Future Beat: Transporting ideas

Getting from point A to point B has always been an intriguing aspect of the future.

Transport, some might argue, is the one constant that binds us together. We're always looking to see how we can increase the efficiency in how we move around and transport goods, and we're always looking to go a little faster, all while minimising our footprint and potential for crashes.

This week, there are several events unfolding in the UAE that will help determine the future of transport. First off, there's the A2RL autonomous vehicle race, and secondly, there's the?DriftX mobility and transport exhibition.

At both Abu Dhabi events, you'll find things that fly, things that drive, and even robots that swim. Not all will be successful necessarily, but that misses the point.

We're always going to try to improve how we get from A to B, and that's true for transport, technology and science overall.

Cody Sigel Combs , Future Editor

The Big Story

Surrounding TikTok

In brief | Did US President Joe Biden just sign a bill that marks the beginning of the end of TikTok? That's probably premature, but the clock, no pun intended, is ticking, at least for users in the US.

The potential TikTok ban was tucked into an overall $95 billion foreign aid package. It basically gives China-based ByteDance until 2025 to divest the company from its portfolio. Hypothetically, if that doesn't happen, the app will disappear from iPhone and Android app stores in the US amid concern about Chinese government influence and potential access to data of the app.

While testifying before the US Congress in last year, TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean, denied and dismissed those concerns, but that didn't satisfy most US politicians.

Why it matters | With more than 1 billion active monthly users around the world, a move, however methodical, to ban TikTok or to force its sale, is a big deal. It's the social platform all rivals hope to be right now, at least in terms of influence.

It's worth noting that US President Joe Biden's re-election campaign is actually on TikTok, and has more than 307,000 followers on the platform. The campaign has also made clear that it has no intention of leaving the platform, despite the bill being signed into law.

It's quite the juxtaposition that proves TikTok's power. You might not like it or even want to talk about it, but it's too influential to ignore, at least for now.

Perhaps not surprisingly, TikTok's chief executive has insisted that the platform will challenge the law in court, and tried to reassure users that it doesn't plan on going anywhere.

Quoted | "While we make our case in court you'll still be able to use TikTok like you always have ... it's obviously a disappointing moment, but it does not need to be defining one"

– TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew

Future in focus

Connecting islands and emirates | Seagliders that will travel from?Abu Dhabi to Dubai in 25 minutes?to be built in UAE

Simulation mission | This Emirati pilot is helping Mars dreams take flight

Lights, camera, algorithm | How artificial intelligence is being used to make films

Transformative technology | Meet the neuroscientist using tech to unravel brain mysteries

Predicting the future: Signal or noise?

Although news content once propelled social media engagement and generated growth for various platforms, some newcomer social platforms have not been able to find a path to success, despite ample funding and initial excitement. The latest social media site to shut down is Post, the news-centric app that billed itself as an alternative to Twitter and Facebook.

Is this the beginning of the end for aspiring social media platforms?

This is noise: It's relatively common knowledge that most new businesses fail. That trend tends to get lost in the discussion of high-flying and well-funded technology start-ups. It's easy for the ample venture capital funding and initial burst of media attention of these start-ups to cloud the prospects of these companies, but make no mistake, start-ups, regardless of funding, are still risky prospects.

One start-up's failure, however, does not make or break an entire industry. We're still going to see different companies attempting to create the next big social media app. In fact, what usually happens during the post-mortem of defunct start-ups is that the founders are able to take a closer look at what went right and wrong.

The micropayments aspect of Post worked well, so we'll almost certainly see that implemented again by someone down the line. Again, start-ups, at the end of the day, are just as risky as new businesses, even if we don't necessarily call them that.

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