Conference Presentation, Fireside Chat, Panel, Roundtable
Trends Shaping Technology, Business and Society
Milken InstituteRory Cellan-Jones, Jo Bertram, Brent Hoberman, Colin le Duc, Ed Vaizey, Vojtek, Robert Jurkowski, Hania Sadat
- Urban Mobility Transformation: Uber is shifting focus from simple point-to-point transport to integrated mobility services (pooling, public transit, bikes) to reduce private car ownership, with self-driving vehicles expected to emerge within a decade, though infrastructure and regulatory hurdles remain significant.
- Automation and Job Displacement: A contentious debate exists regarding automation, with Governor Mark Carney citing a (later discredited) Oxford report estimating 15 million jobs at risk, while industry leaders acknowledge a gap between high-skilled new jobs created and low-skilled roles lost, sparking discussions on Universal Basic Income or "fake jobs" to maintain social dignity.
- Clean Energy Cost Thresholds: Investment in sustainability is driven by cost thresholds reached in solar, LEDs, and EV batteries, making renewable energy financially superior to fossil fuels; this shift is largely independent of oil price volatility due to the zero marginal cost of sun and wind.
- Sustainability Business Models: Major corporations like Walmart are adopting 100% renewable energy not for environmental reasons alone, but for price predictability and hedge against volatile fossil fuel markets, viewing renewables as superior products rather than policy-dependent initiatives.
- European Tech Scaling Challenges: European startups face structural disadvantages compared to the US, specifically smaller fragmented markets, a lack of massive early-stage venture capital, and a tendency to exit via acquisition before scaling globally, though the UK has seen a "Northern Powerhouse" rise and a growing deep-tech ecosystem (e.g., DeepMind).
- Brexit and Talent Access: Panelists identify access to global talent as the single greatest threat posed by Brexit, urging the UK government to negotiate a frictionless visa system for skilled workers to prevent the "brain drain" and maintain the UK's competitive position against other nations investing heavily in tech skills.
- Self-Driving Vehicle Safety Paradox: While industry optimists like Brent Hoberman believe human drivers are obsolete and dangerous, critics note that current "semi-autonomous" systems (e.g., Tesla Autopilot) may currently be more dangerous than full human control due to user over-reliance and intermediate technology limitations.
- Regulatory and Ethical Pushback: There is growing global resistance to Silicon Valley's "techno-utopianism," with governments (particularly in the EU) demanding greater accountability from tech giants regarding data privacy, content moderation, and social responsibility, challenging the "mere conduit" defense.
- Cybersecurity as an Arms Race: Experts characterize cybersecurity as an inevitable arms race where data breaches are a certainty rather than an exception, requiring a shift from prevention to designing systems that operate securely even after being compromised.
- Inclusive Growth Initiatives: To address the disparity between London's tech hub and the rest of the UK, proposals include establishing "fab labs" in towns for mass customization and education, improving rural broadband, and leveraging the internet to help small businesses export globally.
- Future Tech Optimisms (2020 Horizon):
- Ed Vaizey: Wishes for government-led data analytics to revolutionize healthcare cures.
- Colin Ladout: Hopes for a societal shift to plant-based diets to mitigate industrial agriculture's climate and health impacts.
- Brent Hoberman: Envisions the "end of aging" as a near-future medical breakthrough.
- Joe Bertram: Anticipates the obsolescence of private car ownership in favor of shared, autonomous, electric mobility.