In an environment where scintillation tops substance in our major news headlines, it’s been very gratifying to be a key partner this week to the Milken Institute Global Conference, a global think tank designed to tackle the world’s most prevalent economic and health issues.
The overall sentiment from the conference is deeply positive – there are great minds that have complex ideas on how humanity can successfully address our top challenges and take advantage of tomorrow’s opportunities. But there’s also an urgency and energy driven by the need for change.
Conference participants, drawn from some of the most well-known names in business, technology, science, politics, entertainment and other industries, talked about the major steps they’re taking to improve medical research; to analyze and plan for the effects of economic growth in critical parts of the world; to identify and consider the next wave of technological advancements; and to leverage historical financial market data to predict future trends.
While there have always been brilliant minds working to improve the world, what’s powering this new wave of predictive analysis and corrective action is data. Availability, immediacy, reliability, and above all security drive both our ability to move forward and our confidence in a bright future. John Chen spoke on a “Digital Darwinism” panel about the critical role that BlackBerry will play in this space, from taking a stand for consumer privacy to enabling businesses to share, work, and collaborate freely with managed risk.
