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Out of curiosity, what technological investments do you think the government could be making today that would have the impact that satellites and the internet c

Out of curiosity, what technological investments do you think the government could be making today that would have the impact that satellites and the internet could have? I ask because the way I see it there are some pretty fundamental differences between now and the 1970s. The way I see it, progress is made not so much by companies or government but by those individuals with the intellect and gumption to invent the future. All that matters is that there exist organizations, be it corporations or the government, willing to invest money on big bold bets that attract such ambitious individuals and create conditions for them to collaborate. At times in history, private industry achieved it (Bell Labs, Ford, Google, Facebook, Tesla) at other times the government/military achieved it (Manhattan Project, NASA, DARPA, etc.) If government got heavily involved it would contribute just by putting more money in the ring, but I don't see how it would achieve more than corporations putting more money in the ring. End of the day, it's the money being put in the ring that matters most, not who is putting the money in the ring. Not saying, I'm against more money chasing ambitious ideas, I just fail to see the argument that government is any better than private industry here. The one advantage I do see of government is that they'll generally allow money to be spent far more recklessly for longer than private industry and if that's not your money, then that is something that is more likely to produce an occasional great technological outcome.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 6y ago
Government lays out the foundation upon which innovation can take place. They build out shared infrastructure and provide research funding to universities, which private corporations get to use to create profitable things in the real world. Using your examples, Ford wouldn't have been successful without the massive government investments in our roads, and the internet companies wouldn't have been successful without all the publicly funded computer science research over the past half century. We're probably overdue for some wide-scale government investments in renewable tech, and I'd personally love to see a substantial government initiative to not only modernize our digital infrastructure (the average household internet connection in the U.S. is ~7 Mbps), but really push it into the future, whether it's via fiber, public wifi blankets over dense urban areas, cell towers, satellites, or some combination thereof.
Barrin92 6y ago
>what technological investments do you think the government could be making today that would have the impact that satellites and the internet could have? maybe nuclear fission, make it the goal to create cheap, clean and abundant energy, maybe a model city with new modes of transport, Gigabit internet everywhere, a space elevator, an arcology, much more interest in alternative new ways of agricultural production, a DARPA for construction and infrastructure. There are so many things that essentially work the same way they did 50 years ago. I can't remember who said it but someone said, take the screens out of a room and you can't tell if you're in 1970 or 2020. Private business tries to tackle some of the things on that list but without backing by a state it never goes anywhere, and they do it more out of vanity or because they have eccentric founders rather than any economic sense, these are societal tasks. Also foster a culture that admires scientific excellence and inquiry over getting rich and being a celebrity by making science again the focus of the education system. There's also a cultural component to this everything else aside.
Animats 6y ago
What technological investments do you think the government could be making today that would have the impact that satellites and the internet could have? * Vaccines for addiction. A vaccine against cocaine addiction was developed in 2009 but was not effective enough.[1] * Preventing aging. Aging is mostly a timeout, not a wear-out. * Average US East Asian IQ 105. Average white IQ 99. Average black IQ 85-90. Why? Fixable? * Automated education which actually works. * Wireless power transmission that works. Not much power, but enough to eliminate the need for small batteries in everything. * Ways to force a decision in a guerilla war. * A way to make building roofs that last a century. * A way to make roads that last a century. That's a start. [1] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/cocaine-vaccine-shows-promise-treating-addiction https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/cocaine...

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 6y ago

Government lays out the foundation upon which innovation can take place. They build out shared infrastructure and provide research funding to universities, which private corporations get to use to create profitable things in the real world. Using your examples, Ford wouldn't have been successful without the massive government investments in our roads, and the internet companies wouldn't have been successful without all the publicly funded computer science research over the past half century. We're probably overdue for some wide-scale government investments in renewable tech, and I'd personally love to see a substantial government initiative to not only modernize our digital infrastructure (the average household internet connection in the U.S. is ~7 Mbps), but really push it into the future, whether it's via fiber, public wifi blankets over dense urban areas, cell towers, satellites, or some combination thereof.

Barrin92 6y ago

>what technological investments do you think the government could be making today that would have the impact that satellites and the internet could have? maybe nuclear fission, make it the goal to create cheap, clean and abundant energy, maybe a model city with new modes of transport, Gigabit internet everywhere, a space elevator, an arcology, much more interest in alternative new ways of agricultural production, a DARPA for construction and infrastructure. There are so many things that essentially work the same way they did 50 years ago. I can't remember who said it but someone said, take the screens out of a room and you can't tell if you're in 1970 or 2020. Private business tries to tackle some of the things on that list but without backing by a state it never goes anywhere, and they do it more out of vanity or because they have eccentric founders rather than any economic sense, these are societal tasks. Also foster a culture that admires scientific excellence and inquiry over getting rich and being a celebrity by making science again the focus of the education system. There's also a cultural component to this everything else aside.

Animats 6y ago

What technological investments do you think the government could be making today that would have the impact that satellites and the internet could have? * Vaccines for addiction. A vaccine against cocaine addiction was developed in 2009 but was not effective enough.[1] * Preventing aging. Aging is mostly a timeout, not a wear-out. * Average US East Asian IQ 105. Average white IQ 99. Average black IQ 85-90. Why? Fixable? * Automated education which actually works. * Wireless power transmission that works. Not much power, but enough to eliminate the need for small batteries in everything. * Ways to force a decision in a guerilla war. * A way to make building roofs that last a century. * A way to make roads that last a century. That's a start. [1] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/cocaine-vaccine-shows-promise-treating-addiction https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/cocaine...