My bad holiday travel experience shows how new technology in the U.S. is being held back.
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| How To Encourage The Growth Of New Technologies |
All airlines had to cancel many flights during Christmas because of bad weather. But Southwest had to cancel tens of thousands of flights because "staff shortages and the company's outdated scheduling software" worsened the situation. The airline's scheduling system got too busy trying to match flights with pilots and flight attendants, and in the end, the Wall Street Journal said, all scheduling had to be done by hand.
Southwest will move quickly to update its tech. When faced with a challenge like this, that's the textbook answer.
But this is not just the story of one airline or industry. As an investor and strategic advisor to tech companies, I've noticed a bigger problem: over the past three years, there has been a limited amount of digital transformation that breaks new ground. Transportation, connected home, cities, and workplaces are moving slowly.
A Bullet That Moves Like A Worm
Not only were the worldwide shocks that followed the worst of the pandemic a factor in the bottlenecks in the supply chain that contributed to increasing inflation in 2022, but those shocks were not the only cause. Technology, or the absence of technology, had a significant impact as well. Throughout the supply chain, the management systems that oversee the transportation of commodities often need to be updated.
And the passage of products is not the only thing delayed by these barriers. As an example, residents of California have been patiently waiting for almost 15 years for the nation's first "bullet train." Voters in California approved a project in 2008 that would shorten the trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco, guaranteeing that the project would be finished by 2020. In 2022, construction finally started on a starting line that was 171 miles long.
These examples are more than just illustrative of how the United States views developing technologies. The challenges these scenarios have brought about are a sign of the issue preventing the full development of various technologies. What's the matter? There has not been enough effort to coordinate the approaches taken by the scientific community, the government, and the private sector.
The current administration is trying to address this issue with the $1 trillion infrastructure program and the $50 billion CHIPS Act, which aims to improve domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research. Both of this legislation are aimed at strengthening the domestic semiconductor industry. Nevertheless, a single slip-up in one of these efforts might throw off the progress we need.
Putting More Speed Behind The New Silicon Valleys
Most urban legends about Silicon Valley begin with stories of technical geniuses working with home-built computers in their garage. It's not too far from the truth. However, the closeness of Silicon Valley to research colleges such as Stanford was a significant factor in the region's rise to fame as the "cradle of contemporary technology" that it is today. A community dedicated to furthering technical advancements emerged concurrently with the formation of new businesses. This collaboration between the public sector and private industry in the field of research and development was the spark that ignited the magic that we now recognise and enjoy.
The current trend of the southeast becoming a manufacturing centre for electric cars is a direct result of the government's support for improving the country's ageing infrastructure and increasing domestic production of semiconductors. According to AlixPartners managing director Arun Kumar's interview with ABC News, "46% of car manufacture in the United States now takes place in the South."
Increasing the amount of electric vehicle manufacturing in the south will shift perception towards these automobiles. The caricature of electric vehicle drivers as "coastal elites" will give way to a more widespread image. Expanding those factories, which are presently manufacturing electric vehicles, may entice other technology businesses to locate there. It's not hard to picture additional "Silicon Valleys" sprouting across the south.
It Is Time For A Self-Examination
Today, many venture capitalists are searching for investment opportunities in novel areas. For example, generative artificial intelligence has recently become a "shiny new object." It is easy to see the allure of investing in businesses that drive innovation in discovering a dataset's inherent qualities. But it is also the time for an honest examination of your instincts.
The community of investors need not just concentrate on long-term "moonshots," but also on issues that may be resolved in the nearer future and pertain to the actual world. It seems to me that many people have become blind to the breadth of possibilities that might be shown to us by modern technology. Imagine, for example, that a person with a hearing problem is granted access to information in visual forms, which paves the way for new avenues of employment and recreation.
The business world of investments has the power to persuade all stakeholders, including producers of hardware and software and media and communications platforms, to welcome a new era of cooperation. The capacity to interoperate is essential. Walled gardens are to blame for the inability of customers' gadgets to provide more immersive experiences. As a direct consequence, consumer technology's capacity to bring about genuine and tangible changes in people's lives is restricted.
It's not a problem that can't be solved. It takes the will of everyone in the tech and media ecosystem, starting with the people who invest in startups. VCs could take on a bigger role in groups of companies that work together to make new standards and business models. VCs can also make it easier for solutions to be tailored to a certain industry. In other words, instead of making connections between device makers, content owners, etc., they could help bring together the telecommunications, consumer packaged goods, or real estate industries for a half-day meeting where portfolio companies could learn about the challenges and opportunities in their own industries.
If we don't pay more attention to developing new technologies, we might all be stuck waiting for the next unicorn that doesn't take off—or the next flight.
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