Hyperconnectivity
Introduction
Connected World – Transforming Travel, Transportation and Supply Chains
Latest Report The Issue Exclusive Insight CommunityAccomplishments 2012Objectives 2013Workshop CalendarArticlesContactvideo platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Latest ReportThe World Economic Forum and The Boston Consulting Group have developed scenarios that provide an industry perspective on how the travel and transportation ecosystem can transform to meet changing customer needs as well as new mobility frontiers and technological developments by 2025 and beyond.View videos of four game-changing solutions that will revolutionize travel and...
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February 12, 2013
We’re one click away from a billion people
Matt Mullenweg, Founder of WordPress, on how the internet has let the underdog triumph.
The common thread that kept coming up at a dinner, and discussions centred around the idea of “online power”, was equality of access. Before the widespread rise of the Internet and easy publishing tools, influence was largely in the hands of those who could reach the widest audience, the people with printing presses or access to a wide audience on television or radio, all one-way mediums that concentrated power in the hands of the few.
Now an audience of more than 1 billion people is only a click...
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January 26, 2013
Will the promise of ‘Big Data’ be realised?
A world that seemed transparent and promising becomes murky and threatening if we lose trust in the way data is used, says Ellen Richey, Chief Enterprise Risk Officer at Visa.
It is common knowledge that the world is growing more interconnected. Every day, data is collected by billions of devices recording trillions of transactions, while advances in technology link networks and enable analytics that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Advanced analytics, in turn, have become an engine for the creation of value, both economic and social. New insights are being gleaned from...
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January 26, 2013
The thin blue line of connectivity
Niall Dunne explains the fundamental importance of connectivity for sustainability
The thin blue line of connectivity is absolutely critical to everyone’s future. That’s my takeaway from this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. Becoming hyperconnected is in all our interests. It has a critical role to play in dealing with all our big problems, be they social, environmental or economic. It’s a topic that connects farmers in Uganda with the imbalances across Europe.
At a dinner session entitled, “Grow Africa”, we heard about the need for real data to underpin pan-African...
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January 26, 2013
Is data killing creativity?
Shantanu Narayen,President and Chief Executive Officer of Adobe, on why productivity should not be allowed to trump creativity.
We are living in a world of big data. Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data that flow to and from smartphones, PCs, tablets, TVs and innumerable other connected devices. As chair of the Media, Entertainment and Information (MEI) Governors Meeting in Davos this year, I’ve been reflecting on what this may mean for our society in the future.
We know more, we do more, we’re more connected. We have real-time access to content and information than we ever...
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January 23, 2013
How open data can save lives
William A. Brindley, Chief Executive Officer of NetHope.org discusses the building of a data-sharing ecosystem.
To paraphrase English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, sometimes it seems as if there are data, data everywhere, nor any bit makes sense.
NetHope is a consortium of 37 leading international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) collaborating to address the world’s most pressing challenges through the smarter use of technology. We want all this data to make sense and help us do our jobs more effectively.
So earlier this year we started the Open Humanitarian...
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January 22, 2013
Norms and Values in Digital Media
Digital. Social. Mobile. The way we work, communicate and play has changed so maybe the values, norms and rules we have adhered to so far no longer apply or need to be tweaked in the very least. Or maybe not.The objective of the “Norms and Values in Digital Media” Report is not to provide answers or policy recommendations, but rather to help the major stakeholders in this discussion – governments and policy-makers, businesses, and private citizens – better understand the impact of actions taken to date: what has worked, what has not, and why some actions have had unintended...
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January 18, 2013
Perspectives on a Hyperconnected World
This accelerating interconnectedness has in many ways made life better. But it has also brought greater complexity to world affairs. Many of the grand challenges that confront humanity—problems as diverse as climate change, the stability of markets, the availability of energy and resources, poverty and conflict—often seem to entail impenetrable webs of cause and effect.But these problems are not necessarily impenetrable. Powerful new tools have given scientists a better understanding of complexity. Instead of looking at a system in isolation, complexity scientists step back and look at how...
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January 15, 2013
The move to an intelligence-driven security model
Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Reflect on that for a moment.For the past 10 years, the Internet has become a ubiquitous form of communication. Growth of digital content and use of mobile devices have soared, organizations have opened their infrastructures to enhance productivity and, for our reflection on Einstein’s quote, as nation states, criminals and hacktivists have taken obscene advantage of all of us. Meanwhile, IT organizations have continued to construct security infrastructures around a disintegrating...
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December 14, 2012
Who’s afraid of mobile Internet in healthcare?
What will the future of health and healthcare look like? In a series of blog posts by the World Economic Forum’s Strategic Foresight and Health teams, a number of leading voices will present their own visions for the future. Contributions are linked to the Scenarios for Sustainable Health Systems project, the Workplace Wellness Alliance and the Healthy Living Initiative. In the following post, Andrew Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Proteus Biomedical, shares his perspective on the future of health.Healthcare in the 21st century will be transformed by a new utility more available than...
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November 23, 2012
The Hyperconnected World
Being always “connected” is today the new normal. Such a level of interconnectedness presents unique and substantial risks, but also opportunities. As new business models develop and non-traditional sectors are integrated into the hyperconnected world, the question of responsibility and ownership becomes critical for the viability and stability of the entire digital ecosystem. Building a common understanding of rights and responsibilities therefore becomes essential.
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August 27, 2012
Open data is needed to enable sustainable development
Disruptive change is happening throughout the world. This is being manifested through noticeable increases in the impact and frequency of weather extremes, which coupled with significant vulnerability increases of chaotic urbanization processes lead to an exponential increase in the impact and frequency of natural disasters.Such climatic extremes are affecting the demand and supply side of resource systems like water, food and energy. In some places, these resources are running up against regional and local constraints, creating increased uncertainty in how best to deal with the trade-offs...
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June 14, 2012
Unleash Europe’s digital revolution to kick-start growth
One could be forgiven for thinking that Europe just recently discovered the need for growth. In a public discourse that is shockingly simplistic given the formidable challenges that Europe has to tackle, the bottom line seems to be a choice between ‘austerity’ or ‘growth’. To the proponents of the latter, traditional, costly levers such as raising the number of civil servants or bolstering infrastructure investment, will kick-start the economy and create much-needed jobs. If only it were this simple…Against the backdrop of a deepening crisis unfolding in Europe, the launch of the World...
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June 13, 2012
Philosophy and Policy for Digital Media
Most readers of this blog have probably never stolen anything from a supermarket. Yet it is fair to assume that many of these same people have downloaded or streamed a video or a song illegally online, without paying for it. Similarly, many of us expect that when we send a personal letter to a friend (for those of us from a generation that still does this sort of thing) that no one from the Post Office or any other institution opens it and reads it. That expectation is diluted when we exchange an e-mail, especially when we see targeted ads next to that e-mail.These are some of the issues that...
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June 6, 2012
Time for a Middle East Communications Revolution
In the last two years, the Arab Spring has brought about great political changes in the Middle East. Demands for societal changes must be met with concrete development plans that yield new employment opportunities, economic stability and growth.According to some predictions, economies that experienced a regime change as a result of the Arab Spring contracted in 2011, but will see their economic growth rebound in 2012. To secure and sustain this expected growth, countries must invest in communications connectivity, especially high-speed broadband and wireless access.The Middle East is already...
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June 5, 2012
What’s connectivity without power?
I had an interesting conversation today with Roberto Bocca and Busba Wongnapapisan of the Forum’s Energy Industry team that highlighted the enabling role the energy sector plays in overall development. Reliable power supply is critical to the delivery of programmes and projects involving technology (as well others that are not necessarily technology-based).For well over a decade now, I have been involved in various projects around the Asia-Pacific region that have deployed communications and information technology infrastructure. Some of these have been in highly developed environments, where...
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June 1, 2012
What if the Internet collapsed?
Rob Wainwright, the Director of Europol, on how the infrastructure underpinning the World Wide Web is vulnerable to attack.What is your main area of expertise and interest? My field of expertise is combating serious international crime and terrorism, including cyber crime.What would you say is the greatest or the most under-estimated risk in your field? I would say the instability and vulnerability of the Internet’s infrastructure. We are living in an increasingly hyperconnected world, which was one of the big themes of Davos 2012. We now have 5 billion devices, from computers to cars to...
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May 31, 2012
Risk and Responsibility in a Hyperconnected World: Pathways to Global Cyber Resilience
Risk and Responsibility in a Hyperconnected World – Pathways to Global Cyber Resilience examines some of the key threats posed by hyperconnectivity and what should be done about them. Produced in collaboration with Deloitte, the report provides a multistakeholder perspective on ways to deal with increasing cyber attacks and to improve corporate governance.Aimed at executives, non-specialists and experienced practitioners alike, the report discusses key aspects of cyber resilience such as information sharing, trust and the economics of cyber security. It offers a number of recommendations for...
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May 29, 2012
Thailand braces for a data storm
Ahead of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, Rajeev Singh-Molares shares the highlights of his Op-Ed piece which originally appeared in full at The Nation.Thailand has about 77 million mobile subscribers. Smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices are becoming a critical part of both Thai business and personal life. What they do with them is changing constantly. IDC predicts Thais will spend US$968 million on mobile data services this year — a more than 15 percent jump over 2011. That growth will be driven by mobile internet, video streaming, and...
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May 18, 2012
How mobile broadband will change the world
With more than 6 billion connections worldwide and US$1.3 trillion in annual revenue, mobile telephony has become the largest information and communication technology (ICT) platform in history. The global scale of mobile telephony and its economic impacts are well understood by industry participants and governments. However, we, at Qualcomm, envision that mobile broadband—with its ability to connect people to the Internet in an ultra-personal and pervasive manner—will have a far greater impact than what’s being realized today.Mobile broadband is already changing the way people...
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April 4, 2012
Behind the hype of hyperconnectivity
In a world where the digital and physical realms are merging, we need new ways to balance complex, interdependent and often contradictory values.The increasing global impact of hyperconnectivity warrants a deeper understanding of the norms, values and responsibilities for building sustainable global systems and institutions.Recognition is growing that digital hyperconnectivity is dramatically changing the world around us.Leaders across all sectors and regions realize that this has profound implications.But how they should respond?Relationships are changing, between all members of society...
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April 4, 2012
Who should keep the internet safe?
The Internet is constantly being manipulated by various forces for social, political, ideological, economic and military interests. Governments are striving to regulate its use, corporations are trying to build impermeable commerce platforms, defence forces are building cybermilitary capabilities, criminals are continuing to deploy malware and hacktivists are promoting their ideological campaigns. On multiple fronts, the Internet is faced with new risks that have a profound impact on corporations and online commerce.Recently, we have seen numerous instances of major organizations being...
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March 23, 2012
Big Data, big opportunities for development
The expanding use of mobile phones throughout the developing world has brought many essential services (banking, healthcare and education) to previously disconnected populations. With the rapid growth in mobile communications, a torrent of transactional data, so called Big Data has emerged. Experts estimate it now reaches 2.5 quintillion bytes every day. Careful analysis of this transactional data holds the promise to better understand mobile phone users living in extreme poverty. New services can be demand-based as the needs, living conditions and behaviours of those in extreme...
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February 8, 2012
Tech Tuesday: Mocana responds to the “Internet of Things” with a device-independent secure platform for smart communications
Back from our Davos break, Tech Tuesday continues to showcase the class of Tech Pioneers 2012.With months of preparation and another Annual Meeting behind us, we are already looking forward to the next regional meetings which will involve Tech Pioneers. Also, we are collecting nominations for the Tech Pioneers class of 2013, announced in September 2012. If you wish to nominate a company, please fill in the nominations form, available here, before February 29, 2012.Tech Tuesday is an ongoing series profiling the Forum’s Technology Pioneers. Tech Pioneer companies have been recognized by the...
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February 7, 2012
Hyperconnectivity: the buzz word at Davos
“Hyperconnectvity” was this year’s buzzword in Davos. So what does it mean?Hyperconnectivity describes the trend towards having more of the world’s population online at any given time. People are connecting from diverse locations such as cars and hospital beds and using platforms ranging from smart phones to kitchen gadgets. This generates enormous amounts of data, presenting challenges and opportunities.Business leaders are captivated by this trend because it is shaking up business models everywhere. It has brought huge gains in productivity. E-commerce is set to double by 2016 and has...
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February 6, 2012
Mashable’s Pete Cashmore: Companies need to sound like human beings
Pete Cashmore, the CEO of media company Mashable, explains how companies can use social media to face up to failures and sound more like human beings.The video message is a response to a question posted by “the nuke” as part of the World Economic Forum’s Ask a Leader campaign.Ask a Leader invites people from around the world to join the debate at Davos by posting questions for participants on Facebook or Youtube. You can view all the video responses collected so far here.
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January 28, 2012
Cybercriminals’ Main Commodity: Personal Data
With good reason, coverage of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos is likely to focus on the troubled economic waters in which governments and corporations are still trying to navigate.But the Meeting has a diverse agenda that tries to address the most important long-term trends affecting global society. Across this year’s agenda, a strong programme of events is addressing the risks and disadvantages posed by the rapid growth of Internet connectivity.This connectivity is overwhelmingly positive. Newspapers – from The Times of London to The Times of India – are now equally...
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January 25, 2012
Partnering for Cyber Resilience (PCR)
The ability to provide a trusted environment for individuals and business to interact online is a critical enabler for innovation and growth. Digital transformation makes the protection and resilience of our shared digital environment a critical enabler for the economic growth of companies and countries.In recognition of this, and in response to the growing threats and risks in a digitally interconnected world, over 70 companies and government bodies across 15 sectors and 25 countries have joined forces to create the Partnering for Cyber Resilience initiative. Together, the leaders of these...
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January 20, 2012
Rethinking Personal Data
Report: Unlocking the Value of Personal Data: From Collection to Usage, February 2013Unlocking the Value of Personal Data: From Collection to Usage, prepared in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, examines the need for new approaches in the policies which enable the managing of personal data in ways that are flexible, adaptive and contextually driven. The report highlights outcomes from a nine month, multistakeholder, global dialogue on how the principles for using personal data may need to be refreshed to ensure they protect the rights of individuals, unlock socio-economic value...
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February 15, 2011
Global Information Technology
The Global Information Technology Report 2013, the 12th in the series, analyses the impact and influence of ICTs on economic growth and jobs in a hyperconnected world. Read the full news release for more information.At the core of the report, the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) measures the preparedness of an economy to use ICT to boost competitiveness and well-being. In this edition, Finland (1st), Singapore (2nd) and Sweden (3rd) continue to lead the NRI, with the Netherlands (4th), Norway (5th), Switzerland (6th), the United Kingdom (7th), Denmark (8th), the United States (...
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October 21, 2010
