The Limitless Possibilities of a Digital World
[Music]
well it’s another day working from home
fortunately we’ve got some uh good space
here to do it we’ve come to love this
office i had to clean it up
a little bit today this is uh
what we share we got everything we need
to uh to work from home
we’re so fortunate to be able to be
together and work from home
be able to pursue our work and passions
digitally
and to be safe the upside of being
largely locked down for the last year is
that
i haven’t had to travel at all i don’t
even have to commute to the office or go
to meetings
it’s freed up so much time yes but
actually it turns out there’s a lot more
work than i would have imagined but
it’s also more more time to appreciate
nature and
be with my family frankly it’s been an
awakening of sorts
the opportunity to to take walks every
day outside
sometimes admittedly on work calls or
webinars but
i hate to admit that as i experienced
the the transition of nature from
spring to the summer during my daily
walks i marveled at how spectacular
nature was in fact
i even asked some people is it like this
every year um
and i’m told it was and i’ve kind of
been missing out but i won’t be missing
out uh in the future
i am reminded however of of those people
who
are on the wrong side of the digital
divide who who aren’t so blessed
to have connectivity in the tools that
they need
even as the world is more connected
world economic forum and the united
nations estimate that nearly half of our
global population remains offline
unconnected to the digital world that’s
probably over 3 billion people
with a very high percentage in the less
developed poorer countries in the world
two-thirds of the world’s school-aged
children 1.3 billion children aged three
to 17
did not have internet connections in
their home according to a joint report
from unicef
in the international telecommunications
union the branch of the united nations
but too many people living in the united
states and other developed countries are
unconnected as well or digitally
disadvantaged
in the u.s about 14 percent of children
age 3 to 18 don’t have internet access
meaning that more than 9 million school
children face difficulty in completing
assignments online
and experiencing the virtual world
we all owe it to our neighbors to try to
work together to close the digital
divide
to help the disadvantaged in the human
race and help them
lead fuller healthier lives we must
collaborate
to drive digital inclusion to bring the
benefits of technology to every person
home and organization we need to close
the divide to facilitate the work of the
president and the future
virtual education and training and so
much more
unesco and the itu broadband commission
for sustainable development has set a
target
of connecting 75 percent of the world’s
population the fast internet via cable
or wireless by
2025 this is an important goal let’s try
to
contribute to this the pandemic the
shutdowns revealed some things we should
have known or should have paid attention
to
for too many people who lack the skills
in education
and digital connectivity and tools to
maximize their potential
and quality of their lives too many are
at higher health risk and are vulnerable
to economic disruption
those without high speed connectivity
are at an immense disadvantage
a fact never more evident than during
the pandemic
when many have been able to maintain the
quality of their employments and of
their lives
without major negative disruption but
too many
others were not so fortunate before the
pandemic
in the united states about a third of
u.s households
had somewhat limited digital access and
that rose to 40
in the spring of last year when the
pandemic struck
virtual education can provide real value
particularly to those who have the
devices to take advantage of it
children young adults and older learners
need to be able to do their homework
do research connect with family and
friends
in other places those who seek more
education
better training and job opportunities
need the wherewithal to do it
computer literacy is often taken for
granted but can be a huge
hurdle for the uninitiated including
many older citizens
regarding technology generally we must
collaborate and act strategically and
proactively so we can leverage the
promise
and unlimited possibilities of
technology
to one bridge the digital divide two
maximize the benefits that technology
can bring to our people
and our economies by acting
strategically and collaboratively
globally nationally and in our
communities
and third to empower our workforce to
participate
in the current industrial revolution
so what about this fourth industrial
revolution i’ll call it the digital
transformation revolution
world economic forum says significant
economic and social value is going to be
generated by these business cases of 5g
one of the most important enablers that
allows these technologies to reach their
potential
is connectivity this new revolution
is expected to bring about historic
benefits but potentially some negative
consequences as well
we have to act strategically and
proactively and collaboratively
across government and the private sector
to maximize the benefits
and minimize the risk an ihs market
study estimates that 13.2 trillion
dollars in global economic value
made possible by 2035 generating
22.3 million jobs in the 5g global value
chain alone
what’s this revolution all about well 5g
enabled technology will bring computing
power
to the end user bringing dramatic
transformation over the next three to
ten years
not just speed with some of government
at the hino but reduce latency reduce
lag time
and an explosion in the number of
connections possible in a small area
this makes it possible to deploy
multiple sensors that are connected to
device and control systems
and computers which in turn can leverage
big data analytics
this industrial revolution is powered by
both established and emerging
technologies
including the internet of things
artificial intelligence advanced data
analytics
robotic process automation robotics
cloud computing
virtual and augmented reality 3d
printing and drones
one major impact will be a potentially
massive shift in the division of labor
between humans machines and algorithms
automation will likely have a huge
negative impact on certain kinds of jobs
often held by those with less education
and fewer skills
a mckinsey report found that 14 of
global workforce
would have to switch occupations or
acquire new skills by 2030
due to automation and artificial
intelligence
those with less education and minimal
skill jobs are likely to be negatively
impacted
most with particular concerns about
retail outlets like grocery stores and
some manufacturing jobs
it’s critically important that nations
if they want to maximize the benefits to
their people
minimize the consequences need to
collaborate
strategically that’s between governments
telecom mobile operators
equipment suppliers other private
organizations and public organizations
in academia
and the collaboration needs to take
place globally nationally
and at the state and local level it’s
also going to be important to develop
and implement security and privacy
frameworks
because of the inevitable growing
dependence on the technology-enabled
worlds
we need to make sure that systems and
services will be there
when we need them this will require
recognized standards and best practices
performance programs and independent
testing to promote assurance
transparency and accountability
workforce enablement is a very important
part of the challenge
we need to learn from history so that we
can try to anticipate the good things
as well as the ban perhaps
more effectively than we did the
downsides of globalization
and the disruptions of the pandemic we
need to learn lessons from history we
need to be strategic and proactive when
it comes to enabling and empowering
citizens
for the workforce of today and tomorrow
we cannot afford to be reactive as we
were
to the downsides of globalization and
disruptions of the pandemic
regarding workforce enablement there are
two critically important aspects
first train and educate the
undereducated and underskilled
so they have a better chance of
meaningful work going forward
second develop and implement a future of
work strategy
preferably led by the private sector
identify the knowledge and skills needed
for a nation to compete in technology
innovation
and implementation pick the case of
globalization
and with free trade many experts agree
that globalization has raised standards
of living
in much of the world and has been has
contributed to millions of people being
raised out of poverty
but many were negatively impacted by
globalization that should not have been
entirely unexpected
but people have done too little to try
to help those who lack the appropriate
skills
and education so we need to think about
the necessary educational and skill
levels for workers for the future
so we can anticipate and be prepared
lessons from the pandemic that the under
skilled and and
undereducated were the ones most
negatively impacted by shutdowns or they
had to work
and put themselves at risk after the
pandemic some lost jobs may not return
the haves need to help to have little
and have nots
raise their skills up skill if
upskilling doesn’t happen
technology innovation will leave many
behind
automation and robotics will make jobs
obsolete
if we begin upskilling now the workforce
will have the appropriate skills to
benefit
from the current industrial revolution
finally we have to develop and implement
a future of work strategy in countries
because countries need a well-educated
and well-trained workforce
to compete in the world and for citizens
to lead the fullest possible lives
legacy approaches to education and
training will not magically
work going forward traditional academics
are not for everyone
collaboration is going to be necessary
to identify what are the necessary
skills what’s the knowledge what’s the
experience that the new workforce needs
how does the existing learning
infrastructure need to be revised or
perhaps a new one constructed
for the benefit of current and future
workers and today’s
and tomorrow’s students developing and
implementing national future work
strategies
are worth considering to help inform a
strategic path forward to reap the
maximum benefits from technology
and reduce the negative consequences of
rapidly changing workforce requirements
so if we can please work together
thinking about what’s necessary and
possible
let’s work together to close the digital
divide let’s
identify requirements and launch
infrastructure to train
and educate the underskilled and
undereducated and let’s launch
future of work strategies so that the
requirements of tomorrow can be
identified today and going forward
so we can set up the means and the
mechanism to train people
so that they can participate in the
fullest benefits
of technology and lead the richest
possible lives