| MOONSHOT FACTORY, CHATBOTS TAKE YOUR JOB, THE AGE OF DRONES The PARC Paradox The New York Times has a very interesting, in-depth profile of what used to be Google X and is now (after the Alphabet reorganization) just called X. It's Google's--excuse me, Alphabet's--fabled "moonshot factory" that engages in advanced research and development in an attempt to create transformative new technology. The whole thing is worth reading, but the most interesting part is how X is confronting the basic dilemma of the big tech company's R&D program: "Building a research division is an old and often unsuccessful concept. For decades, corporate giants like AT&T, IBM, Microsoft and Xerox have tried, in varying ways, to organize research-oriented groups in hopes of finding ways to cash in on emerging technologies before their competitors. "Those efforts played a role in creating some of the 20th century's most significant innovations. For instance, Bell Labs, then a division of AT&T, invented the transistor, the foundation of modern electronics. But in many cases these research arms did little for the companies that financed them.... "X is trying to make corporate research systematic by borrowing working ideas from the past, while adding a few wrinkles--like giving people a financial incentive to admit when something is not working out--in hopes of not making the same mistakes." Call this the PARC Paradox, after the Xerox research division that developed the mouse and the graphical user interface--ideas which made a vast fortune, not for Xerox, but for Apple. --- The Chatbot Apocalypse There has been a lot of talk about machines taking over factory jobs. (Never mind that every factory job is itself the result of machines taking over jobs.) But the machines are also coming for whole new categories of white-collar and professional jobs. Here's a guide to the jobs that are in danger of being replaced by artificial intelligence and chatbots, starting with web designers: "Maybe we expected computers to 'get' other computers, but the AI behind The Grid will take designing, coding, re-designing, and re-coding (not to mention the re-re-designing) out of the hands of both web designers and web developers. Based on simple pointers, it can turn a business' idea and a few photos into a marketing masterpiece, and it makes changes based on human feedback." Huh. Do you suppose it's, er, possible to write a bot to compile a morning newsletter? I'm asking for a friend. --- There's plenty more at our main page, including a report on the push for private companies to replace the International Space Station. In the Future You Will Own Nothing and Access Everything
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After the ISS Comes the Cis-Lunar Land Rush Check it all out. --- Drones of Ice and Fire I just wrote the headline, "7-11 Drone Delivers Slurpee" (to link to this article). This is the highlight of my professional life. Meanwhile, the FAA is trying to assert its authority to regulate a Connecticut father and son's flamethrower drone. The age of the drones has apparently arrived. --Rob Tracinski
Editor, RealClearFuture Follow @RealClearFuture on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Send comments, recommendations, and submissions to rob@realclearfuture.com. | 
