Just how much automation do we need today? It seems as if more and more work could be done better, if not more efficiently, by robots. Years ago, we never would have imagined the possibility of bots taking over the tedious everyday tasks we experience in the office. Yet here we are in a day and age where the Matrix is beginning to look more realistic. This begs the question, how far should we let AI take over the humanity required for the economy?

Robotics simplifies the human workload and no one can deny the impact it has on the global job market. Oxford Economics predicts that over 20 million jobs will need to be redeveloped to upkeep with the surge in AI. With society constantly improving on efficiency, is the redevelopment of jobs really an opportunity cost we can afford? Maybe, with the growing global population, it wouldn’t be so bad to keep some processes simple? After all, such practices merely improve cost efficiency in organizations, meaning the rich save more money and the poor lose out. The inequality of who benefits the most from such automation is largely skewed towards the upper class.

The lack of human conscience has been a point of debate for the development of AI. Communications between sentient beings imply a sense of intimacy between the entities. The ability to understand each other on a non-logic-based level. John R. Searle famously points out how a computer, if programmed appropriately, is a mind, (Searle, 1980, p. 417). But the issue is, do we even know the extent of how human minds are programmed? If so, how can we possibly know the complexity of how robots should be programmed?

Next must consider the security of AI. As we know, AI is non-discriminatory. Anyone can use it. But what if it falls into the wrong hands? A chief envisioning officer at Microsoft UK, Dave Coplin, indicates that priority goes to ensuring “the right people are making these algorithms.”  With more organizations expanding their AI capabilities, it becomes increasingly available to the public. In the future, such a tool may even become more treacherous than firearms have been historical.

Finally, this begs the question of whether we can, ultimately, keep AI in control. Researchers at L’Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne point out how learning protocols have been developed that “prevent machines from learning from interruptions and thereby becoming uncontrollable.” Machines have been built to replace humans in tasks. Eventually, with AI being developed to increasingly resemble humans, who are to say it will not eventually be able to outsmart them. I feel that a sense of humility should be adhered to when dealing with the advancement of robotics, that eventually we must determine the point at which where humans have the last word.

As of today, technology has had a rampant influence on society. With the onset of COVID-19, these advancements can be felt in our everyday lives. Although it is another step forward into a futuristic society, it is paramount that we understand the purpose and capabilities that AI presents to ensure that it does not bring about more harm than good. It is also in our interest to remember the human aspects of our lives, and that some work shouldn’t be done by robots. Whether it is teaching children or understanding nature, some experiences in life just don’t require AI, but human touch.

Author

Gabriel Tan

Business Analyst – Robotic Process Automation

Capgemini Singapore

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AI is like a magic trick. While the word “artificial intelligence” could make us think that robots have their own mind, its technology and application can tell a different story.

Sure, AI development involves a lot of computer programming, creating and iterating algorithms, and database building. But up until 2020 at least, AI applications have mostly been designed to complete unwanted tasks rather than replace people’s jobs (or humanity). In fact, we might just need to learn it right to leverage the most out of AI.

Application of AI within business

Using one of the real examples applied to Peloton Innovations, an AI Canvas (Figure 1) is developed to improve home security using AI. By combining historical and real-time data, the model is designed to predict, judge, act, and evaluate tasks based on the client’s needs.

Ideally, clarifying these critical factors within the process of implementing AI into home security would either reduce the business’s costs or enhance performance. With its increasingly accurate and high-fidelity predictions, it will be able to predict home intruders before they even enter.

However, the greater potential may also mean greater risks. As Gartner predicted, 80% of AI projects through 2020 will remain alchemy, and frontline workers will find it difficult and ineffective to implement the “upgrade” as they used to. This is the challenging part for business decision-makers, as they will need to have clarity on what AI will contribute, its interactions with human workers, and how it will be used to influence decisions and measure success. They will also have to decide on the types of data input to train, operate, and improve the AI model. It is advised that “to get started with AI, your challenge is to identify the key decisions in your organization where the outcome hinges on uncertainty.”

AI talent

AI projects generally involve difficult and complex decisions, with high involvement of data input and navigation. Fundamentally, this requires a lot of technical experts to maintain and sustain the background running of the technology, but there might be more to it than that.

Senior technology leaders have suggested that while computers are outpacing human counterparts in performing repetitive tasks, there are also new portfolios of jobs that are very dependent on humans: junior threat hunter, analytics translator, and conversation designer. Junior threat hunters need clear and concise communication skills to investigate and evaluate unusual activities and threats on networks. Analytics translators need to synthesize and put data into a particular business context, acting as a bridge between the technical knowledge of data scientists and the operational expertise of managers. Conversation designers, for example, for a chatbot, require experts in conversation and personality creation to write scripts that map out user experiences.

As AI-related technology continues to develop, it sure will need a lot more people to work on not only the cognitive aspects but also the talent to work on its humanity-related aspects and enhance its user experience, especially when a lack of diversity in AI is the main issue to be tackled. A 2020 AI Talent Report points out that women constitute a mere 15% of Facebook’s AI research staff and 10% of Google’s, and that only 4% and 2.5% respectively of them are African Americans. Negative effects such as biases and discrepancies towards minorities within programs and systems designed are then likely to be presented and applied.

AI in the Future

That said we are still at an early stage of AI development. A report from the Capgemini Research Institute shows that only 13% of businesses have successfully deployed use cases of AI in production and continue to scale more throughout multiple business teams – of which retail and life science are leading the scaling race across sectors. The recent economic shutdown due to COVID-19 is expected to affect business performance and suspend investments in AI initiatives.

But with risks, there also come opportunities. The lockdown has made working from home (WFH) the new norm and increased people’s dependence on shopping online. It will be interesting to see how businesses in the retail sector will continue to leverage AI in capturing gaps in markets and optimize their presence online.

Author

Emily Suet-Ching Lee

Senior Analyst – Enterprise Apps

Capgemini Hong Kong

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Imagine you are managing a hospital during a new pandemic. This disease has an unusually high hospitalization rate, and things are spinning out of control: you have a limited number of physicians, agonized after grueling long shifts; you have limited ventilators and medication, putting physicians in moral distress as they prioritize one patient over another.

A consultant comes to your door with a recommendation. “Would you consider our latest strategic offering, AI Doctor?” she says. “Artificial intelligence has progressed in ways you never could have imagined. Our AI Doctor ingests patient data such as X-ray images and listens to patients’ symptoms to make diagnoses. It makes all the hard choices – who gets intensive care, who receives the ventilators etc., so your doctors don’t have to. It also never gets tired! While your doctors are taking their days off, AI Doctor would happily stay in charge, 24/7, 365 days a year.”

You think this is a brilliant idea and call the procurement team right away. As you enthusiastically share AI Doctor’s functionalities with the team, they appear to be somewhat doubtful. “As you know,” the team leader explains, “our hospital has been sued quite a few times over medical malpractice, some attributed to human negligence, others to machine failure. If the AI makes decisions that are challenged in court, who should be held accountable for the legal consequences?”

Even with your rudimentary legal knowledge, you admit this is a challenge. How can we set up a mechanism to deal with AI’s ethical mistakes, when regulators are having a hard time catching up with the technological developments?

One way to think of it is that an AI agent shall not constitute a human being. Yet, the AI Doctor product could be originated from a tech firm, implemented by a system integrator, managed by a hospital, with its training datasets coming from numerous practitioners. The line of accountability remains unclear. Another solution, of course, is to treat the AI agent as a human – ensuring that it enjoys the legal rights we do. But that implies you losing control over AI Doctor. For instance, if it starts making mistakes, you cannot reboot it since that might constitute murder. As the manager of this hospital, simply thinking of it sends shivers down your spine.

While you are still contemplating the first challenge, the procurement lead comes up with another one. “Look, even if we do have a mechanism to deal with AI Doctor’s mistakes, we still need a mechanism to prevent one. How can we ensure that it is up to par on medical professionalism to make ethical judgments? It doesn’t have to pass the board, after all,” he exclaims.

You unwillingly agree. Biases in AI are not uncommon, and as a leisure technology enthusiast, you know they might originate from two sources – datasets and algorithms. On datasets, scholars have already warned the medical AI community on how the current lack of diversity in genomic data, as well as undertreatment of certain racial groups are fed into medical AIs as training data, affecting their performance. On algorithms, powerful neural networks are often used for complex applications such as medical AIs. However, compared to traditional algorithms such as decision trees, they are more opaque in nature and more difficult to explain. These “algorithm black boxes” make AI Doctor’s behavior more unpredictable, and less trustworthy in an industry where human lives are at stake.

As the debate continues, you look out into the hallway, where the patients are struggling and the doctors are restless. You cannot help but envision a scenario in which new AI regulations define clear accountability for humans, ethical physician practices are used as training data, and explainable algorithms help humans understand and improve medical AIs – things would turn out so much better for both your patients and physicians.

But as these grand challenges remain unsolved, at least in the near future, you will still be on your own in this painful struggle.

Author

Kevin Cao

Analyst – Graduate Program

Capgemini Hong Kong

Energy is the engine that fuels our economies and modern human activity. Global energy needs are ever-increasing; we would need twice as much energy in 2040 as we produce today if not for the era of sustainability in the energy mix. We need innovations to accelerate development and deployment and improve cost while enabling the integration of the current renewable energy technology.

Governments worldwide are allotting trillions of dollars to the climate change movement. They seem to agree on one major solution – renewable energy. I wouldn’t blame them. I, too, considered renewable energy as the most obvious solution – solar panels, electric cars, wind turbines, etc. However, what seems ideal in theory may not necessarily be feasible, especially when implemented on a national scale. It is important to take into consideration the interdependence of the energy sector across other sectors.

Germany is the perfect example of the impossibility of shifting to a purely renewable energy source. The country was the first to jump on the renewable energy train, investing a total of USD580 billion in the Energiewende project. A 2019 article published in Der Spiegel, the largest German news magazine, showcased broken wind turbines and barely completed transition towers on its cover and showed that the dream was based more on creative guesses rather than facts. If that’s not obvious enough, the article itself was entitled “A botched job in Germany.”

When we speak about transformation, energy players are strategically looking for new revenue streams, as traditional business models in the sector, are under pressure. In order to deal with the spike in demand, the SEA is transforming its energy systems and introducing smart grid frameworks with a vision of energy efficiency. Without a sustainable energy solution, we are at risk of becoming a civilization of stasis, a state wherein the government would be forced to control consumption. This dilemma would thus require innovation as the key solution to creating a sustainable energy ecosystem.

Innovation and sustainability are terms that are often associated with one another. When faced with the demand for sustainable, albeit limited resources, people have often turned to innovation for building solutions. For example, when the US-China trade war was affecting supply chains all over the world. Tencent decided to invest in research and development to create its own components instead of relying on Western suppliers. It enables companies to be more self-reliant.

One other example will be on the long-term battery storage – lithium-ion batteries are great but are limited (four to five hours only). What the market needs is the ability for the battery to work if the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. This is where innovation is called into the picture, and it indicates how important sustainability and innovations are as they are inextricably intertwined. It is also clear that if long-term energy storage works then the prices will reduce significantly.

The difference in resources and geography also calls for innovative solutions that fit the capabilities of a specific country. In Singapore, a nation with close to no natural resources, we face a greater challenge, although the government’s first step might be to diversify its sources, we will need to look beyond and introduce technologies into the energy ecosystem such as smart grid, analytics, and artificial intelligence – to name a few. Innovation and sustainability are of paramount importance when it comes to energy transformation. The time has come for alternative innovation solutions for the energy market beyond renewable energy.

Author

Deepak Kumar

Business Analyst – Enterprise Apps

Capgemini Singapore

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The word “crisis” originates from the Greek word “krisis” – which means “decisive moment.” It is a moment that is critical, especially now. Yet, it presents us with a choice.

COVID-19 has brought about an unprecedented period of uncertainty in our lives, from how we live and work, to how organizations interact with their clients. The way consumers purchase goods and services and how supply chains deliver them have also changed drastically.

In our research note, Fast-Forward to the Future, 42% of organizations were adversely affected by falling customer demand due to the pandemic, and more than half of the organizations have started to prioritize digitization as a competitive advantage.

In response to the pandemic, we have seen several innovations: new medical devices, telehealth technologies, improved healthcare processes, and novel ways to collaborate remotely. How then can we turn crises into fertile innovation momentums?

Focus on problem-solving

Innovation is the act of creating immense value. At the heart of innovation, it must focus on solving a problem. Innovators in a crisis look to bettering the lives of others, connecting with other people, and being part of the solution when the going gets tough.

The nature of this crisis is more than an opportunity to make a difference or be part of the solution. It brings us closer towards the lean methodology of build, measure, and learn at a rapid pace with greater impact. This environment allows for growth not only at the leadership level but also for our teams to perform their most innovative work in service of the organization.

Drive a purpose-led organization

One of the challenges in organizational leadership is employee engagement and inspiring new ideas from the ground-up towards the vision of the organization.

In a crisis, employees’ role in generating new ideas should not be underestimated. Leaders who can inspire a growth mindset towards managing and innovating in a crisis will typically find fresh perspectives and new-found energy in staff, as people feel more compelled to offer insights they normally would not.

For instance, the CEO at Zoom, Eric Yuan, was able to rally 40 Cisco engineers to join his team at Zoom during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. When Zoom finally launched in 2013, it reached a million users within a few months, 10 million users in a year, and 40 million by February 2015. The 40 Cisco engineers believed in Yuan, and more importantly, the purpose of building a video-first, cloud-based, and user-centric platform which is worth more than USD70 billion today.

Crises can create opportunities for an organization to work together towards a purpose-led initiative, with the organizational courage to support a belief that would otherwise be unlikely in times of calm.

Adopt open innovation processes

Leaders often leverage open innovation processes to get fresh perspectives on their organizations to innovate.

The scale will be needed to draw the wisdom of the crowd – a large number of participants will often come up with many more, high-quality ideas than a small team of smart people.

Coming back to problem-solving, organizations can also create innovation challenges for its participants. These challenges create a safe environment for anyone, anywhere to generate more ideas to solve a challenge meaningfully. What Capgemini has achieved with the Architects for Positive Futures program is a great manifestation of that.

Evaluation of these ideas then becomes essential. In the Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE), we thrive on the Discover, Devise, Deploy, and Sustain framework. In deploying ideas, it is a cycle of Test, Measure, and Iterate. Leaders can use this feedback loop for any innovative solution participants co-develop.

Diversity is key in open innovation – we’d expect business analysts to understand problems best. We’re often wrong. It takes contributions from the entire organization, especially staff who experience these problems first hand.

Innovate to drive creative destruction

In a crisis, we can leverage ideas that solve salient problems, rally teams towards a common purpose and adopt open innovation to drive creative destruction. Only then, we can think about how better we can move the organization forward, together.

Author

Ryan Chong

Senior Analyst – Applied Innovation Exchange

Capgemini Singapore

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Traditionally, for-profit corporations have aligned themselves with the idea that generating revenue and creating social impact are two separate goals. However, it’s clear that this is no longer the case. From Apple’s Zero Waste Program to Nike’s pledge to invest 1.5% of its annual income into communities, consumers – particularly millennial consumers – are now increasingly attracted to purpose-led organizations. This sentiment has only been bolstered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has demonstrated the need for companies to translate their social impact statements into tangible action. The pandemic has not only transformed the way we live, work, and interact, but has also brought underlying social, economic, and racial inequalities into stark relief. For organizations to respond to these global issues responsibly, meaningfully, and authentically, they must realize that businesses – particularly technology businesses – are not neutral parties to such issues.

According to Gartner, 70% of enterprises will be experimenting with immersive technologies for consumer use, with 25% of them deployed by 2022. In the same year, it is predicted that 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed on the distributed cloud. The pandemic has accelerated this change and necessitated a movement towards a technology-led, agile workforce for many businesses. In a world where technology will transform all aspects of human life, it is more vital than ever for companies to embrace sustainable and socially responsible business models.

Beyond the ethical implications for businesses to become more purpose-driven, consumers are also increasingly evaluating companies based on their environmental, social, and corporate governance factors. In a survey conducted by the Capgemini Research Institute in June 2020, it was found that 78% of 7,009 consumers across seven countries believe “companies have a larger role to play in society.” With the rise of impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility, consumers are influenced to purchase more from organizations that have a strong vision for people and society. According to a study by Forrester, 31% of 4,818 US online adults say that a company’s social responsibility reputation influences their purchasing behavior.

Corporate social responsibility also intersects with an organization’s values and identity. Not only does a robust and consistent company brand increase the loyalty of its stakeholders, investors, and clients, but also, the happiness and productivity of its employee base. A study of 100 Fortune 500 companies demonstrated that there is a correlation between a company’s profit margin and CSR, with the biggest factor coming from how much employees resonate with their organization’s dedication to social and environmental causes. Seventy-five percent of millennials, a key demographic estimated to inherit USD30 trillion of wealth over the next 30 to 40 years, have said that it’s important or very important for a company to give back to society.

There is no doubt that technology in the twenty-first century is under scrutiny. The potential for technology to disrupt democracy, encroach on privacy, and inflict large-scale harm is a pain point for many of its users. Yet technology is also uniquely positioned to provide accelerated solutions for positive change, with its ability to facilitate cross-sector collaboration, streamline business processes, and democratize access to information. Tech companies need to be mindful of this balancing act and organize their business according to wider societal implications. They need to find – and define – a strong purpose that considers the impact of their business on people and the environment. The criticality of this focus is even more pronounced in 2020 and in the post-COVID-19 era, where only volatility is certain.

Creating a purpose-driven culture across all levels of an organization begins with recognizing that social impact and profitability are far from mutually exclusive concepts. Rather, people, purpose and profit are intertwined in ways that allow for companies to become significant drivers of positive change, while also driving performance and growth.

Author

Rhea Cai

Associate Consultant – Digital Customer Experience

Capgemini Australia

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How do we cope with a changing landscape? What does it mean for businesses operating in this new reality?

With infinite information at our fingertips, the unimaginable now seems possible.

This technological era has placed business transformation at the center stage. Digital disruption is quickly followed by a newfound focus on sustainability – the societal and environmental impact of businesses itself.

The ease of access to information, political shifts, changing public perception, and climate change are driving forces of this shift towards sustainability. Suddenly, organizations are measured beyond profits.

From pollution prevention to the emphasis on sustainable behavior and cutting emissions, customers and employees are holding organizations accountable; forcing them to recognize the importance of sustainability.

Recent studies found that over two-thirds of customers prefer sustainable products and are willing to spend more. Furthermore, employees are demanding that businesses place more emphasis on sustainability as an organizational value.

Today, the adoption of sustainability takes place at varying degrees. Some organizations have made genuine shifts towards sustainable business practices. However, many have also taken reactionary and ad-hoc initiatives simply to obtain “green” credentials.

This brings us to the next question. Is sustainability as a “business motive” enough?

Merely making marginal improvements in business practices to “follow a megatrend” won’t help to save the planet.

Organizations need to assess for potential problems before creating a sustainable business model, grounded in long-term strategies with sustainability as their foundation.

Whether it is the innovation of a new product, design strategy, or purpose – this transformation requires organizations to look beyond the short-term financial performance to allow for maturation into long term value creation.

Besides helping the world meet environmental and social challenges, a business model grounded on sustainability can drive businesses further.

One such example adopted by social enterprises is Michael Porter’s Corporate Shared Value – a concept that allows businesses to create business models built on sustainability to gain a competitive edge whilst contributing positively to the community.

Some examples of Porter’s CSV include:

1. Integrating sustainability into your business goals can give you a competitive boost by attracting and retaining a motivated workforce, translating into profit.

Recent findings show that 89% of executives believe that employee satisfaction is synonymous with having a shared purpose. Moreover, 85% agree that they are more likely to refer an organization with a strong purpose to others.

2. Sustainable business practices can protect your organization’s brand and mitigate risks.

Every CEO’s worst nightmare? Waking up to breaking news of a scandal. From pollution to employees working in unsafe conditions, an organization’s reputation is not only blemished but dealing with a public relations crisis is also extremely costly.

3. Sustainability is creating new market segments, such as novel service offerings and innovative products.

Sustainable production practices now underpin a range of consumer products, from clothing to recycled toilet tissue. Sensefolio – a data provider – has emerged by using artificial intelligence to rate companies based on their commitment to social, environmental, and corporate governance values.

Prioritizing sustainability doesn’t mean that an organization’s profit is placed on the backburner. On the contrary, it has evolved into being pivotal for business strategy.

As we face one of the pressing problems of the twenty-first century, large corporations are glorified for their motives at saving the environment.

But can we really trust them to meet sustainability targets? What is authentic, and what is greenwashing?

With the pace of change continuously accelerating, simply having sustainability as a business motive has lost its intrinsic value and is no longer enough.

Whether or not these “business motives” are translated into stronger purposes, more sustainable business practices, and measurable outcomes – holds far greater weight. Savvy organizations that strike a balance between profitability and purpose, rather than just being a place that provides a paycheck, have realized that sustainability is beyond an act of philanthropy.

Sustainability has opened our eyes to an entire world of opportunities. It is the answer for enduring growth, profit, and the key to future-proof business.

Author

Esabella Tan

Business Analyst – Digital Services

Capgemini Singapore

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With or without vaccines, we are coming to terms with a new reality in which the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the global economy, businesses, and our way of life. While the immediate future and economy look bleak, the pandemic has brought about opportunities for smart cities worldwide to adopt an agile approach in overcoming unprecedented challenges posed by this public health crisis. In retrospect, “smart cities” has long been a fashionable policy research area with multiple cities collaborating with the private sectors to apply the use of technology across public infrastructures. However, the previous self-paced digital transformation pursued as part of the different government and business initiatives has taken on a new turn. In fact, navigating the “new normal” has prompted the acceleration of partnerships between the public and private sectors to co-create innovative solutions powered by technologies. By adopting or reinventing digital platforms, these smart cities are determined to stay one step ahead of the virus. According to a July 2020 Capgemini Research Institute Report entitled “Fast-forward to the future: Defining and winning the post-COVID new normal,” the pandemic “has cemented technology’s role at the heart of transformation, driving new ways of interaction, sharing, engaging, and decision making.” To not only ensure that we survive but thrive in times of pandemic, has since created an ever more urgent impetus for us to rethink our current mode of living while pushing the frontiers of the “smart cities” paradigm.

Unfazed by COVID-19, cities have been actively exploring the possibilities of deploying a plethora of smart city solutions to drive greater urban resilience during critical times like this. In Singapore, the government has recognized the importance to speed up the whole-of-nation level digitalization across industries. Smart facility management, internet of things (IoT), surveillance, and security are becoming the hallmarks of smart cities as they create technologically advanced, safe, and livable urban environments despite times of pandemic. Now, apart from enhancing residents’ quality of living and performances of public services, these smart city solutions also double up as preventive efforts to curb the contagion.

No doubt, before reaching the year 2030 mark we have already witnessed how connected digital platforms have enabled authorities to manage the community and their data in ways never imagined before. The use of aerial surveillance to monitor movements of suspected COVID-19 cases is one such example. According to the Capgemini Sustainable Business Revolution 2030 Report, smart city development is denoted by a shift in how cities use technology to collect and analyze data. Cities have also demonstrated the value of smart technologies to collect insights on rapidly changing events in real-time. Technology-based smart city initiatives, such as the contract tracing platform, require citizens to volunteer data in order to coordinate responses during emergencies. However, in tandem with the rapid rise of smart city high-tech solutions, we need to think through data governance, especially when data is aggregated from diverse sources within the new urban ecosystem. For instance, Capgemini offers a full suite of privacy-preserving solutions for digital contact tracing as well as data analysis to assess the impact of containment measures. It is imperative for these cities to work alongside compliant service providers that balance the privacy concerns of citizens and the efficacy of smart city initiatives.

The steep digital adoption by smart cities represents a step forward in fortifying urban resilience which will have far-reaching impacts for them coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. While nobody knows how the world will look like after COVID-19, these future ‘smarter and better cities’ anchored by high-tech strategies will ultimately stand them in good stead in the long run.

Author

Vivianne Tan

Senior Business Analyst – People & Change Management

Capgemini Singapore

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“If you look at history, innovation doesn’t come just from giving people incentives; it comes creating environments where their ideas can connect.” – Steve Jobs.

Innovation must be fostered by providing an inclusive environment, where no idea is pushed down and thoughts and opinions are shared openly. In fact, every person is creative, we all have our own ways of thinking based on our values, culture, and social environment. But how do we make our society, and the individuals within it, truly believe all of us are valuable? How would any city foster an environment that creates a safe space for everyone’s ideas to be heard? This is particularly important because the successful future of smart cities requires our society to be agile, innovative, technologically enabled, and resilient to change. This type of city will need people who are able to think positively, recognize opportunities, be flexible and adaptive.

Smart cities require two things:

A smart city is a resilient city – one that is not only technologically enabled and connected but promotes an agile way of tackling environmental, societal, and economic challenges.

1. Education – promote a lifelong learning mindset, a way to breakdown stereotypes through positive psychology

Did you know that the first three years of your life are the most important years of your learning? It is when you first explore the world and discover things for the first time. Are you provided with an environment that urges you to explore new things, try, and fail? Or, are you told “no” about the things you are exploring the first time? Creating a positive environment that fosters curiosity and encourages exploring the unknown is one of the first steps for a person to develop into someone who can resist change, tackle the unknown, and grasp opportunities.

A future with smart cities starts by providing children with the opportunities to develop, supporting them, and helping struggling families with the assistance tailored to their needs. Even small measures, such as providing families with social groups, expert advice, and helping them stay connected.

When children begin schooling, they should be encouraged to explore both their strengths and weaknesses without setting a certain expectation. It is important for schools to break down stereotypes and explain to children that if you are not as good as someone at one particular task or activity, it does not classify you as a failure. Instead, emphasize learning how to develop and ask for help. This type of environment should be supported all the way until the end of their learning journey and continue into the professional working years.

It is necessary to continue to apply this logic into adulthood, ensuring that a smart city truly embraces mistakes and associated growth. In today’s world, many of us remain silent because we are afraid of making mistakes, meaning that we never truly left our comfort zone.

2. Social innovation – providing opportunities and solving societal problems

Smart cities should embed social innovation into their way of operating. I had the chance to travel to Indonesia, to study social entrepreneurship, and what I found was that many of the world’s “wicked” problems (problems that have no straightforward solution, such as homelessness), are relieved by creating a social enterprise. These consist entirely of non-for-profit businesses and are identified by trying to address a societal issue. For example, Eregano is a social business in Indonesia that educates local farmers on beneficial farming methods so that they can sell more, provide a platform for wider distribution chains, and lift some of these farmers out of poverty.

This concept could also be used, for example, during the COVID-19 lockdown, where scores of people have become unemployed. Using this concept, individuals could obtain employment and become responsible for addressing a societal need within the community, potentially delivering an end product that could be sold to the market. Remaining employed during this time, community members receive an income, used for food and rent while maintaining connections and relevant skills to remain in the workforce.

When society has fostered a mindset through positive psychology and continual growth, individuals are more open-minded to share ideas, create new concepts, and explore the unknown by taking more risk to try out something different. This would lead to startups prospering as well as an enhanced business sector with a continual drive. It would make the city more competitive in global markets and grow investment. By encouraging local communities to tackle societal problems, inclusivity and connectedness will be an evident way towards the future of smart cities.

Author

Julia Alftan

Associate Consultant – SAP

Capgemini Australia

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Indeed, the introduction of 5G allows for industrial applications that are otherwise impossible. However, it has its own set of problems that might deter companies from adopting it quickly. Therefore, it is essential for business leaders to fully understand the impact of adopting 5G on business operations.

One of the ways that 5G can change businesses for the better is by providing timely and comprehensive data. A few capabilities that 5G technology boasts of are increased capacity and high speed in commercial launches compared to its predecessors. This capability will lead to greater industrial operations use cases, one being real-time analytics leveraging on edge computing.

With real-time analytics, companies can reap the benefit of having information flowing in from a large set of devices instantaneously. As a result, with a wealth of data from a larger set of consumers, leaders can make better decisions using real-time insights from current consumer trends.

Another example of using large sets of data can be found in usage-based insurance. As opposed to using traditional and static criteria, such as age and experience in driving, more dynamic insights about a driver’s risk score can be derived with insurance telematics. A clearer insurance profile of the driver is generated based on their driving behavior. This helps insurance companies better manage risk, leading to significant cost savings. Hence, with fast and accurate data facilitated by 5G technology, businesses are equipped to make better business decisions.

Another way that 5G can change businesses for the better is by propelling sustainability efforts within the company. Environmental sustainability is increasingly a concern for many companies due to cultural shifts in consumers. Hence, it is vital for companies to internalize changing trends and adjust their business strategy or operations accordingly.

5G-enabled solutions such as smart grids and other smart city products can not only help companies be greener but save costs as well. Smart grids have digital information and control, dynamic optimization of grid operation and resources, smart integration, and many more. As a result, the solution is a more robust and efficient system that conserves energy and helps the delivery company decrease costs. With demand reduced due to more efficient usage, there will be a decrease in wholesale market prices. Overall, it benefits all stakeholders including the environment. As 5G technology can be employed in environmentally focused solutions, businesses will be able to reduce their bottom line and meet the changing demands of consumers.

Although there are myriad other benefits that 5G can bring to companies, it does not come without concerns. Of which, the most pressing one is consumer privacy. With 5G shifting solutions to user-centric applications, one key challenge for realizing the vision is seeing how user data is handled by the technology system. This is especially crucial for companies to answer as they tiptoe along the line between ethical decisions and profits.

As 5G continues to roll out in various industries, companies need to take a proactive approach in setting up an infrastructure that safeguards the data that they are receiving. This can take the form of setting up better cybersecurity measures or having a privacy policy that only uses the data of consumers within certain premises. Hence, even though there are valid concerns surrounding 5G and the negative consequences of its application, the onus lies in the company to ensure that the privacy of their customers is being upheld.

In conclusion, 5G is a much-awaited technology that presents many use cases that can change businesses for the better. It is essential for companies to understand which areas of their businesses can use the enhanced connectivity to drive their business forward and stay at the forefront of technology.

Author

Li Yun Ng

Senior Analyst – Sales & Business Development

Capgemini SingaporeDownload Report