Opening up to a connected world: Technology as the driving force
Web Summit Main Stage (Photo courtesy of Web Summit Facebook)

It was my first time in Europe! My nerves quickly turned to excitement as I boarded my flight: destination — Web Summit 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal. On arrival, the Web Summit presence was loud and clear at the airport where attendees and speakers checked in before continuing into the city. The first night kicked off with Roberto Azevedo (Director-General of the World Trade Organization), Jose Manuale Barrosp (former president of the European Commission), and Tom Nuttall (columnist for The Economist) discussing the uncertainty our world faces amidst economic, political, and societal shifts, and how technology is the true underpinning factor. While change can be exciting and can bring about a more connected world, not everyone is reacting in the same way. Instead of being players in a more connected world, some are siding with protectionism in defense of their traditional statehood, human capital and, ultimately, their markets.

“Unfair trade” is often touted for the hesitancy and reluctance to fully open up to a global economy, but what’s at the heart of the issue is the rate of technological innovation and the ability to adapt. The effort required to transform societies to accommodate the new wave of technology is monumental. The entire spectrum of education, public training, financing, transportation, healthcare, and customer service will have to scale accordingly. We’ve already heard about the likes of self-delivering cargo trucks and drones — imagine if this industry takes off. Not only will there be ramifications for the transporting industry, but support industries such as side-of-the-road assistance, roadside restaurants, and hotels will be affected as well, which will impact the working class, which will deplete the jobs in this sector…you see where I’m going.

Photo by Benjamin Stooke

We’re all familiar with the story of automation replacing human labor, but this time around the scale and speed of change will be ramped up. The answer, according to a conference panelist, is preparation. As these changes unfold, a trickle-down effect will occur and impact us at a granular level. Undoubtedly, new legislation will be needed, and a tremendous amount of labor force training will have to take place as some jobs become obsolete and new ones arise. Think along the lines of zoning policy for drones, insurance and liability issues for at-home robots, new school curricula, repair shops for robots. Indeed, how we prepare will be indicative of how smoothly we transition into our future society.

I’ll continue to unfold my findings from the Web Summit as we wrap up 2016. My next piece will cover How the Integration of AI Into the Workplace Will Power Positive Health Outcomes.
['Carl Frederique']
['Tech', 'Startup', 'Future', 'AI', 'Technology']