The power of triple redundancies, robots that save industries not destroy jobs, and smarter competition. These are a few of the stories we’re talking about this week. Whether it be in the office or on the airplane headed to our next program, we’re always talking about the issues and trends that are shaping the way we learn as well as what interests each of us on the team. Read more below.
Fault tolerant by design
We already covered the Artemis crew’s tour around the moon, but couldn’t stop talking about the mission’s ultra-redundant, fault-tolerant computer system. Designed to withstand the extreme conditions of deep space, it is unlike Apollo’s simpler guidance computer which famously rebooted itself over and over again during the historic moon landing. Orion’s architecture ensures mission safety through triple-redundant networks, synchronized CPUs, and a dissimilar backup designed to autonomously isolate errors and recover even from a total power loss. The system represents a leap toward resilient computing that could influence autonomous systems on Earth. It has us thinking about the importance of creating organizations that are fault tolerant or resilient by design.
What if the robots aren’t taking our jobs?
While the rest of us contemplate the existential dread of a potential autonomous workforce, Japan is facing severe labor shortages and deploying AI-powered robots to compensate. These machines do not replace workers but sustain key operations in factories, logistics, and infrastructure. Looking to the future, the country has an ambitious national goal to capture 30% of the global physical AI market by 2040. Japan’s approach could redefine global robotics, prioritizing operational continuity over disruption, and turning demographic shifts into a catalyst for AI-driven industrial resilience.
New threat or new protector?
Anthropic has unveiled Claude Mythos Preview, a new AI model designed to autonomously detect cybersecurity vulnerabilities in major operating systems and web browsers. Developed as part of Project Glasswing with partners like Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft, the model identifies high-severity flaws and even generates exploits without human input. While it has already found and suggested fixes for current threats, access is restricted to prevent misuse by adversaries. The model is not planned for public release due to security risks. Aa sign of it’s potential, both positive and negative.
A regulated, free market
Switzerland achieves world-leading 25 Gbit/s fiber internet through a potential paradox: a regulated, but open-access model for utilities. Fiber infrastructure is built once as a neutral public asset, allowing multiple ISPs to compete fairly on service and price. The U.S. and Germany suffer from monopolies or wasteful overbuild due to lack of enforced infrastructure sharing which leads to slower, shared connections and higher prices. Can an open marketplace come from regulating natural monopolies like broadband infrastructure, not enabling rent-seeking or stagnation? Can we create environments that foster true competition?