Technological change progresses exponentially
The world is in the midst of exponential technological change. Speakers and the audience at the second Digital Economic Forum (DEF) on April 27 in Zurich agreed that the economy and society are in the midst of a veritable digital storm. The DEF, which took place this year at the Park Hyatt in Zurich with more than 200 interested participants, sees itself as an authoritative update on innovations and the consequences of digitalization.
The 4th industrial revolution, digital transformation, disruptive economy and the positive and negative effects on the economy, jobs and society were the focus of the two-day meeting with influential international thought leaders as well as entrepreneurs, start-ups, CEOs, researchers and consultants from the digital and analog world. For futurist Gerd Leonhard, we are in an exponential technological change, data is the new oil and science fiction is becoming science fact. In five years, a computer will have the capacity of the human brain, predicted Leonhard. And the world will change more in the next 20 years than in the last 300.
Today, everything is evaluated automatically, ratings are now everywhere, and "privacy is dead," explained the successful American author Erik Qualman at the Media Roundtable. This automatically gives companies and individuals a digital footprint or a digital stamp. All data is collected and assessed, from economic and personal behavior to health status and economic performance. Qualman considers the combination of offline and online to be eminent, and it is of great importance to actively influence the digital stamp oneself and not to let it be determined from the outside. In doing so, one must concentrate on what is important and simple. Break / Through CEO Reto Schnyder also made it clear that the indirect effects of digitalization are greater than the direct ones, e.g. in the case of autonomous mobility on the real estate and labor market. For the German crime writer Veit Etzold, in the digital world with ever more information and ever shorter attention spans, those who come up with a good story will still be heard, understood and bought.
Big Data and Consumer 2.0
Communications specialist Julius Van de Laar explained his strategy for US President Barack Obama's successful 2012 election campaign, which was based on Big Data and tools for integrated campaign management. "No matter what you do, you absolutely have to stay authentic, even on social media," Van de Laar concluded his presentation.
Science fiction is reality today, also declared digital disruption and transformation consultant Kamales Lardi. She presented the "disruptive consumer 2.0″ and essential technological trends. The consumer has changed significantly with technological innovations, she said. The question now is, to what extent have producers, companies also transformed? Industries are being drawn into a digital storm, and companies and startups that weather this storm are acting in a consumer-oriented manner and have a major impact on future economic development. Brain researcher Pascal Kaufmann did not believe that independent artificial intelligence could be realized in the near future. However, he propagated so-called corporate cyborgs (blending of man and machine) that could be developed in Switzerland through research on artificial intelligence. The engine of the digital revolution is the human brain, Kaufmann explained.
Mastering the digital future
Andreas Krebs, Chairman MERZ Pharmaceuticals, pointed out that at the moment no CEO of the big pharmaceutical companies could convincingly say that his company had a digital strategy. He considered it of great importance that pharmaceutical companies guide patients through the digital world and bring them to the doctor via this path. In two times three business tracks, various companies demonstrated their successful approaches to mastering the digital future, and in the plenary Ali Mahlodji managed a convincing presentation of his motivation to turn a childhood idea into a success story with the storytelling platform whatchado.com. Behavioral economist Andreas Staub confronted the participants with non-rational decisions. He found that social preferences remain pronounced, and digital anonymity is not relevant. People therefore remain people online as well.
DEF kicked off on Tuesday with a highly forthcoming Carsten Maschmeyer. In an entertaining overview of fintech and the state of the banking world, the German investor anticipated a breathtaking technological development with young bold and innovative entrepreneurs. For traditional banks, Maschmeyer sees the danger of being passed to the bottom in the face of innovative developments outside of licensed financial services. As an investor, he focuses on creative product makers, who are more important to him than the product and their solutions for successful sales and marketing, said the dazzling entrepreneur.
