Global Scans · Technology · Weekly Summary

• [New] The QSL will complement the capabilities of MIT Lincoln Laboratory's SQUILL Foundry, a quantum fabrication hub for superconducting qubit systems that serves researchers across Massachusetts and the nation free of charge. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• [New] If trends hold, there's a ~60% chance of self-improving AI systems by 2028, leading to recursive progress, massive productivity gains, and a capital-heavy, human-light machine economy. Radical Data Science
• [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] NVIDIA will create a new headquarters in Taiwan to expand its partnership with TSMC, benefit from close proximity to advanced packaging technology not yet available at TSMC's factories in the US, and boost its alliances with other nearby partners. Radical Data Science
• [New] At the core of Musk's pitch is a bold technological proposition: that the cheapest place to run AI computing will eventually be in orbit, powered by unfiltered solar energy and cooled by the vacuum of space. investing.com
• [New] The uncrewed undersea vehicle technology is expected to be ready by 2027. BBC News
• [New] The US, UK and Australia say they will develop underwater drone technology to protect undersea cables and boost defence, under their military alliance known as Aukus. BBC News
• [New] Companies' push to get workers using AI comes as many of the dramatic productivity gains executives expected from the technology have yet to materialize. Business Insider
• [New] Dominant Product Type: Surgical robotic systems are set to command around 41% of the revenue share in 2026, while rehabilitation robotic systems are likely to grow the fastest through 2033, driven by rising neurological rehabilitation demand. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Surf Air Mobility has eliminated $100 million budgeted to electrify its Cessna Caravan fleet and will rely on its partnership with Beta Technologies, which plans to operate its Alia electric aircraft on cargo demonstration routes in Hawaii in 2026 with Surf Air's Mokulele Airlines. Aviation Week Network
• [New] Orbit: HTS systems will play a crucial role in the emerging satellite mega-constellations in low Earth orbit. Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence
• [New] Properly executed, Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy and a new federal agency to transform military procurement can leverage traditional domestic capabilities such as aerospace and communications while developing Canada's proven potential in AI, quantum, cyber and other technologies. Bennett Jones
• [New] Supermarket giant Asda has struck a deal with Ocado for the grocery technology company to take over all home deliveries from 2027, as it looks to completely overhaul its online shopping business. City AM
• [New] A key problem facing artificial intelligence development is the vast amount of energy the technology requires, with some experts projecting AI datacenters to be responsible for over 13% of global electricity usage by 2028. Mirage News
• [New] Gartner has identified agentic AI as the top strategic technology trend for 2026, predicting that by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI, up from less than 1% in 2024 [source: Gartner, Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2026]. TechTicker
• [New] 2026 could represent a historic turning point as quantum computers are expected to outperform classical computing systems on specific highly complex problems for the first time. Spherical Insights
• [New] According to insights published by IBM Think, 2026 is expected to mark a major transition toward AI agents, open-source reasoning models, multimodal systems, and sovereign AI infrastructure. Spherical Insights
• [New] The coming convergence of two key pieces of 21st century technology - artificial intelligence and quantum computing will prove to be a watershed moment in the history of technological and societal development. Museum of Science Fiction
• [New] The companies, which include Atom Computing, Diraq, D-Wave, Infleqtion, PsiQuantum, Quantinuum, and Rigetti, will receive funding packages ranging from $38m to $100m each. Verdict
• [New] By integrating Symmetry Systems' access graph with its Zero Trust Exchange platform, organizations will be able to monitor and regulate AI agent access, trace data interactions, and respond automatically to anomalies. Verdict
• [New] The combined offerings of Zscaler and Symmetry Systems will seek to provide security teams with a foundation for governing AI agent communication. Verdict
• [New] The potential for AI systems to achieve so-called recursive self-improvement has come to the forefront for AI leaders, after coding tools from OpenAI and Anthropic leaped forward over the last six months. Business Insider
• [New] Breakthroughs in new battery technology will prove highly consequential and could tilt the playing field in favor of the United States and its allies. Atlantic Council

Last updated: 01 June 2026