Over the last few years, the rate of technological developments has quickened, and the calibre of innovation has advanced. We have seen huge milestones hit and barriers overcome. Earlier this year, OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 passed the Turing Test, which has been long been understood to be the most significant benchmark in machine intelligence.
In the three years I’ve worked with Viva Technology, I have had a front row seat to the race that is technological innovation. With this experience, I have seen how technology can drive business, contribute to economic growth and solve some of the greatest challenges generations today and in the future will face.
But amid such a rate of change and innovation – what are the core technologies businesses are turning to? What impact will technology have on our daily life – and can we use technology to fix it?
These are just some of the questions we explore at our annual Viva Technology event. But for those who can’t make it to Paris – we surveyed business leaders across Europe (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy) and North America (USA, Canada) to uncover what role they see technology playing in the future of business.
Technology, a double-edged sword?
Throughout our research, it became evident that business leaders are acutely aware that technology – however exciting it may be – comes with strings attached. In the wake of the biggest year for elections, topics like misinformation have taken centre stage. In fact, 77% of respondents thought that technology may contribute to the invasion of privacy, proliferation of fake news, and difficulty identifying it. Indeed, these are valid concerns; in particular the growth of AI generated images, are being used to spread misinformation and have become harder to detect as the technology underpinning them advances.
However, for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. Around the world, technologies are being developed to counter this threat with great success. Last year at Viva Technology I saw first hand how Everdian can analyse large quantities of data with AI to uncover any mis/disinformation. Perhaps more comforting was the abundance of high calibre discussions between business leaders, technology developers and journalists about the threats and emerging solutions associated with false information. Perhaps this also explains why our research found that over half of UK and Spanish executives identify technology as the best resistant and device to counter mis and dis-information.
Critically – it’s important to recognize that the problems we often associate with emerging technologies like AI, often pre-date their advent. Fake news as we now understand it – or propaganda as we have historically discussed it – has been the subject of debate and discord for millennia.
My point here, is that when we take the time to understand how technologies interact with existing challenges – like mis/disinformation, we can go beyond a simple causational understanding of challenges and instead find resolutions for some of the most pressing questions of society.
And business executives agree, 90% of all respondents see technology as a solution to the major challenges of our time. For instance, in a similar vein, while there are concerns with technology’s carbon footprint, 37% of executives highlighted technology’s positive role in mitigating climate change.
To me this suggests the reward is itself, the reduction of risk and resolution to existential issues.
Technology unites us, and paves the path to progress
Beyond offering ways to combat the biggest questions that define our generation – technology has also emerged as a great unifier. Advanced implementation and development of technology has become critical to business competitiveness – but it also necessitates cooperation.
A resounding 97% of business executives identify technology as the core determinant of their companies’ ability to compete. All executives surveyed agreed that implementing technology has made their organizations more productive (62%) and efficient, which, for most, has reduced their operational costs (48%) as a byproduct. In the context of a globalized economy where competition is fiercer than ever, technology has emerged as a critical enabler to stand out. But beyond technology being leveraged to optimize processes and reduce bottom lines, the best technologies are the product of cooperation. In a world that’s increasingly divided on geopolitical lines, anything necessitating cooperation often becomes a source of positive change and unity.
At Viva Technology, we’ve partnered with the World Economic Forum to Launch the European Centre for AI Excellence in Paris. The Centre will leverage France’s strong research ecosystem, robust technology investment landscape and dynamic start-up scene to drive innovation and adoption across Europe. Critically, the Centre seeks to drive responsible adoption and development of AI solutions – advocating for an AI model that balances innovation and individual rights.
Looking ahead
Technology is rapidly advancing and reshaping the world every day, and how we think about technology over the next few years will define the next century. In light of this, it has become more important than ever to not only be critical of technology but also think about how we can wield it as a force for good.
To me, the value of technology will be not only how it solves existing problems, but how it brings us together and encourages us to engage with the questions defining our generation.
François Bitouzet
François Bitouzet, Managing Director of Viva Technology. Organisers of VivaTech, the event that accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major companies, and investors responding to our world’s biggest challenges. Each year, over four exciting days in Paris, VivaTech creates Europe’s biggest startup and tech event, exploring the most disruptive topics in tech with world-premiere demos, launches, and conferences in a collaborative ecosystem.
