“It is possible to imagine, by 2050, the capacity to innovate will have become the only source of competitive advantage,” wrote Kristel Van der Elst, co-founder & CEO of the Global Foresight Group.
So where is innovation taking us?
In the latest edition of Innovators Magazine, some of those witnessing the pace of change firsthand gave their opinion.
Christopher Fabian, Principle Advisor, UNICEF Ventures, Office of Innovation, told Innovators Magazine: “Technological change has the ability to advance the rights and opportunities of children. UNICEF’s Venture Fund invests in emerging technologies which we believe show great promise for humanity. Data science and machine learning can tell us where an epidemic is spreading but also, potentially, diagnose malnutrition from a child’s photograph.
“Drones will soon be delivering the first vaccines in a set of controlled trials in Vanuatu. Crypto-currency and distributed ledgers and blockchains can provide immutable, non-sovereign records of a young person’s identity, education, or health needs.
“UNICEF has always focused on ensuring the rights of children, particularly the most vulnerable – and we will have an additional role in the next decade to ensure that, as these tremendous technological advances move forward, we create systems for algorithmic equity, neutrality of data sets, and services that benefit the world’s poorest and least-connected citizens.”
Read more opinions on this in our latest edition, available this week at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, Montreal – and online.
