This issue is being sent out later than usual because I was reporting on the ground at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos January 16-20 and moderated four panels there: two on quantum computing, one on AI and Climate Adaptability and one on the energy transition. The Innovator's paying subscribers can access the key takeaways from the meeting.
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Enjoy this week's issue,
Innovator Founder and Editor-in-Chief Jennifer L. Schenker
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As heads of state and CEOs of the world’s largest companies were heading to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos the UK’s Royal Mail was dealing with the fallout of a cyber attack: a crucial part of the country's critical infrastructure was suddenly left unable to send mail outside the British Isles.
A hacking group called LockBit took credit for the attack and boasted that it had also compromised some 40 organizations from a private school in Malaysia to a dental group in Sydney, according to a report in The Financial Times. Leaders attending the Forum were told to steel themselves for more and potentially worse attacks. The buzz word at Davos this year was “polycrisis” a catchphrase for the ongoing war in Ukraine, economic headwinds, food, and energy crises. The resulting geopolitical instability is exacerbating the risk of catastrophic cyber attacks, according to the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 report, which was launched at the Forum’s annual meeting. Over 93% of cybersecurity experts and 86% of business leaders believe “a far-reaching, catastrophic cyber event is likely in the next two years,” according to the report. Breakdown of critical information infrastructure is a real risk because cyber attacks threaten every industry and act as a threat multiplier, Askhay Joshi, Head of Industry and Partnerships for the Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity, said in an interview with The Innovator in Davos. |
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With over 480 sessions, more than 2,700 leaders – including over 350 public figures government leaders and 47 heads of state – came together at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting 2023 to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
This year’s meeting focused, in part, on how collaboration between large corporates, young, innovative companies and government coupled with technologies like AI and quantum computing, can help the world get to Net Zero, power the energy transition, make factories and other businesses efficient and green, improve cybersecurity and help eradicate poverty and hunger.
The Innovator’s Editor-in-Chief moderated four sessions: two on quantum computing, one on AI and climate adaptability (pictured here) and one on the energy transition.
Paying subscribers can access the key takeaways from the meeting. |
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Who: Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of Artificial Intelligence and a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum, is one of the foremost experts in the world on the governance of AI and emerging tech. She is a barrister, former judge and professor, technologist and entrepreneur and was vice-Chair of The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems.
Topic: AI and climate adaptability
Quote: " If you are in business and this is not on your agenda then it should be because along with new technology developments like ChatGPT this is one of the topics your CEO needs to be thinking about. Every business will be impacted by natural disasters caused by climate change." |
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SecurityScorecard, a ratings platform for cybersecurity risk, uses real time data to measure companies’ security and improve their resilience. The U.S. based scale-up, a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer and a member of the Forum’s Global Innovator community, says its customers include 73% of the Fortune100, nine of the top 10 U.S. banks, nine of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, and all 10 top insurers. The need for such a rating system is greater than ever, Aleksandr Yampolskiy, SecurityScorecard’s CEO, said during an interview in Davos during the Forum’s annual meeting. |
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Number of organizations named Social Innovators of Year 2023 at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. The list includes a Nigerian entrepreneur helping smallholder farmers to increase profits and turn at risk young people into entrepreneurs; a New York-based pioneer of “open hiring” that helps individuals facing barriers to meaningful employment by offering work with no interviews, no background checks and no resumés; and a Brazilian collective network of more than 70 organizations in 14 countries that monitors land use and change to promote the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and fight climate change. The awardees were selected tby the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. The Foundation was formed In 1998 by Hilde Schwab, together with her husband Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, to support new models for social change. |
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