Big Tech Impacts for 2018

Technological change accelerates faster than our ability to observe it, but with enough investigative rigour, we can scratch at the surface of the near future. CSIRO’s Data61 sits at the intersection of government, academia, business, culture and society, and it’s incumbent on us to grasp, using evidence, research and analysis, the implications and opportunities that manifest around technological shifts. These aren’t hazy forecasts – they’re carefully crafted extrapolations of the incoming shape of human society.

For this issue of Algorithm, our Strategic Insights team has put together a series of pieces that focus on key trends and near-future insights. What’s 2018 going to look like for Australian data science and tech? What are some key focus areas for government and business around cryptocurrencies? Will the lives of citizens shift noticeably, when it comes to our private data?

We hope you enjoy soaking up the knowledge of our Strategic Insights team, and we hope you had a relaxing break over the holidays. Email comms@data61.csiro.au if you have any questions about this newsletter, and we’ll see you in March.

The Algorithm Editorial team

The point-cloud image featured for this post was generated using Data61’s award-winning Zebedee scanner technology, and is of ANZAC Square in Brisbane. ANZAC Square is a public square in Brisbane, Australia that includes a memorial to the men and women who have represented Australia and New Zealand in overseas armed conflict. The site is heritage-listed and contains the Shrine of Remembrance, which houses an Eternal Flame. ANZAC square was scanned with Zebedee in May 2014 by Jonathan Roberts (CSIRO). The screenshots have been created by Jonathan Roberts. You can read more about Zebedee at Zebedee: handheld laser scanner and Zebedee – Robotics and Autonomous Systems.