Our future in virtual worlds is closer than you think. They will impact our economy, how we work and how we live. The coming revolution will begin to recalibrate how we think of ourselves and our identities, offering a vast opportunity to supplement our everyday reality and how we connect with others.
Watch Herman Narula, co-founder and CEO of Improbable and Ben Vickers, CTO of the Serpentine Galleries, writer and technologist, explore what a virtual world is, the vast opportunities they open up to society, work and the arts and how close we are to the tipping point.
In volatile times, visions are crucial. They enable us to build a better future, they’re a call to action and they drive us to set out to new frontiers. Exploring space is such a vision and Munich is a veritable European innovation ecosystem in this area. We heard from four players in this unique ecosystem – a start-up, an established business leader, a leading technology enabler and a top university – about what it takes to bring the vision of space exploration to a new level.
This session was moderated by DLD Founder Steffi Czerny.
The pandemic has sent shockwaves round the world. It has also revealed in starker detail the critical role AI can play in addressing some of our global challenges. How is AI being implemented across different sectors and economies, and what are the problems and issues that must be overcome to create real value?
Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, is a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and author of the bestselling book AI Superpowers, which he presented at DLD Munich 2019. Dr. Lee explored the future of AI in conversation with Techonomy founder David Kirkpatrick.
What does it take to create economies in service of making both people and our planet thrive? That’s the starting point of Doughnut Economics, a concept that began on the back of an envelope and is fast becoming a global community of changemakers who are putting regenerative and distributive design into practice – in cities, businesses, government, communities and schools. Author and Oxford economist Kate Raworth, who came up with this concept, explored the core ideas of Doughnut Economics in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist. What does this new approach to a more sustainable economy look like in daily life, and what enables ideas like this one to gain momentum, turning thoughts into action?
This conversation was organized in collaboration with the Serpentine Galleries’ Back to Earth project, which brings together 65+ artist-led environmental campaigns.
Technology now enables us to measure and cost the impact on people and planet that companies create through their products, employment and operations. Sir Ronald Cohen is a pioneering philanthropist, venture capitalist, private equity investor, and social innovator, who is driving forward the global Impact Revolution.
There are now more than $30 trillion of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and impact investment seeking returns that go beyond monetary profits – and investors, as well as consumers, employees, entrepreneurs and governments, have a right to know this impact. Mandating transparency, Sir Ronald argues in his conversation with Yossi Vardi, would bring impact, alongside profit, to the center of our economic system by motivating big companies, entrepreneurs and investors to bring solutions to our great social and environmental challenges – in effect reshaping capitalism to create a fairer and more sustainable world.
A loss of trust in institutions is affecting our beliefs, but why is this happening?We’ve all been there, the moment you find yourself considering, if even for a split second, that a conspiracy theory might just be possible. In this conversation with Rachel Botsman, author and Oxford University Trust Fellow, we discussed what happens to us when we live in a social and political climate that makes it extremely hard to know whom or what to trust.
Why can we be united or divided by our beliefs? Why will we believe almost anything that gives us more certainty and control in a messy world? You may also want to take a look at Rachel’s highly engaging DLD Munich talk.
In this DLD Sync session Dr. William Li explained how important the right food choices are for the body’s immune system. Dr. Li is CEO and Co-Founder of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based organization that is researching the role of nutrition on health defense systems in the body for its impact on disease prevention, modification of drug responses, and restoration of function and homeostasis.
It’s hard enough to build a successful startup when times are good. But now? How will the Covid-19 pandemic impact entrepreneurs, investors and startup ecosystems around the world? What are the partnerships that matter, what should governments do to support young businesses? Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of Revolution, and DLD Co-Chairman Yossi Vardi took a close look at entrepreneurship in a time of crisis in this wide-ranging DLD Sync session that also touched upon issues of management, digital transformation, society and politics.
If the 20th century was the Age of Physics, the central technology of the 21st century will be biology. Despite marvelous advances in areas like health care, we have only seen a tiny part of what this powerful technology can do. Multiple industries are turning towards biological manufacturing as an integral part of their business strategy, particularly if they are concerned about sustainability. Imagine bacteria making supply chains more transparent, shoes and clothing made of mushrooms and algae, and maybe even houses with living walls.
How will this trend affect your business area? What will become obsolete, replaced by this inherently sustainable technology? We explored this biological manufacturing revolution with four experts who discussed what you need to know, and how to separate hype from reality.
The corona crisis has shown the importance of government as a guardian, protecting and supporting their citizens. What will happen when the pandemic is under control? Will Western capitalism return to its previous state? Will governments take the back seat again and let global giants lead the way? Or is this a turning point? A historic opportunity for a reboot, as Mariana Mazzucato argues when she writes that the Covid-19 crisis is a “chance to do capitalism differently”.
Mariana Mazzucato is a highly acclaimed professor and economist at University College London (UCL) and author of several best-selling books, including “The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths” and “The Value of Everything: Making and Taking In the Global Economy”. She was joined by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of London’s Serpentine Galleries and curator of the galleries’ Back To Earth project which invites leading artists, scientists, thinkers and designers to come up with creative solutions for today’s global challenges.
This session brought together two of the most highly regarded thought leaders of the digital world to discuss the many challenges that society and business are currently facing – from political instability to recession and the global disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Marietje Schaake, international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center, and Douglas Rushkoff, founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, looked at these challenges through the lens of digital transformation.
With the U.S. elections just months away, what rules do we need for democracy? How can social media platforms fight misinformation more effectively – and who’s holding them responsible? What changes can we expect to see in economic policy? Are tech giants becoming even more dominant when remote workers, Internet users and online shoppers rely ever more on their services?
The Covid-19 pandemic affects all areas of our life and our world order. The crisis has hit hard and reveals the fragility of our globalized economy. At the same time, some forgotten or neglected truths have resurfaced which open up the debate about the future of our world. Are we at the cusp of a new world order?
Kenneth M. Jacobs, Chairman and CEO of global financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard, shared his Covid-19 learnings for the post-pandemic economic landscape with Swaha Pattanaik, Global Economics Editor at Reuters Breakingviews. The conversation described the potential impact industries like tech, media, healthcare, real estate and retail are facing as well as the possible shifting balance between a market driven economy and a more regulated approach, and between the nation state and global interdependence.