After Dinner Speakers
Venture Partner | WEF Contributor | Futurist | Emerging Technology Architecht
While we still have a lot of work ahead of us to completely diminish the gender gap in STEM and increase the amount of women in the field, it’s important to notate the progress and celebrate the great strides forward in the past year so we can carry this momentum into 2022, and beyond. As a woman who has devoted her professional career to STEM, I have seen first-hand the need for creating more opportunities, representation, and incentives to encourage more women and young girls to enter the field. This past year, we’ve taken important steps in the right direction. By building upon the framework of these forward-thinking initiatives and continuing to take tangible action to elicit change within our communities, we can continue to close the gender gap in STEM.
Privacy Isn’t Dead
(Description)For most organizations, data is at the center of business. This information helps drive strategy, allowing companies to meet consumer needs, respond to shifts in the market/consumer behavior, and react to unforeseen events effectively. As businesses continue collecting, storing, and sharing personal information, online privacy is a growing concern. According to a 2020 Consumer Privacy Survey conducted by CISCO, 89% of consumers say they care about data privacy. Even more, 29% of consumers said they have abandoned companies due to bad data practices.
These numbers don’t lie! It is apparent that privacy isn’t dead. In fact, it’s very much alive, and organizations must take the necessary steps to prioritize and protect consumers' data
Cybersecurity: A Global Responsibility
Though this has been a familiar and important topic in the tech world for many years, it is time we expand these conversations to all areas of life, globally. Cyber-attacks have been steadily increasing over the years as hackers become more sophisticated and trained. However, in recent times, we have seen a large increase in attacks on critical infrastructure that have exposed and exploited vulnerabilities in several sectors of society. As we saw in the ransomware attack on the United States' Colonial Pipeline, these disruptions have devastating effects on humanity. The bad guys are getting better at what they do. However, I am hopeful that we can stop these threats before they start, with the proper education and game plan.
Extended Reality and Ethics: Coexistence in the Modern Era
Extended Reality or XR is the interaction between humans and machines generated by technology in which both virtual and physical environments are combined. The XR market has seen significant growth within the last few years. Kenneth Research estimates that the increase of the global GDP will in turn allow the XR market to continue to grow well into 2026. Extended reality has given humans the ability to expand their identity, knowledge, environment, and agency, but, as with any advancement, it also creates problems. These issues stem from worries about data privacy, suppression, regulation, interactions, and psychological implications. Many of these issues boil down into one, vulnerability. Extended reality and the ethical consumption of it can coexist if it is created and regulated with the vulnerable in mind.
