ADDRESSING THE NEW POWER
ADDRESSING THE NEW POWER OF DATA The IFA+Summit spotlights risks and opportunities presented by data use 18 Using the slogan “Shifting Patterns – The Rise of Dataism”, this year’s IFA+Summit will examine the growing power of data, the ensuing responsibilities and the potential dangers to present social structures. Since 2014 the IFA+ Summit has served as the “think tank” for the industry. Each year it, attracts over 550 participants from more than 30 countries, and over 50 speakers. The two-day IFA+ Summit forms part of the innovation hub IFA NEXT. The summit takes place on Sunday, 8, and Monday, 9 September 2019 at the Grand Theatre in Hall 26b on the IFA Exhibition Grounds. The subject matter of the IFA+Summit this year is covered by four clusters: “Society”, “Interaction”, “Intelligence” and “Experience”. As a future forum at IFA, the IFA+Summit and its many international speakers provide a preview of the development of disruptive technologies in the digitally interconnected future. The selected speakers have acquired their experience in positions such as advisor to the White House and to NATO, or as consultants with many leading businesses such as Amazon and Microsoft, and will be providing a well-founded overview of the “brave new world” of dataism. Some of the main speakers include: SHERMIN VOSHMGIR - regarded as one of the pioneers of the blockchain. A Director of the Research Institute for Crypto Economics at the Vienna University of Economics, with her think tank she engages in interdisciplinary communication and discussions about current developments in blockchain: “Bitcoin is like email was in the 1990s”. In her publications and talks Voshmgir illustrates the potential opportunities and risks to society from advances in this concept: “Provided that we use it intelligently, blockchain certainly has the potential for resolving many of the problems confronting us today. However, blockchain also has the potential to be a universal control machine”. PARHAM EFTEKHARI - a co-founder of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a think tank that provides advice on cyber security matters to organisations such as NATO and the World Bank and to the US Congress. In 2017 the US Government presented Eftekhari with its Information Security Leadership Award as “Most Valuable Industry Partner”. In his publications, he addresses the issues surrounding the many and varied uses of data and its release. DIPAYAN GHOSH - who, as a consultant to Facebook, developed the corporate strategy for dealing with private users’ data in an improved and more effective way. As a result, in 2016 he was listed in the “30 under 3” by Forbes Magazine, in the category Privacy and Law. Prior to working for Facebook, Ghosh served as an advisor on technology policy issues to the White House during the Obama administration, and also analysed the impact of big data on consumer privacy. His presentation will focus on his current research topic: artificial intelligence. JENS RIEGELSBERGER - who, as UX Director at Google, heads user experience teams in the USA, Europe and Asia in the areas of Search, News, Maps and User Accounts. During his 12 years at Google he has transformed the company’s User Insight Teams and created a crosscompany product development culture. His work served as an interface between digital technologies and user-friendly design. Every month with Google Maps over one billion people benefit from the advances introduced by the UX Director that are based on this service Shermin Voshmgir - Leading female experts in the area of new technologies are on hand at the IFA+ Summit
IFA NEXT PARTNERS WITH JAPAN A showcase for technological excellence – underpinned by the land of the rising sun On 28 th and 29 th of June 2019, the leaders of the G20 gathered in Osaka, as Japan hosted its first ever G20 Summit. During its presidency of the G20 Summit, the Japanese government underlined its leadership in advancing discussions toward resolving the myriad issues now facing the international community. Underlining this renewed dynamism, Japan will be the first Global Innovation Partner in the history of IFA NEXT. IFA NEXT is a global innovation hub bringing together researchers, industry professionals, start-ups and retailers for a dynamic transfer of knowledge, information and business ideas. At the IFA NEXT Showcase, innovative companies, research institutions, start-ups, universities, labs, and associations this year will again present their ideas for the future. “Japan is a country that was the main driver to create the world of consumer electronics as we know it today, and that – once again – has become an incredible hub for industry research, thought leadership and start-up innovation,” said Dr Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin. At the recent IFA Global Press Conference in Spain, Keita Nishiyama, the Director-General of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), addressed the media on the key issues at stake heading into the future, in particular when it comes to new data governance models. “The Osaka G20 will, I believe, and as stated by our Prime Minister, long be remembered as the summit that started world-wide data governance”, said Mr Nishiyama. “The time to do so is ripe, as it will be digital data that drives our economy forward.” With more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of digital information circulating each day, Mr Nishiyama called for the establishment of “DFFT” – or Data AN INCREDIBLE HUB FOR INDUSTRY RESEARCH, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND START-UP INNOVATION Free Flow with Trust, for non-personal data. He said that while personal data and intellectual property need to remain under careful protection, on the other hand, medical, industrial, traffic and other highly useful nonpersonal data must be allowed to flow freely across borders. The result will, he says, be “Society 5.0”, which this fourth industrial revolution will bring about, thanks, in part to new collaboration between entities such as the OECD, WEF and G20. Speaking about the partnership with Japan for IFA Next, Jens Heithecker, IFA Executive Director said, “This is a major step for IFA, because we learned that when different people talk about innovation, each one has very different wording, with different effects in different countries. In America, every new product is an ‘innovation’. That’s great. But in European countries or Japan, people are more hesitant to use the word innovation for a new product. In these countries, the language culture means it has to be a big step, not just a new product. This is why often in countries like Germany or Japan, the “innovators” are totally underestimated, which is why we need to spotlight them. We are starting with Japan, because we have learned that in Japan there are strong, diversified innovators that are virtually unknown to the world, so we are putting them on stage in order that their efforts might have an impact outside of their home territory. Japan is not only our partner country for IFA Next, and we will also be discovering new start-ups and tech companies from Japan, coming to Berlin for the first time” www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 2 September 2019 19
