Technology & Innovation
Aegis Council’s program on technology examines policies, strategies and challenges associated with technological breakthroughs and how to harness digital technology to empower human society to drive progress rather than for malicious, disruptive, and dehumanizing purposes.
The program teams up with corporate leaders, scholars, government agents, technologists and civil society to understand and prepare for the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
From a historical standpoint, we have arrived at a world of fascinating and interminable digital revolution that is profoundly transforming the structure of the global economy and shaping our identities and communities. Global society is witnessing unprecedented shifts across all sectors evidenced by the development of new business models and reconfiguration of production, consumption, transportation, and delivery systems.
The central features of 4IR—artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, 3D printing, autonomous vehicles, the internet of things (IoT), energy storage, biotechnology, quantum computing and others—are paradigmatically shifting how we work and communicate.
Such convergence of “the second machine age” has significant implications for governments, institutions, governance, systems of education, healthcare and work. This remains true for Canadians and particularly African countries whose under-20 population has increased by more than 25%, and expected to be the continent’s as well as the world’s biggest age group by 2070. This age population will drive the global labour market with an impact on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The 4IR has significant implications for bilateral and multilateral relations and international security. Cyber security threats constitute a global risk that requires solidarity from industries, cultures, and regions to deal with.
The Aegis Council’s research program on technology focuses on increasing consciousness of the far-reaching and pace of technological advances, their multidimensional effects, and to provide a forum to highlight these issues.