Businesses should be about solving problems
In the session on the future of the corporation, professor Colin Mayer (from Saïd Business School) explained that in today’s age it is no longer enough to simply make money and turn a profit. Businesses should have a clearly defined set of purposes that aim to solve problems. The issue of purpose is particularly relevant given that a quarter of workers now say they want to work for an employer whose values match their own. For millennials that rises to 88%.
The complex interplay between people and intelligent machines
Keith Block, CEO of Salesforce stressed the need to consider the ethics of using digital advances like AI. In the session on shaping the future of the digital economy, he underlined that management should think more about the implications of new technology in order to understand how employees feel about it. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is reshaping the world of work and we are witnessing the blurring of lines between the work done by robots and by humans. More attention will, therefore, have to be given to this complex interplay.
China’s educational system not yet ready for the AI age
Ren Zhengfei, CEO of the Chinese tech company Huawei explained today that the country’s education system is designed for the Industrial Age and not yet for the AI revolution. As he added, this puts limits on how fast AI can grow in China. In order to take advantage of the current technological changes, countries will have to focus more on reforming their educational systems.
Greater social mobility will help narrow gap between rich and poor, says WEF
The World Economic Forum has released a report revealing greater social mobility would help narrow the gap between rich and poor and boost global growth by almost 5% in the next decade. The report found that only a handful of 82 countries surveyed had put in place policies that would foster social mobility.
In other news
ILO Makes The Case For Lifelong Learning
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has published the World Employment and Social Outlook. The report outlines the trends for 2020 and among other things, it acknowledges that more investment is necessary for the development of people’s capacities, especially in areas such as lifelong learning. It underlines the negative effects of the skills gap and highlights the inadequate policy response by some governments.
Would you like to learn more about the changing world of work and the solutions that could help countries and companies prepare for the future? You can find more information here.
