Disruptive technologies are about making making predictions using robotic processes and automation, said Daragh O’Byrne, Head of Research at Nucleus Software. The pace of innovation is accelerating, and companies need to know how to wield the new technology in productive ways, instead of buy into buzzwords without strategic purpose.
In many ways, Asia is leading the way in innovation. Singapore's Smart Nation initiative has seen strides in the development of facial recognition technology. However, new technology at its infancy can often have many sociocultural blindspots. Certain facial recognition software created in Silicon Valley, for example, have reportedly been unable to identify non-white faces in some cases -- the result of non-inclusive data input by their engineers, most likely young, white men.
To what extent will new, innovative technology change the economy? A delegate in the audience asked, “How will those at the bottom be able to rise to get jobs at the top or experience upward mobility with AI displacing jobs? And with lower upward mobility, how will sufficient income be generated to drive private consumption and GDP?"
In response, O'Byrne notes that just as in every technological revolution, old jobs made obsolete will be replaced by new jobs with new functions. There is a sense of digital darwinism occurring; new breeds of organizational structures, job functions, skillsets, and technology are emerging, overhauling what it means to be a successful or sustainable business. A critical risk to disruptive technologies is cybercrime: estimates say that cybercrime has the potential to cost the global economy $6 trillion by 2021.
What can we do? O'Byrne sums it up in three points: 1) expect more attacks; 2) don't panic or be complacent, and 3) solutions are available to help.
Disruptive Technologies are Changing Our World but can the Risks be Managed?
13 The IERP® Monthly Newsletter August 2018
Daragh O'Byrne, Head of Research, Nucleus Software