World Economic Forum

Big Problems, Business, Coronavirus, Science & Technology News

Here’s how global supply chains will change after COVID-19

May 7, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is fundamentally reshaping global trade.

• The coronavirus crisis has revealed the fragility of the modern supply chain.

• Recent data shows the devastating economic impact as week-on-week trade in China, the US and Europe halved because of the crisis.

• Diverse sourcing and digitization will be the key to building stronger, smarter supply chains and ensuring a lasting recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit global trade and investment at an unprecedented speed and scale. Multinational companies faced an initial supply shock, then a demand shock as more and more countries ordered people to stay at home. Governments, businesses and individual consumers suddenly struggled to procure basic products and materials, and were forced to confront the fragility of the modern supply chain. The urgent need to design smarter, stronger and more diverse supply chains has been one of the main lessons of this crisis.

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Analysis, Employment, Historical Perspectives, Science & Technology News

Why the Fourth Industrial Revolution could spell more jobs – not fewer

October 4, 2019

Automated packaging at an Italian factory.

If automation drives down prices, the result could be a net increase in jobs.

Ever since Homo erectus carved a piece of stone into a tool, the welfare of humanity has been on the increase. This technological breakthrough led first to the hand axe, and eventually to the iPhone. We have found it convenient to organize the most dramatic period of change between these two inventions – beginning roughly in the year 1760 – into four industrial revolutions.

As each revolution unfolded, dire predictions of massive job losses ensued, increasing each time. The first three are over, and these concerns were clearly misplaced. The number of jobs increased each time, as did living standards and every other social indicator.

McKinsey predicts that 800 million workers could be displaced in 42 countries, or a third of the workforce, because of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). When reminded of the experience with the previous revolutions, the comeback is often that this one is different. Although this has been said at the onset of each revolution, could there be something more to it this time?

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AI, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Science & Technology News

AI and machine learning dominate World Economic Forum’s list of 2019 Technology Pioneers

July 18, 2019

The World Economic Forum today announced its list of 56 companies selected as Technology Pioneers, and this year’s class demonstrates the growing embrace of artificial intelligence and machine learning across a broad range of sectors.

Of those selected, at least 20 companies say they are using AI or machine learning in some fashion to tackle challenges in fields such as advertising technology, smart cities, cleantech, supply chain, manufacturing, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles, and drones.

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government, Legal Issues, security

World leaders at Davos call for global rules on tech

February 2, 2019

DAVOS, Switzerland — Leaders of Japan, South Africa, China and Germany issued a series of calls on Wednesday for global oversight of the tech sector, in a clear signal of growing international interest in seizing greater regulatory supervision of an industry led by the United States.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan said his country would use its chairmanship of the Group of 20 nations this year to push forward a new international system for the oversight of how data is used. Data governance will be the theme when the group’s presidents and prime ministers gather in June in Osaka for their annual summit meeting.

The emphasis will be on expanding World Trade Organization rules to encompass trade in data as well as goods and services, he said. “I would like Osaka G20 to be long remembered as the summit that started worldwide data governance,” Mr. Abe said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, Science & Technology News, Technological Unemployment, women

AI and the automation of jobs disproportionately affect women, World Economic Forum Warns

December 22, 2018

Women are disproportionately affected by the automation of jobs and development of artificial intelligence, which could widen the gender gap if more women are not encouraged to enter the fields of science, technology and engineering, the World Economic Forum warned on Monday.

Despite statistics showing that the economic opportunity gap between men and women narrowed slightly in 2018, the report from the World Economic Forum finds there are proportionally fewer women than men joining the workforce, largely due to the growth of automation and artificial intelligence.

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AI, Analysis, Employment, Robotics, Science & Technology News

Future of jobs 2018 – Reports- World Economic Forum

October 26, 2018

Strategic Drivers of New Business Models

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds, companies are seeking to harness new and emerging technologies to reach higher levels of efficiency of production and consumption, expand into new markets, and compete on new products for a global consumer base composed increasingly of digital natives. More and more, employers are therefore also seeking workers with new skills from further afield to retain a competitive edge for their enterprises and expand their workforce productivity. Some workers are experiencing rapidly expanding opportunities in a variety of new and emerging job roles, while others are experiencing a rapidly declining outlook in a range of job roles traditionally considered ‘safe bets’ and gateways to a lifetime career.

Even as technological advancements pose challenges to existing business models and practices, over the coming years, these same dynamics of technological change are set to become the primary drivers of opportunities for new growth. For example, based on one recent estimate, even a somewhat moderately paced rollout of new automation technologies over the next 10 to 20 years would lead to an investment surge of up to US$8 trillion in the United States alone.

Continue reading… “Future of jobs 2018 – Reports- World Economic Forum”

Business, Employment, Future, Science & Technology News

World Economic Forum- The future of jobs

September 27, 2018

Key Findings

As technological breakthroughs rapidly shift the frontier between the work tasks performed by humans and those performed by machines and algorithms, global labour markets are undergoing major transformations. These transformations, if managed wisely, could lead to a new age of good work, good jobs and improved quality of life for all, but if managed poorly, pose the risk of widening skills gaps, greater inequality and broader polarization.

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds, companies are seeking to harness new and emerging technologies to reach higher levels of efficiency of production and consumption, expand into new markets, and compete on new products for a global consumer base composed increasingly of digital natives. Yet in order to harness the transformative potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, business leaders across all industries and regions will increasingly be called upon to formulate a comprehensive workforce strategy ready to meet the challenges of this new era of accelerating change and innovation.

NOTE: Read Futurist Thomas Frey’s column on “Future of Work: The New Age of Employment” here.

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Business, Economy, government

Will the sharing economy disrupt the banking industry?

February 7, 2015

In the same way that it has torn apart newspapers, radio and the postal service, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney worries that technology will disrupt the banking and financial services industry. His biggest concern is governments will fail regulate it until it’s too late – “an Uber-type situation,” as he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. Continue reading… “Will the sharing economy disrupt the banking industry?”

Analysis, Business, Economy, Globalism, Nanotechnology, Science & Technology News

14 major risks that used to only exist in science fiction novels

January 12, 2012

50 Global Risks 2012 ncludes risks we don’t think about everyday like cyber neotribalism, the militarization of space, and a volcanic winter.

Risk management is a part of our everyday personal and professional lives. We know to look both ways before crossing the street. We also know that we must diversify our investment portfolios to mitigate the impact of a stock market crash.

But, what about the less obvious risks?

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