshi Nakamoto — until now. On May 2, an Australian entrepreneur named Craig Wright claimed to be Satoshi before backtracking 3 days later. The true identity of the bitcoin founder may bring a sense of direction for the currency and movement that has needed leadership to take the next step. The lack of order has consistently scared both investors and regulators away from taking the currency seriously. We’ll see if that changes in 2017.
Nakamoto’s secret identity has in some ways been very helpful to the Bitcoin project. Its mystery is alluring, and for those who dig deeper, the elegant brilliance of Nakamoto’s code and prose continue to inspire by example. But in the current environment, mystery may not be as helpful as clarity. If he/she/they were to reveal themselves, they could help resolve disputes before they become civil wars. — “The controversy over Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity is jeopardizing Bitcoin’s future” | Jon Evans | Quartz
June 2016
Things get VERY REAL for HTC VIVE
There were many notable pieces of news in June—Brexit, Twilio’s IPO, Gawker filing for bankruptcy — but none provided insight into the future as did the next major interface for consumers and enterprise. In June, HTC announced a $10 billion VR fund, and although it’s “deployable capital,” it was still a very strong endorsement for the VR industry. Many others followed suit.
“HTC Vive announced a $10 billion initiative to put the investment weight of much of the industry on the back of itself and its partners, which include a number of VR-centric VC houses, in addition to more staple firms like Sequoia Capital and Redpoint Ventures.” — “HTC Vive announces $10 billion VR Venture Capital Alliance” | Lucas Matney | TechCrunch
July 2016
When Pikachu and his crew took over the world
Those who thought that Pokemon Go’s success arose out of the blue are sadly mistaken. John Hanke, founder of Niantic Labs, and his team ran a very successful marketing campaign that resulted in the greatest debut of a single app in history. With creative trailers and strong partnerships with Google, the team created ample hype for a throwback franchise. The strong planning helped Pokemon Go break multiple Guinness Records, skyrocketed Nintendo’s stock, led to Unity’s massive venture round, and ultimately gave AR the creditability it needed.
“Pokémon Go has quickly become one of the most viral mobile applications of all time. The game is now the biggest ever in the U.S.; it has now topped Twitter’s daily users, and it sees people spending more time in its app than in Facebook, according to reports from various tracking firms.” — “Pokémon Go tops Twitter’s daily users, sees more engagement than Facebook” | Sarah Perez | Techcrunch
August 2016
Uber throws in the towel in China
While it may seem that Travis through in the towel in China, the move was a testament to how focused Uber is on true profitability, which flew in the face of a Silicon Valley tendency to not necessarily make profitability a primary objective. The deal values the merged company at $35 billion.
“As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that being successful is about listening to your head as well as following your heart. Uber and Didi Chuxing are investing billions of dollars in China and both companies have yet to turn a profit there.” Travis Kalanick— “Uber to merge with Chinese rival Didi in $35 billion deal” | Matt Weinberger | Business Insider
September 2016
The Google Glass team got a real-life marketing lesson: Snapchat Spectacles
Like Niantic Labs over the summer, Snapchat did a great job rolling out their much anticipated Spectacles . Snapchat chose to put the tech in the hands of creatives and the general consumer as opposed to engineers, showing Google once again that it’s not about the tech alone, but more about the presentation, hype, and audience. (Yes, I’m snapping at you, Google Glass.)
“Spectacles, revealed earlier this year, are Snap, Inc.’s first hardware product — a pair of sunglasses with an embedded video camera designed for use exclusively with Snapchat.” — “Snapchat’s Spectacles go on sale via Minion-like vending machines” | Darrell Etherington| TechCrunch
October 2016
Musk gets into the residential game
As you all know by now, Elon Musk is a robot. (Just kidding but only cause we don’t have proof yet.) But seriously, along with transforming our rockets and cars, Musk now hopes to transform our climate for the better. As carbon levels increase and global warming continues to worsen, Musk has created solar roofs with better insulation, that generate electricity, and, best of all, cost less than regular roofs. The kn0ck on solar panels and other products—they were too expensive to implement—was overcome by Tesla’s solution that they become as common as home installation to reduce our carbon footprint. Now do your part and go fix your roof!
“The solar roof consists of uniquely designed glass tiles that complement the aesthetics of any home, embedded with the highest efficiency photovoltaic cells,” said Tesla in a statement. — “Elon Musk Reveals Solar Roof Made of Glass Tiles in L.A”| Dana Hull| Bloomberg Technology
Musk announced he plans on colonizing Mars, his two companies SolarCity and Tesla are set to merge, and he’s built an entire solar power island in under a year.
November 2016
This happened, and no one in tech saw it coming
Without getting into the politics, let’s focus on the data implications when it comes to this story, which is now our reality. As with Brexit, the majority of the data that the media and the general public relied on since the advent of data aggregation and modeling was very wrong. This resulted in utter shock in both instances, leaving people and organizations with no clue about what happened or how to plan for the next day. With all the mechanisms we have, it begged the question: How could all the pollsters and predictions have been so wrong? I don’t have a good answer, but we’ve learned is that even the most accurate models can’t account for unmeasurable phenomena.
“Most of the planning (by tech companies) had been done under the assumption that Hillary would win,” says Deven Parekh, managing director at Insight Venture Partners. — “Tech tries to get Trump’s ear after shunning him during campaign” | Jon Swartz | USA TODAY
December 2016
Uber claims stake in the #AIRace
Over the past couple of years, companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft have built AI labs and research centers to acquire both talent and companies in an effort to build up their AI competency. On December 5, Uber joined the AI race when they announced the acquisition of Future Labs’ startup, Geometric Intelligence (yes, one of our portfolio companies!). Gary Marcus, CEO of Geometric Intelligence, will be charged with heading up the new Uber AI Lab, which is sure to attract the top AI talent to the company in the coming years.
“The acquisition and new research arm, which will be called Uber’s AI Labs, exemplifies how seriously Silicon Valley tech companies are betting on artificial intelligence.” — “Uber Bets on Artificial Intelligence With Acquisition and New Lab”| Mike Isaac|New York Times
Without a doubt, 2016 is a year we won’t forget, but as we’ve witnessed time and time again, the world stops for no one. So, as tech ambassadors, it’s our responsibility to carry on and move the world forward for the greater good of all mankind.
Have a very happy holidays and a successful new year from myself and the Future Labs team. See you in 2017!
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We’d love to get your “tech thoughts” on the past year. Do you believe we’re in a good position going into 2017?
PS: Big thank you to my entire team but, specifically, Cielo Lutino, Steven Kuyan, and Genna Sankin for helping me put this together.
