Amidst Industry Turmoil, Climate Tech and AI Provide Reasons for Optimism
While 2022 brings major setbacks like crypto collapses and mass layoffs, significant breakthroughs in climate legislation, generative AI, and orbital internet offer a bright side.
The tech industry experiences a turbulent 2022 filled with high-profile disasters like the collapse of FTX, the implosion of UST, and massive layoffs across major companies. These dominant narratives paint a bleak picture of the sector, but they overshadow several remarkable achievements that emerge throughout the year. Despite the negative headlines, innovators make significant strides in areas that promise to shape a better future.
Congress passes the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocates $369 billion to various climate initiatives ranging from green hydrogen to cold-weather heat pumps. This surprise legislation breaks years of legislative inaction and sparks renewed investor interest in climate technology. Simultaneously, generative AI systems like DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and ChatGPT come into their own, saving white-collar workers time by automating mundane tasks in art, programming, and writing.
Beyond Earth's atmosphere, satellite-based internet services make impressive progress toward connecting the globe. These orbital networks deliver on the long-standing promise of bringing high-speed access to underserved and remote regions. Together, these advancements in climate tech, artificial intelligence, and global connectivity provide plenty of reasons to feel excited as the year comes to a close.