What the Blog? is an Essentials video series discussing what’s next for Emerging Tech, the latest 5G developments, space tech news, and cars of the future. Editors Isabella Moulton and Martin Jacobsz bring you a snappy summary of articles directly from our expertly curated Emerging Tech Essentials Newsletter.

Our first pick within emerging tech news outlines how we as a society are essentially being watched 24/7. Security cameras. License plate readers. Smartphone trackers. Drones. What happens when all these data streams are compiled into one source? If governments join forces to create one unified system which collects and stores data monitoring our every move, what is the difference between this and living in the real life 1984? With access to so much personal information, our freedom suddenly becomes optional. Read it here.

Our second article examines why truck driver unions are pushing to create a framework for the testing, deployment, and regulation of autonomous cars of the future. While we’ve heard a lot about the concerns of self-driving passenger vehicles, truck driver unions are also worried about the effect of autonomous trucks on the supply of drivers’ jobs. With estimates that as many as 3 million workers could lose or have their jobs fundamentally altered through self-driving autonomous vehicles, they have reason to be concerned. Read it here.