Southampton

Web Science Institute with Southampton Business School

Digital Leadership Programme

15th June, 2018 - Southampton

On 15 June, Southampton business and civic leaders explored the biggest issues for business and society in our time. How together we can shape the future of our city and community by using technology that enhances our humanity?

Customers are more intelligent and resourceful than ever, and so are machines.

Both bring great promise and potential danger to business in a time when government oversight is increasing around the world — and the full implications of our many global challenges are still to play out. This means that it is imperative for business executives and governmental agencies to prepare for this as best they can.

Leading this effort will be Dame Wendy Hall, DBE FRS FREng, Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, founding director of the Web Science Institute, and one of the world’s leading authorities on Artificial Intelligence. Her co-organizer is Doc Searls, FRSA, Author of The Intention Economy: When Customers Take Charge (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012), director of ProjectVRM, hosted at the
Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University, editor-in-chief of Linux Journal, and a prime mover behind developments leading to increased customer power in business dealings. Wendy and Doc will be joined by subject matter experts in law, technology, research, and
marketing.

Some of the topics explored:

• What is the future of advertising? Will it go from customers to markets (known as intentcasting)?
• What will happen when customers have more control over personal data, and is this good for business?
• How are tech and the economy swinging from centralized to “distributed” and “decentralized” control systems?
• Why is there a new interest in co-operative, decentralised systems such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies? What does it mean for your business?
• What is the right approach to Artificial Intelligence so that it can benefit everyone?
• How do we make algorithms accountable? Does it matter and why?
• What are the side effects of GDPR and ePrivacy? Who pays? Who benefits?
• What are “people-first” technologies? How are they different?
• What is the future of work? What does it mean for your business? For your city?

WSI Event 15 June 2018 →

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