All moonshots funded today are not enough to meet the Grand Challenges facing humanity. There is a growing moonshot ecosystem that can rise up if we join in this effort and unleash the talent of our people.
As a species, we face a range of challenges that pose threats to our survival. When we analyze the fall of major civilizations of the past it was not war but more often environmental and resource implosion which did them in. The good news is that innovation can solve each one of these challenges. Who will meet these grand calls for breakthroughs at scale? Our governments cannot face these issues head on since they are structured to think in short-term election cycles and focus on local issues; they are unable to attack problems that span larger tracts of time and space.
We will not see the breakthroughs from most establishment scientists since they must support themselves through the byzantine grant process that we as a society have set up and so they apply for incremental work to increase their chances of funding.
Private sector companies are rewarded for increasing shareholder value, not spreading solutions to those who cannot pay for them or uprooting sunk-cost plants that may be destroying the planet but are already paid for. Thankfully, there are some standout exceptions as we shall see in this piece.
In the face of the lack of leadership from traditional sources, new organizations have stepped up to the plate. These organizations and companies have initiated "moonshots" which are large scale efforts that can tackle one of the great challenges -- inspired by the moonshot program of the 1960's which put a man on the moon.
