Technology

The most important form of power is human capital, people.. and their education. In today's world it is easier for people to amass education and communicate their ideas than it has ever been before.

Former NATO Supreme Commander & Military Strategist

I was an accidental witness to history, it wasn't technology that intrigued me; but rather the question about who these human beings were… who was this hidden tribe that had the power to change our lives?

I hesitate to respond bluntly but 'design' to many businesses is an invisible element somehow present without effort…like 'free wifi'. And, as my son says, to his generation, 'wifi is like air'––taken for granted and only notable when the quality is bad or (god forbid!) it is not there at all.

BMW Chief Designer; Revolutionized Automotive Design Language in 2000s

Transport, natural disasters, the distribution of resources, globalisation – engineers and inventors have the traits and skillset to solve the problems the world faces today. And therefore have the potential to impact the world and economy.

Inventor & Founder of Dyson Ltd, Bagless Vacuum Pioneer

At Dyson our philosophy has always been to invest in the long term. To power our 25 year pipeline of technology we have just announced a further £1.5 billion investment into new research and development on top of our current spending of £3 million a week. You cannot create disruptive technology without investing heavily in the long term.

Inventor & Founder of Dyson Ltd, Bagless Vacuum Pioneer

The change I'm most passionate about – because of the impact it's had on my own life – is creating a healthy transition to sleep that begins before you even step into your bedroom. I treat my own transition to sleep as a sacrosanct ritual. First, I turn off all my electronic devices and gently escort them out of my bedroom.

Co-Founder of The Huffington Post & Wellness Advocate

We had intended to build a media network but what we were really building was a people network. The same idea of reaching out, opening up and asking for help has been invaluable to me since- especially in the world of diplomacy.

U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, France, and the United Kingdom

I was sitting on a train—the British invention that transformed trade and travel, and was embraced very early in the United States. In my hand was an iPhone – another revolutionary advance, this time created by Americans with its iconic appearance designed by an Englishman. There are countless examples like these.

U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, France, and the United Kingdom

We need a blue revolution to match the green revolution. This means investing in water infrastructure, technology, and governance with the same urgency we once applied to food security.

Water resources engineer and global leader in sustainable water management and governance

The key lesson I have learned from looking at 600 years of technological controversies is that human history is a footnote on the tensions between innovation and incumbency.

Harvard Professor of International Development & Innovation Policy Expert

The idea that education can reduce resistance to innovation is often informed by the misguided view that people oppose new technologies because of ignorance. This is not the case.

Harvard Professor of International Development & Innovation Policy Expert

I would even say that people really don't oppose new technologies but they question the way they are used so the challenges are more social than they are technological.

Harvard Professor of International Development & Innovation Policy Expert

It is natural that a society would want to keep what they think works, the status quo. We are also acutely aware that technological changes alters society in unpredictable ways. It is the uncertainty associated with change—especially the fear of losing what we value—that leads to resistance to change.

Harvard Professor of International Development & Innovation Policy Expert

With Foursquare, our original app was a good idea but it wasn't a hundred million users good idea. The data behind the app, and what we do with the data? That's our good idea. That's our hundred million dollars in revenue idea.

Co-Founder of Foursquare, Location-Based Social Networking Pioneer

In a world where everyone gets to play in social media, we're about to realise that the vast majority of people aren't good enough. We've never had to quantify this before because there were people in-place to filter the people America got to see, and most were qualified to some level. Now we have an ecosystem where everyone gets out there and says they're great. The vast majority are not going to be great at what they pontificate to be great at, and we're going to watch them fail right in front of our eyes.

Serial Entrepreneur, Author & Digital Marketing Strategist

I'd only been at Apple a few months and I was sitting in the Macintosh lab with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates listening to them talking about their 'noble cause.' I had never heard about having a 'noble cause' in business- for me, it was about gladiatorial competition... Here was Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talking about empowering knowledge workers with tools for the mind, making them incredibly productive, and helping them to change the way things were done in our world; creating entirely new industries in the process.

CEO of Apple Computer Company during the 1980s and 1990s