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Imaging being able to eco-friendly travel to Paris in 50 minutes. It will become possible in the future with a hyperloop. Companies like Hardt, and EuroTube are trying to further develop the hyperloop and to create a network throughout Europe.

 

Elon Musk presented the concept of a hyperloop in 2013. It was a reaction on the $66 billon plan of a high-speed railroad between San Francisco and Los Angeles. He predicted his hyperloop would costs $6 billion for that route and be scheduled for 2028. The travel time of the hyperloop in this route is going to be 30 minutes. Musk described the hyperloop as ‘a cross between a Concord and a rail gun and an air hockey table’.

 

Basically, the hyperloop is a tube with as little air pressure as possible. Magnetic accelerators will propel the pod in the hyperloop forward. Without much air resistance, the pod is able travel at the speed of sound, approximately 1.200 km/h. Also, this low resistance environment in the hyperloop does result in little energy consumption. In small distances, up to 1400 km, it would be eco-friendlier than any other travel method.

 

EuroTube has a research center in Switzerland. They are trying to develop emerging technologies and standards regarding hyperloops. In 2019-2020 they are making prototypes for key technologies of the hyperloop. In 2021-2033 they will open, AlphaTube, world’s first hyperloop R&D track. In 2026 they project to launch, BetaTube, a 30+ km pilot track for passengers and goods.

 

The Dutch start-up Hardt received multiple investments, including a €5 million of EIT InnoEnergy. They are trying to realize a European Hyperloop Network, while contributing to 5 SDG’s of the UN. It seems, that they invented and contributed to some crucial technologies developments in realizing a network. These are: the hyperloop switch (to switch lanes/tracks), electro magnetic suspension (enables the magnets to lift the weight of a car, with the energy of a lightbulb), electric propulsion (minimize energy consumption while traveling), and the low pressure environment in the tube.

 

It is uncertain when a hyperloop network will be realized in Europe. I think, as the Netherlands, we should develop our knowledge about innovative projects, like the Hyperloop. The government should see Hardt’s hyperloop as a prestigious project, and remove some possible future obstacles for Hardt to further develop its technology.

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One in eight humans globally are using Facebook on a daily basis. Initially, Facebook was initially created to connect people at colleges and a few schools. Nowadays, it is still a medium to stay connected with family, friends, network groups, and organizations. You can post text, photos or videos to express your ideas or whatever you are going through. And other users can like, comment or share your post. The more people to react to your post, the more dopamine, a.k.a. the “pleasure chemical”, is produced in your brain. The platform has also shifted to the entertainment spectrum, where, for example, you can read news articles, play games, and watch funny videos. Browsing through social media feeds gives the users an euphoric feeling, also due to a dopamine spike, whenever they see an amusing or interesting post.

Customers of Facebook are getting addicted to the social media platform. But who’s fault is it, the customers or Facebook? Are the users just narcissistic? Was It unethical of Facebook to design it’s business model to a scalable attention-based platform? I think, it is a mixture of both, whereas external factors (i.e. individualization, digitalization, etc.) strengthen both sides of the question.

One could argue, that humans have gotten more narcissistic over the years. Some scientists think narcissism is a post-industrial ‘modern epidemic’. One where the individual became bigger than the society. This was initiated by a movement that determined the essence of self-esteem. A generation grew up with the idea that success in life is related to self-esteem rather than hard work. This weakened the social fabric. It became harder to have a meaningful connection. This created a “empty self, shorn of social meaning”. A social media platform, like Facebook, has empowered the individualization. They provided a channel where people measure the quantity of connections to society, rather than the quality. A platform where people share their happy feelings, even if it is a façade. Or a platform, where users can entertain themselves by reading their feed, watching videos and playing games. The users strive it maximize the number of connections, likes, and comments. Whenever a user post something new, they care about the reactions of their connections, so they will keep checking this.  Furthermore, Facebook have added the option for users to compete in games with their connections. E.g. a game like Candy Crush. The players (mostly users of Facebook) play this game as a form of entertainment and to have a higher level or more points in a certain level than their connections. Actually, Facebook as a business filled in the needs of the market.

If Facebook only followed the market’s needs, why would it be unethical? Well, they did not just follow the market’s needs. They have tried to exploit their customers by maximizing our in-app attention. And they have succeeded as one of the best in the industry. The first industry where the secret formula to attention was found is the casino industry. This was achieved by correctly designing its own business model. One where multiple tricks are used to keep customers as long as possible inside the casino (i.e. no windows, no clocks, bathrooms in the back of the casino). Also customers liked the uncertainty of playing the casino games. Therefore, by decreasing the chance of winning and reducing the rewards, the time spent inside a casino was stretched. In order to copy some of the tricks of the casinos, Facebook spent a lot of money on attention engineers. They build an algorithm where users would receive message about all kinds of new posts they missed. The directly triggers a creates a dopamine rush when it gives the users a notification of new feed posts. The fear of missing out and the uncertainty of reward of the new feed attracts the customers to open the app or remain on the app.

Whenever you want to fight the addictive aspects of a social media platform like Facebook, imposing changes and restrictions in the algorithm is not enough. I think changing the algorithm will not be an effective solution at all, due to the fact that there is a fundamental problem within society. In order to effectively decrease social media addiction, society has to find a disruptive way to fight individualization and thus narcissistic behaviour.