Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce the reader of this text to the latest technological developments that are and will affect profoundly virtually the entire landscape of human activity. Rarely has any scientific- or technology-driven innovation encompass almost all facets of endeavors, whether examined from scientific, sociological, political, philosophical, or legal viewpoints. The focus will be mainly on the two current major technologies, namely blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), and a discussion of the more futuristic quantum computing (QC).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
There are numerous sources that discuss the stages as, for example, Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, the Four Industrial Revolutions, BLOG (June 30, 2019), https://ied.eu/project-updates/the-4-industrial-revolutions/.
- 2.
David Mills, Kathy Wang, Brendan Malone, Anjana Ravi, Jeff Marquardt, Clinton Chen, Anton Badev, Timothy Brezinski, Linda Fahy, Kimberley Liao, Vanessa Kargenian, Max Ellithorpe, Wendy Ng, and Maria Baird, Distributed ledger technology in payments, clearing, and settlement, Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2016-095. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2016.095.
- 3.
Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta, How to time-stamp a digital document, 3 JOURNAL OF CRYPTOLOGY 99-111 (1991), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00196791.
- 4.
Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (Oct. 31, 2008), https://nakamotoinstitute.org/bitcoin/.
- 5.
For an extensive discussion of blockchain bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, see ROSARIO GIRASA, REGULATION OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES, Palgrave Macmillan (2018).
- 6.
Alyssa Hertig, Who Created the Ethereum Ecosystem? COINDESK (March 23, 2021), https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/03/23/who-created-the-ethereum-ecosystem/.
- 7.
PYMNTS, Cryptocurrency Payments Report (May 2021), https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PYMNTS-Cryptocurrency-Payments-Report-May-2021.pdf.
- 8.
Jeff Stein, Cryptocurrency advocates find Treasury’s Yellen to be a tough sell, WASHINGTON POST (Aug. 25, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/08/25/yellen-crypto-bitcoin-defi/.
- 9.
Artificial Intelligence, ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence.
- 10.
See, for example, artificial Intelligence, OXFORD LIVING DICTIONARY, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/artificial-intelligence.
- 11.
National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Act of 2018, S.2806, 115th Cong. (2018), https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s2806/BILLS-115a2806is.pdf.
- 12.
Frank Tavares, Google and NASA Achieve Quantum Supremacy (Oct. 23, 2019), NASA Ames Research Center, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/quantum-supremacy.
- 13.
Adrian Cho, IBM casts doubt on Google’s claim of quantum supremacy, SCIENCE (Oct. 23, 2019), https://www.science.org/news/2019/10/ibm-casts-doubt-googles-claims-quantum-supremacy.
- 14.
Matthew Sparkes, China beats Google to claim the world’s most powerful computer, NEWSCIENTIST (July 5, 2021), https://www.newscientist.com/article/2282961-china-beats-google-to-claim-the-worlds-most-powerful-quantum-computer/.
- 15.
Gabriel Popkin, Einstein’s ‘Spooky Action at a distance’ spotted in objects almost big enough to see, SCIENCE (April 25, 2018), https://www.science.org/news/2018/04/einstein-s-spooky-action-distance-spotted-objects-almost-big-enough-see.
- 16.
Daphne Leprince-Ringuet, Quantum computers could threaten blockchain security. These new defenses might be the answer, ZDNet (Aug. 11, 2021), https://www.zdnet.com/article/quantum-computers-could-threaten-blockchain-security-these-new-defenses-might-be-the-answer/.
- 17.
Among the numerous articles, reports, books, and so on are NATO OTAN, Science & Technology Trends 2020–2040, https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2020/4/pdf/190422-ST_Tech_Trends_Report_2020-2040.pdf; CHRIS BERHARDT, QUANTUM COMPUTING FOR EVERYONE, MIT Press (2019); and JOHN GRIBBEN, COMPUTING WITH QUANTUM CATS: FROM COLOSSUS TO QUBITS, Prometheus Books (2014).
- 18.
National Quantum Initiative Act, 5 U.S.C. §8801 note (2018).
- 19.
NSTC Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science, National Strategic Overview for Quantum Information Science (Sept. 2018), https://www.quantum.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018_NSTC_National_Strategic_Overview_QIS.pdf.
- 20.
Department of Energy, Department of Energy Announces $2.85 Million to Support Undergraduate Research Traineeships at HBCUs and other MSIs (June 24, 2021), https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/department-energy-announces-285-million-support-undergraduate-research.
- 21.
See Roy Girasa and Emilio Collar, Quantum Computing: The Second Quantum Revolution: Transformation of How Business is Conducted, EUROPEAN BUSINESS REVIEW (Sept.–Oct. 2021), www.europeanbusnessreview.com.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Girasa, R., Scalabrini, G.J. (2022). Overview of Current Innovative Technologies. In: Regulation of Innovative Technologies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03869-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03869-3_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-03868-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-03869-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)