Global Scans · Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

• [New] Future AI systems will instead rely on world models that learn abstract representations of physics, causality, and consequences, enabling planning, reasoning, and adaptation in real-world environments like robotics, healthcare, factories, and industrial systems. Radical Data Science
• [New] The AI infrastructure buildout continues to accelerate, with ~ $2.9 trillion in global CapEx expected through 2028. JD Supra
• [New] AI spending is now a capital-formation and infrastructure cycle as much as a software cycle: Global CapEx on data centers is forecast to reach $2.9 trillion through 2028. JD Supra
• [New] IDC projects $110 billion in AI infrastructure spend by end of 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 36% through 2029. IDC
• [New] There's a 75% chance that the average global temperature between 2026 and 2030 will be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher compared to pre-industrial times. Orlando Sentinel
• [New] There's a 75% chance that the average global temperature between 2026 and 2030 will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
• [New] There is a 75% chance that the global average temperature between 2026 and 2030 will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. WVOC
• [New] There is a 75% chance that the five-year average temperature between 2026 and 2030 will exceed 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, a threshold scientists warn could lead to more extreme weather conditions, including heatwaves and storms. Al Jazeera
• [New] Iran will likely be able to reconstitute damage to Iran's defence industrial base in a matter of months, not years, which is much faster than the US intelligence community estimated. Critical Threats
• [New] If hostilities resume soon, Iran could likely restore a significant amount of its lost OWAD capacity without waiting for full industrial recovery, drawing on surviving components, hidden stockpiles, dispersed workshops, and partial assembly lines. The Washington Institute
• [New] Global hiring infrastructure allows companies to respond proactively to disruptions. Safeguard Global
• [New] Workforce resilience strategies for global employers increasingly center on geographic diversification, flexible employment models, and compliance infrastructure that allows organizations to move quickly without exposing themselves to risk. Safeguard Global
• [New] Industry organizations are expected to participate closely in consultations and advisory discussions during the negotiation process in order to protect regional supply chains and maintain Mexico's competitiveness in aerospace manufacturing. MEXICONOW
• [New] Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest regional growth through 2033, fueled by healthcare infrastructure expansion, rising government healthcare spending, and increasing adoption of robotic-assisted medical technologies. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Consensus panels expect modest, low-single-digit gains for construction spending in 2026, with the strongest growth concentrated in institutional and specialized industrial segments (including the data-center complex). Thunderbird Products
• [New] Heading into 2026 the consensus from government and industry data points to a partial recovery in single-family activity: starts are expected to bottom and trend upward as mortgage rates moderate and builders work through excess speculative inventories in several markets. Thunderbird Products
• [New] Technology has the ability to mitigate geographic access differences due to travel distance, and yet, a lack of broadband infrastructure has impacted rural America diminishing the potential of telemedicine advantages. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Future growth will be driven by digitalization, regional trade agreements, and sustainable infrastructure development, positioning Latin America as a key player in global grain trade. Verified Market Reports
• [New] The 2026-2030 five-year plan emphasises support for industrial and technological development, particularly artificial intelligence, 6G technology, robotics, quantum computing and industries supporting the green transition. / China BOFIT
• [New] AI infrastructure is driving major growth: Data center systems are projected to grow 55.8% in 2026, supported by AI workloads, high-performance compute demand, and advanced memory. Campus Technology
• [New] Musk has successfully led SpaceX to become an industry leader, yet the short-termism often associated with public listings could erode SpaceX's foundational strengths. tradingkey.com
• [New] As Southeast Asia's largest digital economy, valued at $130 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $360 billion by 2030 - Indonesia has simultaneously become a powerhouse for digital innovation and a prime target for cyber threats. IndoSec
• [New] Veolia markets AnoxKaldnes MBBR as a biological wastewater treatment process for the municipal and industrial sectors, emphasizing BOD, ammonia, and nitrogen removal, retrofit potential, a compact footprint, and suitability for tertiary use. Tank Transport

Last updated: 31 May 2026