#FUTURE Session to Debate ‘Technology Disruption and Inclusion’

KOCHI:
Top corporate honchos, business analysts and academicians will share the podium at Kerala’s upcoming Global Digital Summit, #FUTURE, to debate and analyze the phenomenal changes in the conduct of businesses that are likely to be unleashed by new age disruptive technologies in the next 5-10 years.
‘Technology Disruption and Inclusion’ is among the major topics for panel discussions at the two-day brainstorming event, to be held at Le Meridien hotel in Kochi on March 22-23, being viewed by the state government as a path-breaking initiative that would offer an array of innovative solutions for transforming the lives of people by leveraging digital and other emerging technologies.
The presentations by business and technology leaders, followed by a debate, will focus on how the changes are impacting individuals, especially the old and those with disabilities, in their daily lives and how businesses are visualising and planning to come to grips with those changes. The speakers at #FUTURE will also put across their ideas on how Kerala can benefit from such opportunities or contribute to the changes for making technology inclusive and sustainable.
The panel on “Technology Disruptions and Inclusion” has six speakers, and it is to be moderated by noted journalist Sagarika Ghose. The speakers at this session are: Dinu John Parel, Global CIO -Dover Corporation; Harish Krishnan, MD, Public Affairs and Strategic Engagement, Cisco Systems; Dr Subramanian Rangan, Professor, Strategy and Management, INSEAD; Thomas Zacharia, Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Vinod Vasudevan, Group CEO, Flytxt; and S D Shibulal, Chairman of Kerala government’s High Power IT Committee (HPIC).
The session will look into vital aspects of the emerging global scenario such as the changing needs of the global population in the next two decades, the role of technology in meeting these changing needs and how it can be designed for inclusion at all levels.
Other topics to be covered will include the importance of technologies such as Blockchain and how technology be used to complement or bring to the forefront the differently abled and economically disadvantaged people.
The World Bank estimates that close to one billion people or 15% of the global population experience some form of disability, of which a fifth or 190 million experience significant disabilities that constrain them from making use of opportunities that typically are available to the rest of the global population. These constraints include lower access to information and communication technologies, lack of accessible transport, and inadequate standards across all walks of life.
Also, the UN estimates the number of people in the world aged 60 and over to grow by 56% from 900 million in 2015 to 1.4 billion in 2030. As people age, the disposable income and spending/consumption habits change, making it imperative for technologies to include, rather than alienate, different sections of society, improve systems of governance, and ensure inclusion, greater transparency and efficiency.