The world changed dramatically during the early 21st century and this poses many challenges. Businesses and governments must quickly come to terms with how technology can be used to best serve the interests of humanity.
The end of the cold war appeared to herald an era of growing integration, co-operation and partnership, and many hoped that would be the model for the 21st century. Such high hopes have now faded and world leaders need to come to terms with a “new global context”.
In 2015, this new outlook is characterised by troubling geopolitical issues, western economies still bruised by the financial crash and a public mistrust of elites. Threats such as climate change, a decline of natural resources and the prospect of an impoverished planet concern us all. When it comes to the virtual world, we are nervous about internet privacy, the abuse of personal data and the activities of criminals in cyberspace. We live in a time of rapid scientific advancement yet the benefits are spread unevenly. In most countries, we face high levels of youth unemployment and a shortage of meaningful jobs.
Leaders are eager to deal with these issues and they want to know how technology could be better used to solve them. A connected planet has the potential to create a fairer, more equitable and sustainable world.
The value of networks
Networks and connections have always been useful. The rapid rise of social media over the past decade shows in vivid terms the benefit and power they hold. In a complex world, organisations, both small and large, are increasingly looking to collaborate with sectors and groups who share similar goals. Powerful, robust connectivity is essential for success.
Studies, including BT’s Valuing Digital Inclusion (pdf) show the many social and economic benefits of being online for the individual. Luis Alvarez, CEO of BT Global Services, says this is why it’s important that we don’t allow people to become excluded from the digital world. He says more must be done to improve internet access and to boost IT skills. “We can redress the imbalances in economic and social wellbeing caused by digital exclusion through increased access to the internet. The same thing that caused the digital divide can be used to bridge it,” he says.
Connectivity and security
Networks are powerful and contain enormous volumes of data, but this makes them a target for cyber-criminals. Hackers and phishers are constantly attempting to work their way into the systems of the world’s biggest companies and organisations, and they have had some notable successes. Nonetheless, some CEOs aren’t taking this challenge seriously enough; data breaches are all too common, while basic procedures are regularly flouted. Technology is part of the solution, but it only really works when combined with an effective policy. “Cybersecurity is more than a technical matter, it’s a human one,” says Alvarez. “To remain secure, organisations need to combine some deceptively soft-sounding solutions, such as collaboration, partnership and skills, with the toughest technology.”
Businesses would be well-advised to develop robust but straightforward security policies. But for these to be effective, staff need to be both informed and trained to ensure they can comply with their responsibilities.
Innovation is the best renewable resource
We will need a constant flow of new ideas and techniques to overcome our challenges - innovation must be at the heart of everything. Leaders in government, business and education need to create environments where their people can take time to think, experiment and bring new ideas to the fore.
Emer Timmons, president of BT Global Services UK, says our best renewable natural resource is human innovation. “If we are to address the world’s social, economic and environmental challenges, we need to draw on our best renewable resource: human innovation. And for this, we need to embrace transformational innovation, make it part of our business culture,” she says.
Timmons also calls for greater collaboration between different sectors and hopes to see new ideas and leaders emerge. “We should create an environment for experimentation and co-creation that supports bold and visionary new ideas,” she says. “Few can do this alone. We need to increase collaboration between businesses, academia and the public and third sectors. And we must prepare young people to take the lead.”
We live in challenging times. Technology has an important role in helping address these challenges, but only if it is applied and governed with a human heart.
Content on this page is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with BT, sponsor of the technology and innovation hub
