By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/karen-gilchrist/">Karen Gilchrist</a>



Billionaire entrepreneur <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/jack-ma/">Jack Ma</a> founded <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BABA">Alibaba</a> — one of <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/china/">China’s</a> most successful technology companies.



But even he would have a tough time securing a job there today, he said.



And it’s not just Alibaba. The e-commerce visionary said he and most of the other founders would struggle to pass the initial screening for many of the world’s most desirable companies.



“People like me, today, if I tried to apply (for a) job in Alibaba, it’s almost impossible,” Ma said at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/singapore/" class="">Singapore</a>.



That’s because of a flaw in the international employment system, which places too much emphasis on academic results and unfairly pits out-of-box thinkers against traditional ones, he said.



“People judge you by your diploma,” said Ma. “They would think ’hey, we’re got a group of people from <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/search/?query=Harvard%20University">Harvard</a>, we’ve got people from <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/search/?query=Stanford%20University">Stanford</a>, and you are from nowhere.”



Ma — who struggled through school and was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/09/lesson-alibabas-jack-ma-learned-after-being-rejected-for-a-job-at-kfc.html" class="">famously rejected from 30 jobs</a>&nbsp;before he started Alibaba in 1999 — said he’d encountered numerous highly capable people who were rebuffed from good jobs simply because they failed to perform academically.



“I’ve found a lot of entrepreneurs like me,” said Ma, noting two former colleagues, now founders of Alipay and Taobao, who failed to get into MBA courses because they did not pass the math exams.



Such academic checklists are becoming increasingly irrelevant in the fast-evolving digital age, he said.



“In the industrial (era), you had to remember faster, you have to remember more, you have to calculate faster. These are the things machines can now do much better than you,” said Ma.



“That is something I worry about. 20, 30 years on, our kids will never be able to survive because of the education we teach,” said Ma.



The 55-year-old, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/10/jack-ma-steps-down-as-alibaba-baba-chairman-history-of-the-company.html" class="">retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman</a>&nbsp;last month, said he now plans do philanthropic work in the education sector to better prepare the next generation for the shifting landscape by encouraging greater independent thinking.



“We (have to) teach our kids how to be innovative, constructive and creative so they can survive in the AI (artificial intelligence) period. I want to do more things about that,” said Ma, <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/20/working-as-a-teacher-taught-alibabas-jack-ma-this-business-skill.html">a former English teacher.</a> 



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/why-jack-ma-says-hed-never-get-a-job-at-alibaba-today.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/why-jack-ma-says-hed-never-get-a-job-at-alibaba-today.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Why Billionaire Jack Ma says he’d never get a job at Alibaba today

<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/gettyimages-652617766-594x5941.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-347815" width="709" height="518"/><figcaption>AUSTIN, TX &#8211; MARCH 12: Businessman Mark Cuban speaks onstage at &#8216;Mark Cuban &amp; Tech Execs: Is Govt Disrupting Disruption?&#8217; during 2017 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center on March 12, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by JEALEX Photo/Getty Images for SXSW)</figcaption></figure>



By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-huddleston-jr/">Tom Huddleston Jr.</a>



A little self-reliance can go a long way for&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/entrepreneurs/">entrepreneurs</a>.



That’s according to tech billionaire Mark Cuban, who&nbsp;<a href="https://onairwithryan.iheart.com/featured/ryan-seacrest/content/2019-10-10-mark-cuban-slept-on-the-floor-prior-to-becoming-a-billionaire-listen/" class="">told</a>&nbsp;Ryan Seacrest the “biggest mistake” an entrepreneur can make when launching a new business.



“I think the biggest mistake people make is once they have an idea and the goal of starting a business, they think they have to raise money,” Cuban said on Thursday’s episode of Seacrest’s podcast “On Air.”



“And once you raise money, that’s not an accomplishment, that’s an obligation,” because&nbsp;“now, you’re reporting to whoever you raised money from.”



Cuban says entrepreneurs who rely on outside funding can become too beholden to the interests of their investors, who might have a different idea of how to grow the business.



“If you can start on your own … do it by [yourself] without having to go out and raise money,” Cuban tells Seacrest.



Business experts and entrepreneurs often argue the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/5-reasons-why-i-always-caution-entrepreneurs-not-to-self-fund-their-startups.html" class="">pros</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://about.crunchbase.com/blog/bootstrapping-business/" class="">cons</a>&nbsp;of raising outside money to start a business versus self-funding (aka “<a href="https://hbr.org/2016/03/why-every-startup-should-bootstrap" class="">bootstrapping</a>”), the latter of which can typically involve sinking the founders’ personal savings into a new venture and can result in slower growth if the business is reliant on slowly increasing revenue in order to expand.



While fundraising injects much-needed capital into a nascent startup, taking on outside investors can also bring pressure from those investors to grow the company faster than might be healthy in the long-run in order to create an immediate return on their investment.



In Cuban’s own case, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks started his first business after moving to Dallas with only $60 in his pocket in 1982. Called MicroSolutions, the company was a computer consulting business that he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/07/07/flashback-36-years-ago-today-mark-cuban-arrived-in-dallas-flat-busted-broke-and-the-rest-is-history/" class="">launched with money</a>&nbsp;he and his roommates made throwing keg parties and charging guests $20 apiece for entry.



Cuban, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/05/how-mark-cuban-became-a-billionaire.html" class="">had recently been fired</a>&nbsp;from a computer software store at that time, marketed his new company to his former clients from his previous job and built it into a successful business that he would eventually sell to CompuServe for&nbsp;<a href="https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-mavericks/mavericksheadlines/2011/04/15/how-mark-cuban-went-from-beer-stained-floors-flat-broke-to-billions" class="">$6 million</a>&nbsp;in 1990.



So what’s Cuban’s advice?



“Try to find something that you can make, or that you can buy yourself, and sell to people around you and then ask for referrals and grow the business that way and you can turn it into something enormous,” he tells Seacrest.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/11/mark-cuban-biggest-mistake-people-make-when-starting-a-business.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/11/mark-cuban-biggest-mistake-people-make-when-starting-a-business.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Mark Cuban: This is the ‘biggest mistake’ people make when starting a business

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc on Friday launched a pilot test of a boat service in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos to attract commuters seeking to avoid the megacity’s notoriously congested roads.



The United Nations predicts that Nigeria’s population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India.



The combination of population growth and congestion has made Nigeria, and more broadly West Africa, attractive to foreign transport companies.



Uber’s chief business officer told Reuters in June the company planned to launch the service to carry travellers in the Lagos megacity of around 20 million people that is built on a lagoon.



The waterway service, UberBOAT, is operated in partnership with local boat operator Texas Connection Ferries and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), said the ride-hailing firm.



“This initiative is aimed at providing commuters with an easy and affordable way to get in and out of the city’s business districts,” Uber said in a statement.



The pilot phase will operate on weekdays from 0700 GMT to 1600 GMT on a fixed route between two locations in the city.



Passengers will be charged a flat fare of 500 naira ($1.39) per trip, compared with about 300 naira by minibus for a similar journey in the commercial hub of the West African country where most people live on less than $2 a day.



At a press conference on Friday, Uber officials said there would be four trips a day, carrying up to 35 people on a boat, during the two-week pilot.



Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state, said the Uber boat service, and the use of waterways in general, were part of a raft of initiatives aimed at easing congestion that include a programme of road repairs.



“We want ferries that carry 60 to 80 people,” he said, referring to his hopes for the future use of waterways, on Thursday at a forum with businesses.



Uber’s boat initiative follows a number of motorcycle ride-hailing firms that have targeted West Africa as an area for expansion in the last few months.



Technology giant Google also launched a new feature in July that allows Nigerians to hear travel advice in a local voice on Google Maps. Another feature allows users in Lagos to seek directions from “informal transit” services, such as private minibuses.



Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram and Nneka Chile; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Uber launches boat service in Nigeria’s megacity Lagos, what you need to know

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By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-new-189846">Mark New</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/topics/climate-explained-74664">Climate Explained</a> is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. 

If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz

<blockquote>
How much climate change is natural? How much is man made?
</blockquote>

As someone who has been working on climate change detection and its causes for over 20 years I was both surprised and not surprised that I was asked to write on this topic by The Conversation. For <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/24/scientific-consensus-on-humans-causing-global-warming-passes-99">nearly all</a> climate scientists, the case is proven that humans are the overwhelming cause of the long-term changes in the climate that we are observing. And that this case should be closed.

Despite this, climate denialists continue to receive <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjuGCJJUGsg">prominence</a> in some media which can lead people into thinking that man-made climate change is still in question. So it’s worth going back over the science to remind ourselves just how much has already been established.

Successive reports by the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> – mandated by the United Nations to assess scientific evidence on climate change – have evaluated the causes of climate change. The most recent <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/">special report on global warming of 1.5 degrees</a> confirms that the observed changes in global and regional climate over the last 50 or so years are almost entirely due to human influence on the climate system and not due to natural causes.

<h2>What is climate change?</h2>

First we should perhaps ask what we mean by climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/glossary">defines climate change as</a>:

<blockquote>
a change in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer.
</blockquote>

The causes of climate change can be any combination of:

<ul>
<li>Internal variability in the climate system, <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/23552/chapter/5">when various</a> components of the climate system – like the atmosphere and ocean – vary on their own to cause fluctuations in climatic conditions, such as temperature or rainfall. These internally-driven changes generally happen over decades or longer; shorter variations such as those related to El Niño fall in the bracket of climate variability, not climate change.</li>
<li>Natural external causes such as increases or decreases in volcanic activity or solar radiation. For example, every 11 years or so, the Sun’s magnetic field <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles/en/">completely flips</a> and this can cause small fluctuations in global temperature, up to about 0.2 degrees. On longer time scales – tens to hundreds of millions of years – geological processes can drive changes in the climate, due to shifting continents and mountain building. </li>
<li>Human influence through greenhouse gases (gases that trap heat in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and methane), other particles released into the air (which absorb or reflect sunlight such as soot and aerosols) and land-use change (which affects how much sunlight is absorbed on land surfaces and also how much carbon dioxide and methane is absorbed and released by vegetation and soils).</li>
</ul>

<h2>What changes have been detected?</h2>

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/">recent report</a> showed that, on average, the global surface air temperature has risen by 1°C since the beginning of significant industrialisation (which roughly started in the 1850s). And it is increasing at ever faster rates, currently 0.2°C per decade, because the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have themselves been increasing ever faster. 

The oceans are warming as well. In fact, <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/">about</a> 90% of the extra heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases is being absorbed by the oceans.

A warmer atmosphere and oceans are causing dramatic changes, including <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/arctic-sea-ice-greenland-melt">steep decreases in Arctic summer sea ice</a> which is profoundly impacting arctic marine ecosystems, increasing sea level rise which is inundating low lying coastal areas such as Pacific island atolls, and an <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180321130859.htm">increasing frequency of many climate extremes</a> such as drought and heavy rain, as well as disasters where climate is an important driver, such as wildfire, flooding and landslides.

Multiple <a href="https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/3">lines of evidence</a>, using different methods, show that <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/">human influence is the only plausible explanation</a> for the patterns and magnitude of changes that have been detected. 

This human influence is largely due to our activities that release greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, as well sunlight absorbing soot. The <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions">main sources of these warming gases and particles</a> are fossil fuel burning, cement production, land cover change (especially deforestation) and agriculture.

<h2>Weather attribution</h2>

Most of us will struggle to pick up slow changes in the climate. We feel climate change largely through how it affects weather from day-to-day, season-to-season and year-to-year.

The weather we experience arises from dynamic processes in the atmosphere, and interactions between the atmosphere, the oceans and the land surface. Human influence on the broader climate system acts on these processes so that the weather today is different in many ways from how it would have been. 

One way we can more clearly see climate change is by looking at severe weather events. A branch of climate science, called extreme event or weather attribution, looks at memorable weather events and estimates the extent of human influence on the severity of these events. It <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org">uses weather models</a> run with and without measured greenhouse gases to estimate how individual weather events would have been different in a world without climate change.

<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world">As of early 2019</a>, nearly 70% of weather events that have been assessed in this way were shown to have had their likelihood and/or magnitude increased by human influence on climate. In a world without global warming, these events would have been less severe. Some 10% of the studies showed a reduction in likelihood, while for the remaining 20% global warming has not had a discernible effect. For example, <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aae9f9">one study showed</a> that human influence on climate had increased the likelihood of the 2015-2018 drought that afflicted Cape Town in South Africa by a factor of three.

<h2>Adapting to a changing climate</h2>

Weather extremes underlie many of the hazards that damage society and the natural environment we depend upon. As global warming has progressed, so have the frequency and intensity of these hazards, and the damage they cause.

Minimising the impacts of these hazards, and having mechanisms in place to recover quickly from the impacts, is the aim of climate adaptation, as <a href="https://gca.org/global-commission-on-adaptation/home">recently reported by the Global Commission on Adaptation</a>.

As the Commission explains, investing in adaptation makes sense from economic, social and ethical perspectives. And as we know that climate change is caused by humans, society cannot use “lack of evidence” on its cause as an excuse for inaction any more.

<hr>

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This article is part of <a href="https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/covering-climate-partnerships.php/">The Covering Climate Now</a> series
 This is a concerted effort among news organisations to put the climate crisis at the forefront of our coverage. This article is published under a Creative Commons license and can be reproduced for free – just hit the “Republish this article” button on the page to copy the full HTML coding. The Conversation also runs Imagine, a newsletter in which academics explore how the world can rise to the challenge of climate change. <a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&amp;utm_medium=linkback&amp;utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&amp;utm_content=CoveringClimateNow">Sign up here</a>.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123604/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

<hr>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-new-189846">Mark New</a>, Director, African Climate and Development Initiative, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-how-much-of-climate-change-is-natural-how-much-is-man-made-123604">original article</a>.

Climate explained: how much of climate change is natural? How much is man-made?

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/06/bill-gates-measures-his-quality-of-life-by-asking-himself-3-questions.html" class="">Bill Gates</a>&nbsp;takes risks that very few people in this world will.



He took a risk in 1975, when he dropped out of Harvard to build Microsoft. In 2008, he took a risk in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/who-we-are/general-information/history" class="">leaving Microsoft to work full-time&nbsp;</a>at The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation.



And in 2013, he took another gamble, when his foundation contributed to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/Our-Plan-to-Eradicate-Polio" class="">$5.5 billion initiative</a>&nbsp;to tackle one of the most ambitious public-health goals ever set: eradicating polio.



Those big bets have paid off — polio still remains a problem in certain parts of the world, but significant improvements, such as the development of effective vaccinations, have been made since Gates got involved — which proves that taking big risks and achieving great success can go hand in hand.



But how does one determine which risks are worth taking, and which ones aren’t?



That’s a question the Microsoft co-founder explored in a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.gatesnotes.com_About-2DBill-2DGates_A-2Dbet-2Don-2Dhumanity&amp;amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;amp;m=aAhBNd8-lxFKI-iBj-f-xL-V9DkaRQmJJjFwWmVYjQ8&amp;amp;s=yr5av7X0mps5r8cax_JevdltRMUuNVxvHIfp3fiANMw&amp;amp;e=" class="">blog post</a>, in which he talks about Netflix’s new series,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80184771" class="">“Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates.”</a>&nbsp;A major theme in the documentary is Gates’ willingness to invest time and money into projects that have no guarantee of success.



“Watching the series got me thinking about what the word ‘risk’ really means,” Gates wrote in his post. “Whether we invest $100,000 or $100 million, the decision is always calculated. I spend a lot of time thinking, analyzing data and talking to experts to judge whether we can really help make a difference.”



But Gates says no matter how much analysis one does, it’s important to be comfortable with uncertainty. “We are tackling problems where progress is measured not just in years, but often decades — where your end goal doesn’t change, but your path to get there might have to.”



Gates’ trick to being comfortable with uncertainty, he explained, is to continue learning and be open to new strategies that can bring him closer to his goals. “That approach has guided every big bet I’ve made in my career from Microsoft to today, including polio.”



A willingness to take risks is important, but Gates emphasized another key point: a good bet is based on proper models, not a hunch. In the decision to take on polio, Gates said he had a model in mind, and that model was the history of smallpox: the only human disease ever successfully wiped out.



Ultimately, Gates said his approach to taking risks is “very similar to what Warren Buffett does when he makes an investment on on a bet, that it will be worth 10 times as much down the road.”



“Warren spends a lot of time looking for a company that has great long-term prospects. Then he makes a big investment and holds it for many years,” Gates explained. “He’s famous for staying the course through market gyrations and economic cycles.”



Like Buffett, Gates also picks his projects carefully, looking for ones that will make a difference and create better lives for generations to come. Analyzing whether achieving a certain goal can really help make a difference is what Gates loves most about his job: “I’m never happier than when I’m diving deep into the details of a problem.”



Of course, deciding what risks to take is never easy. “I also feel pressure to make every dollar and every day count,” he wrote. “I say no to a lot more opportunities than I say yes to.”



<a class="" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_in_tpopomaronis_&amp;amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;amp;m=P_Ys4FkTrXS6d3lDujeEcG0RASS_Te__ciXliHG8uo0&amp;amp;s=rHzz9dkDjfkID7To9v-Lu83SKuT7yQyc4bQT7r89G-o&amp;amp;e=">Tom Popomaronis</a>&nbsp;is a commerce expert, cross-industry innovation leader and Vice President of Innovation at&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.massivealliance.com&amp;amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;amp;m=P_Ys4FkTrXS6d3lDujeEcG0RASS_Te__ciXliHG8uo0&amp;amp;s=MAZG4XFe5vj2XGn8I5ATujLEG6mysjDhAM2R5QnyNpQ&amp;amp;e=">Massive Alliance</a>. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company and The Washington Post. In 2014, he was named one of the “40 Under 40” by the Baltimore Business Journal.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/28/bill-gates-brilliant-method-for-taking-risks-is-like-how-warren-buffett-invests.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/28/bill-gates-brilliant-method-for-taking-risks-is-like-how-warren-buffett-invests.html</a>&nbsp;and is republished with its permission.

Bill Gates has a brilliant method for making decisions—and he says it’s ‘similar to Warren Buffett’s’

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-gillwald-458374">Alison Gillwald</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>

In the three short years that the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum (WEF</a>) has been punting the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) as the route to prosperity for digitally savvy nations, it has become global policy conventional wisdom. 

South Africa has <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2019-05-25-in-full-president-cyril-ramaphosas-inauguration-speech/">not been immune </a>to the hype. The government has shifted its focus and resources to the 4IR. And it’s been prioritised over more mundane, but essential, policy interventions aimed at ensuring the more equitable inclusion of the populace into a modern, digital economy. 

This diversion of resources is not by government only. International donor agendas and funding have pivoted to the 4IR. This has mostly been to Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the process, critical research on creating the necessary conditions in developing countries for inclusive digital economies and societies, and implementation projects, have been left stranded. These would include ensuring broadband extension, affordable access, education and digital skills.

Without public investment in independent, local multidisciplinary digital policy research there has been no base to prepare policy makers for 4IR. Public interest research in this area has long been dependent on the vagaries of donor funding. It is therefore not surprising that South Africa relies on the blueprints of international lobbies, global industry associations and private foundations representing the interests of what have become global monopolies.

Government’s response to the lack of policy research on 4IR has been the <a href="https://www.csir.co.za/south-africa-and-world-economic-forum-announce-intention-establish-4ir-affiliate-centre">establishment</a> of the WEF Centre for the 4IR based at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). 

Various government departments have developed policies in their sectoral silos. But there is no overarching digital policy to achieve the co-ordination required across the state and between the public and private sectors. 

A <a href="https://www.dtps.gov.za/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=811:president-cyril-ramaphosa-appoints-commission-on-fourth-industrial-revolution&amp;catid=13&amp;Itemid=138">commission appointed</a> by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year is meant to provide some of this overview. Can it, with the industry-dominated working groups, provide a public interest outcome? And why are the industry-led working groups replicating the protracted six-year integrated White Paper process that has yet to be implemented? 

<h2>Wrong assumption</h2>

The <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-caught-in-the-global-hype-of-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-121189">adoption by South Africa</a> of 4IR models and policy designed by WEF partner consultants is based on a number of assumptions that don’t apply to developing countries. These include mature, competitive markets and functioning democracies, capable institutions and educated and healthy populations. As a result, the proposed policies are unlikely to contribute to economic growth, job creation and the empowerment of women envisaged by President Ramaphosa in his <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2019-05-25-in-full-president-cyril-ramaphosas-inauguration-speech/">inaugural address</a>.

Unlike most other African countries, South Africa has already developed some cutting-edge public and private sector 4IR technologies. The CSIR, for example, owns the largest 3D <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=3&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwidtY7zkMbjAhV1XRUIHf_3C6sQFjACegQIDBAI&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.co.za%2Fsouth-africas-largest-3d-printer-is-so-big-that-it-takes-up-to-r75-million-in-titanium-powder-to-fill-it-2018-7&amp;usg=AOvVaw0PC-BT-RfE83aFHkfVIjKd">printer</a>.

But public investments have done little to deal with the country’s extreme digital inequality. The productive use of these enabling new technologies is only being enjoyed by a relatively small elite. Half of the country’s population doesn’t have even basic access. And for those barely online due to affordability or skills challenges, digital use is <a href="https://researchictafrica.net/after-access-south-africa-state-of-ict-2017-south-africa-report_04/">entirely consumptive</a>.

<h2>Uneven disruptions</h2>

There is little doubt that the inevitable rise of the advanced technologies of artificial intelligence, blockchain and drones will disrupt economies and societies. But when this happens, the degree to which it will happen will be highly uneven. Like other industrial revolutions, this one will be characterised by evolution as much as by disruption. Unless something dramatically different is done, one of the continuities will be the perpetuation of inequality. And the primary determinant of inclusion is education and digital skilling.

The layering of advanced technologies over existing inequalities won’t contribute to digital inclusion. It will simply worsen inequality within and between nations. How quickly South Africa is able to redress existing inequalities will determine the degree to which it is able to harness the potential benefits of advanced technologies for equitable development. 

This is not to suggest that South Africa should eschew all international good practice. The country’s shortage of resources, particularly skills and expertise, requires it to use private investments for the delivery of public goods such as the Internet. But this doesn’t mean abdicating digital policy to the private sector, international or domestic. 

And 4IR is distracting government from the unfinished business of previous policy and institutional failures, as well as regulatory bottlenecks. While government continues to deal with digital policy in sectoral silos it will not be able to deal with the cross-cutting nature of “digitisation” and “datafication” of the economy and society.

<h2>What’s needed</h2>

To fulfil its social contract with the citizenry, South Africa requires a capable state. The state must create the enabling conditions for the public and private sector to harness the opportunities arising from technological developments. 

But to do so it must complete the multitude of policies and regulations that have not been implemented, or are not been implemented according to policy intent. Examples include the five-years-overdue connectivity for all public buildings and installation of public wi-fi at them. Another is a decade-long failure to release high-demand spectrum. And there’s the incomplete market concentration review as well as the two-decade failure to complete the digital migration. 

It is true that the country can’t wait around while this being done. Integration into the global economy is happening at a faster and faster pace. But it’s not automatically beneficial. What’s needed is data and analysis to inform policy through genuinely consultative multistakeholder processes that represent the diverse interests and expertise within the country. Otherwise South Africa won’t be included on its own terms or on those of its partners.

South Africa needs to institutionalise digital data gathering together with the national statistical system which underpins multidisciplinary policy research in its universities and policy formulation. Only then will it be able to develop organic, alternative policy and regulatory strategies to those that have failed in developing country contexts. 

To this end public investment in universities is needed. This will enable knowledge and skills to be developed to undertake research and implement policy. 

This will necessitate a shift from the sectoral silos in which digital policy has traditionally been formulated. In its place a national policy enabling the necessary integration is required across the public sector. In addition, there needs to be coordination between the public and private sectors.

Governments have no control over the biggest players operating in their jurisdictions. These near-monopoly global platforms are largely unaccountable to anyone. Platforms that are offering millions of people social value services are also – wittingly or not – exposing them to mass surveillance, public and private. This is popularly referred to as <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=13&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjAk93rj7DkAhVR_KQKHWZjD0sQFjAMegQIABAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2019%2Fjan%2F20%2Fshoshana-zuboff-age-of-surveillance-capitalism-google-facebook&amp;usg=AOvVaw3t-BRvhH70kImuASnSrF6i">“surveillance” capitalism</a>.

So at the same time as creating affordable access to the internet, South Africa must find ways of effectively mitigating risks and preventing potential harm. Two events have brought this into sharp relief. The first was the attack on national databases. The second was the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;soure=web&amp;cd=14&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiAzNzyoKjjAhVESBUIHTOrD10QFjANegQIBBAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fstory%2Fcambridge-analytica-facebook-privacy-awakening%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw3QIR7DyGAADiTAv3-8Ed11">Cambridge Analytica</a> debacle. This involved the personal details of approximately 60 million South African Facebook users being exposed.

South Africa does not have the luxury of dealing with these problems sequentially. Adaptive regulation is needed to ensure the country reaps the benefits of digitalisaition and datafication that will integrate it more into the global economy. And limiting harms will require complex, adaptive regulation. 

This will be a challenge for the country’s historically weak sectoral policy and regulatory institutions. It will also require cross-sectoral coordination between communications, international affairs, trade, defence, science and technology.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121191/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-gillwald-458374">Alison Gillwald</a>, Adjunct Professor, Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-must-harness-technology-in-a-way-that-helps-fix-its-problems-121191">original article</a>.

How can South Africa harness technology in a way that helps fix its problems?

By Clement Uwiringiyimana



KIGALI (Reuters) &#8211; Rwanda&#8217;s Mara Group launched two smartphones on Monday, describing them as the first &#8220;Made in Africa&#8221; models and giving a boost to the country&#8217;s ambitions to become a regional technology hub.



The Mara X and Mara Z will use Google’s Android operating system and cost 175,750 Rwandan francs ($190) and 120,250 Rwandan francs ($130) respectively.



They will compete with Samsung, whose cheapest smartphone costs 50,000 Rwandan francs ($54), and non-branded phones at 35,000 Rwandan francs ($37). Mara Group CEO Ashish Thakkar said it was targetting customers willing to pay more for quality. 



&#8220;This is the first smartphone manufacturer in Africa,&#8221; Thakkar told Reuters after touring the company alongside Rwanda&#8217;s President Paul Kagame. 



Companies assemble smartphones in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa, but import the components, he said. 



&#8220;We are actually the first who are doing manufacturing. We are making the motherboards, we are making the sub-boards during the entire process,” he said. &#8220;There are over 1,000 pieces per phone.&#8221; 



Thakkar said the plant had cost $24 million and could make 1,200 phones per day.



Mara Group hopes to profit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, a pact aimed at forming a 55-nation trade bloc, to boost sales across Africa, Thakkar said.



The agreement is due to begin trading in July next year, aiming to unite 1.3 billion people and create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc. But it is still in the very early stages and no timelines have been agreed for abolishing tariffs.



Kagame said he hoped the phone would increase Rwanda&#8217;s smartphone usage, currently at around 15%. 



&#8220;Rwandans are already using smartphones but we want to enable many more. The introduction of Mara phones will put smartphones ownership within reach of more Rwandans,” Kagame said. 



($1 = 924.3110 Rwandan francs)



(Editing by Giulia Paravicini and Mark Potter)

What you need to know about Rwanda’s launch of the first ‘Made in Africa’ smartphones

It’s been eight years since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/05/apple-steve-jobs-divided-people-into-2-groups-insanely-great-and-crappy-people-says-ex-employee-guy-kawasaki.html" class="">Steve Jobs</a>&nbsp;passed away on Oct. 5, 2011, but his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/05/amazon-billionaire-ceo-jeff-bezos-ask-yourself-these-12-questions-to-live-a-long-happy-life.html" class="">lessons about life, work and success</a>&nbsp;still live on today.



In a 1994, the Apple co-founder sat down for an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/steve-jobs-in-1994-the-rolling-stone-interview-231132/" class="">interview with Rolling Stone</a>. At the time, Jobs was at one of the lowest points of his career; he had long ago been booted from Apple, and the personal computer revolution seemed to be dimming. And yet, when asked if he still believed in the limitless potential of technology, Jobs answered yes.



“But it’s not a faith in technology. It’s faith in people,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘Tools are just tools’</h2>



“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart — and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them,” he said. “Tools are just tools. They either work, or they don’t work.”



Put another way, Jobs believed that in order to achieve great success and create revolutionary changes in the world, we must learn to prioritize the intersection of technology and the humanities, because that’s how the best ideas emerge.



Jobs took this philosophy seriously. Years after he rejoined Apple in 1997, it was clear that he had become a far better leader. His goal, according to Walter Isaacson’s biography <a class="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537">“Steve Jobs,”</a> was to build an enduring company that prioritized people. Everything else — products and profits — while still important, would be secondary.



Jobs’ vision paid off: He had successfully shifted Apple’s focus back to making cutting-edge products, which resulted in a phase of unprecedented growth for the company.



Here’s how Jobs’ put his “faith in people” into practice:



1. He hired the right people and trusted them to perform



Jobs understood the cost of hiring the wrong people. He was heavily&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8810045/Steve-Jobs-timeline.html" class="">involved in major hiring decisions</a>, and remained so&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8810045/Steve-Jobs-timeline.html" class="">even after taking medical leave</a>.



Plenty of people have a breadth of knowledge that enables them to make good decisions under a variety of circumstances, but you can’t possibly be an expert at everything. The best leaders know what they don’t know, and they bring in experts to help them plan their next move.



As&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/27/steve-jobs-advice-on-hiring-helps-grow-this-ceos-talent-pool.html" class="">Jobs once said</a>, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”



2. He delivered his demand for excellence in a inspiring way



To many, Jobs’ version of “having faith in people” might not be considered the norm. His occasionally abrasive style of leadership has been described as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-co-founder-chairman-steve-jobs-dies/" class="">“terrorizing”&nbsp;</a>and<a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-co-founder-chairman-steve-jobs-dies/" class="">&nbsp;“extremely demanding.”</a>



But, as proven by Apple’s success, it worked. “Jobs’ rudeness and roughness were accompanied by an ability to be inspirational,” Isaacson wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs" class="">Harvard Business Review</a>&nbsp;article.



Indeed, Jobs knew how to “infuse Apple employees with an abiding passion to create groundbreaking products and a belief that they could accomplish what seemed impossible,” according to Isaacson.



The author recalled Jobs once telling him: “I’ve learned over the years that when you have really good people, you don’t have to baby them. By expecting them to do great things, you can get them to do great things.”



3. He taught them about humility



Some people might get a chuckle out of this one, considering Jobs was known to have a certain degree of arrogance, but he also had the capacity to admit when he was wrong and change his opinion entirely.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/01/former-apple-employee-guy-kawasaki-once-stood-up-to-steve-jobs-here-is-the-amazing-response-he-received.html" class="">Guy Kawasaki</a>, former chief evangelist at Apple who worked closely with the tech visionary,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/steve-jobs-taught-guy-kawasaki-this-surprising-lesson-about-intelligence.html" class="">told CNBC Make It</a>&nbsp;that one of the most important lessons he learned from Jobs “is that changing your mind, changing what you’re doing and reversing yourself at an extreme is a sign of intelligence.”



When Jobs first introduced the iPhone in 2007, for example, it was a closed system — no one outside of Apple could create an app for it. A year later,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/steve-jobs-taught-guy-kawasaki-this-surprising-lesson-about-intelligence.html" class="">Jobs made a complete “180-degree reversal,”</a>&nbsp;Kawasaki said. He opened the system to the public after realizing how much more the device could offer customers with apps written by anyone with a good idea.



In a world of stark dichotomies, it’s good to be fearless about changing sides or altering courses.



4. He taught them to focus



After his return to Apple, Jobs would take his top employees on annual retreats. On the last day of each retreat,&nbsp;<a href="https://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs" class="">Isaacson wrote</a>, he’d stand in front of a whiteboard and ask everybody: “What are the 10 things we should be doing next?”



People would fight to get their suggestions on the list. “Jobs would write them down — and then cross off the ones he decreed dumb,” Isaacson continued. “After much jockeying, the group would come up with a list of 10. Then, Jobs would slash seven of them and announce, ‘We can only do three.’”



The theatrics of the activity were meant to teach his employees about focus. “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do,” Jobs told Isaacson. “That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.”



5. He engaged face-to-face



If Jobs were alive today, it’d be unlikely for anyone to get a Slack reply from him. According to Isaacson, Jobs believed in the power of in-person conversations and always preferred face-to-face meetings.



“There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat,” he told Isaacson. “That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions.”



Even at Pixar, Jobs made sure the building was designed to get people out of their offices and interact with others. The front doors and main stairs and corridors all led to the atrium, which housed essentials like a fitness center, cafe, employee mailboxes and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/steve-jobs-technology-alone-is-not-enough" class="">only set of bathrooms</a>.



It was meant to be the heart of the headquarters, the place where people ran into each other, talked and came up with the most inventive ideas.



<a class="" href="http://marcelschwantes.com/">Marcel Schwantes</a> is a speaker, executive coach and workplace strategist. As a leadership coach, he addresses the elements required to create human-centered workplaces that result in high-performing cultures. Marcel is also the host of the “Leadership from the Core” podcast.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/05/apple-ceo-steve-jobs-technology-is-nothing-heres-what-it-takes-to-achieve-great-success.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/05/apple-ceo-steve-jobs-technology-is-nothing-heres-what-it-takes-to-achieve-great-success.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Steve Jobs: ‘Technology is nothing’—here’s what he said it really takes to achieve great success

By Taylor Locke 



Everyone has the same amount of time in a day as people like <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Elon Musk</a>, who is CEO of not just Tesla, but also SpaceX, The Boring Company and Neuralink, and <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/jack-dorsey/">Jack Dorsey</a>, who is CEO of both Twitter and Square.



So how do such busy billionaire founders like Musk and Dorsey manage their days? Here are Musk’s, Dorsey’s and other successful business leaders’ tips on maximizing productivity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jack Dorsey has meetings from a Google Doc</h2>



Research has shown that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/13/jeff-bezos-mark-cuban-and-elon-musk-all-avoid-meetings.html" class="">most managers believe meetings kill productivity</a>: 65% of senior managers say meetings keep them from completing their own work, according to a survey from&nbsp;<a href="https://hbr.org/2017/07/stop-the-meeting-madness" class="">Harvard Business School and Boston University</a>, and 71% of 182 managers surveyed said they find meetings to be unproductive and inefficient.



When it comes to meetings, Jack Dorsey has a non-traditional approach that he believes speeds up the critical thinking process, as&nbsp;<a href="https://resume.io/productivity-lessons-from-successful-founders" class="">Resume.io points out</a>.



“Most of my meetings are now Google doc-based, starting with 10-minutes of reading and commenting directly in the doc,” Dorsey tweeted in 2018. “This practice makes time for everyone to get on same page, allows us to work from many locations, and gets to truth/critical thinking faster.”



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Most of my meetings are now Google doc-based, starting with 10-minutes of reading and commenting directly in the doc. This practice makes time for everyone to get on same page, allows us to work from many locations, and gets to truth/critical thinking faster. Good thread 👇🏼 <a href="https://t.co/YRsxT3kMAZ">https://t.co/YRsxT3kMAZ</a>&mdash; jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) <a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/987163806781472768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



The social media exec referenced a Twitter thread by Steven Sinofsky, the former Windows Division President at Microsoft, to support his Google Doc method. Sinofsky explained the potential up-side to writing during meetings as opposed to traditional ones.



“Writing is more inclusive,” Sinofsky said. “It is easier to contribute, doesn’t reward bullies and bulls&#8212;ers, and allows for contemplation.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Elon Musk eliminates excessive meetings</h2>



Elon Musk starts his day with his most critical work and schedules the rest of his day based on priority.



“Focus on signal over noise,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Qh-vwpYH8&amp;amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;amp;t=3m30s" class="">Musk said at the University of Southern California Commencement Speech</a>&nbsp;in 2014. “Don’t waste your time on stuff that doesn’t actually make things better.”



One of the ways he does this is by eliminating as many meetings as he can.



“Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/elon-musks-productivity-rules-according-to-tesla-email.html" class="">the CEO shared in a letter to employees</a>&nbsp;regarding productivity in 2018<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/elon-musks-productivity-rules-according-to-tesla-email.html" class="">.</a>&nbsp;“Get rid frequent meetings, unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter.”



If you must have a meeting, Musk says “be certain [you are] providing value to the whole audience.” Musk also advises his employees to “walk out or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value.”



It’s not rude to leave meetings that are not providing any value, he says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jeff Bezos makes quick decisions</h2>



It’s important to make “high-quality, high-velocity” decisions, according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. That’s because “speed matters in business,” he said&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/2016-letter-to-shareholders" class="">in his 2016 letter to shareholders</a>.



“Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70 percent of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90 percent, in most cases, you’re probably being slow.”



In fact, whether you make the right decision can actually be less important than making one quickly, according to Bezos.



“Many decisions are reversible, two-way doors— for those, so what if you’re wrong?”



You need to be good at quickly correcting bad decisions, he said, but “if you’re good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure.”



Amazon “is determined to keep our decision-making velocity high” not only because it’s important, said Bezos, but also because a “high-velocity decision making environment is more fun too.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Steve Jobs knew when to say ‘no’</h2>



<a href="https://resume.io/productivity-lessons-from-successful-founders" class="">As Resume.io points out</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/steve-jobs/" class="">Steve Jobs</a>&nbsp;believed a key to productivity is knowing<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/02/steve-jobs-heres-what-most-people-get-wrong-about-focus.html" class="">&nbsp;when to say “no</a>.”



“Focusing is about saying ‘no,’” the late Apple co-founder said during the company’s 1997 Worldwide Developers Conference.



“Focus means saying ‘no’ to the hundred other good ideas,”so you have decide what it makes sense to spend time and energy on, and what doesn’t, Jobs said.



In fact, billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/31/3-things-two-men-learned-from-their-650000-lunch-with-warren-buffett.html" class="">Warren Buffett shares Jobs’ mindset</a>, once saying “the difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bill Gates sharpens his focus through meditation</h2>



Many successful people from Dorsey to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/16/bridgewater-associates-ray-dalio-meditation-is-key-to-my-success.html" class="">hedge fund</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/16/bridgewater-associates-ray-dalio-meditation-is-key-to-my-success.html" class="">billionaire Ray Dalio</a>&nbsp;make meditation part of their daily routine.



It is also one of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/bill-gates/" class="">Bill Gates</a>’ favorite productivity habits. “It’s a great tool for improving my focus,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/The-Headspace-Guide-to-Meditation-and-Mindfulness?WT.mc_id=12_03_2018_10_EOYBooks2018Headspace_BG-media_&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;WT.tsrc=BGmedia" class="">he said in his Gates Notes blog</a>&nbsp;in 2018.



“Meditation is simply exercise for the mind, similar to the way we exercise our muscles when we play sports,” he said.



The Microsoft co-founder, who meditates “two or three times a week, for about 10 minutes each time,” said that meditation teaches him “how to pay attention to the thoughts in my head, and [gain] a little bit of distance from them,” improving his concentration.



Gates <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/03/bill-gates-names-the-5-best-books-he-read-in-2018.html">suggests the book</a> “The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness” by former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe, for anyone who’d like to get started meditating. 



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/productivity-tips-from-elon-musk-jeff-bezos-steve-jobs-and-more.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/productivity-tips-from-elon-musk-jeff-bezos-steve-jobs-and-more.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Productivity tips from billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and more

By <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/426983428?src=2Q7JrXi3WCG4DWKa7nAt5w-1-5&#038;size=medium_jpg">knyazevfoto/Shutterstock</a>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jacqueline-hicks-780656">Jacqueline Hicks</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nottingham-1192">University of Nottingham</a>

There is a global standoff going on about who stores your data. At the close of June’s G20 summit in Japan, a number of developing countries <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/world/india-boycotts-osaka-track-at-g20-summit-1561897592466.html">refused to sign</a> an international declaration on data flows – the so-called Osaka Track. Part of the reason why countries such as India, Indonesia and South Africa boycotted the declaration was because they had no opportunity to put their own interests about data into the document. 

With 50 other signatories, the declaration still stands as a statement of future intent to negotiate further, but the boycott represents an ongoing struggle by some countries to assert their claim over the data generated by their own citizens.

Back in the dark ages of 2016, data was touted as the new oil. Although the metaphor was quickly <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/data-is-not-the-new-oil-721f5109851b">debunked</a> it’s still a helpful way to understand the global digital economy. Now, as international negotiations over data flows intensify, the oil comparison helps explain the economics of what’s called “data localisation” – the bid to keep citizens’ data within their own country.

Just as oil-producing nations pushed for oil refineries to add value to crude oil, so governments today want the world’s Big Tech companies to build data centres on their own soil. The cloud that powers much of the world’s tech industry is grounded in vast data centres located mainly around northern Europe and the US coasts. Yet, at the same time, US Big Tech companies are increasingly turning to markets in the global south for expansion as enormous numbers of young tech savvy populations come online. 

<h2>Accusations of ‘digital imperalism’</h2>

Take, for example, the case of Facebook. While India is the country with the biggest amount of Facebook users, when you look at the <a href="https://www.datacenters.com/providers/facebook">location of Facebook’s 15 data centres</a>, ten are in North America, four in Europe and one in Asia – in Singapore. 

<figure class="align-center ">
 <img decoding="async" alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=525&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=525&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=525&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=660&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=660&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294172/original/file-20190925-51405-fwjrkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=660&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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 Countries with the most Facebook users in 2019.
 <a class="source" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/268136/top-15-countries-based-on-number-of-facebook-users/">We Are Social, DataReportal, Hootsuite, Facebook via Statista</a>
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This disconnect between new sources of data and the location of data centres has <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/QMZDxbCufK3O2dJE4xccyI/Indias-data-must-be-controlled-by-Indians-not-by-global-co.html">led to accusations</a> from countries such as India of “data colonisation” and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/digital-colonialism-threatening-global-south-190129140828809.html">“digital colonialism”</a>.

The economic argument for countries in the global south to host more data centres is that it would boost digital industrialisation by creating competitive advantages for local cloud companies, and develop links to other parts of the local IT sector.

Many <a href="http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/19553/16635">countries</a> have flirted with regulations on what sort of data should be stored locally. Some cover only certain sectors such as health data in Australia. Others, such as South Korea, require the consent of the person associated with the data for it to be transmitted overseas. France continues to pursue its own data centre infrastructure, dubbed “le cloud souverain”, despite the closure of some of the <a href="https://www.rudebaguette.com/2019/08/cloudwatt-orange-cloud-souverain-fin/">businesses initially behind the idea</a>. The most comprehensive laws are in China and Russia, which mandate localisation across multiple sectors for many kinds of personal data.

Countries such as India and Indonesia with their massive and growing online populations arguably have the most to gain economically from such regulations as they currently receive the least data infrastructure investment from the tech giants relative to the number of users.

<h2>The economics aren’t clear cut</h2>

Supporters of data localisation cite developing countries’ structural dependency on foreign-owned digital infrastructure and an unfair share of the industry’s economic benefits. They dream of using data localisation to force tech companies into becoming permanent entities on home soil to eventually increase the amount of taxes they can impose on them. 

Detractors point to the high business costs of local servers, not just for the tech giants, but also for the very digital start ups that governments say they want to encourage. They say localisation regulations interfere with global innovation, are difficult to enforce, and ignore the technical requirements of data centres: proximity to the internet’s “backbone” of fibre optic cables, a stable supply of electricity, and low temperature air or water for cooling the giant servers.

<figure class="align-center ">
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 Data: how much is it worth?
 <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/artistic-blurred-binary-numbers-data-travel-544111558?src=Bjwb083uwwYnsgSFI2-Huw-1-2">Robsonphoto/Shutterstock</a>
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Attempts to measure the economic impact of localisation are extremely partisan. The <a href="https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/174726">most cited study</a> from 2014 uses an opaque methodology and was produced by the <a href="https://ecipe.org/">European Centre for International Political Economy</a>, a free trade think-tank based in Brussels, some of whose funding comes from unknown <a href="https://thecorrespondent.com/3884/big-business-orders-its-pro-ttip-arguments-from-these-think-tanks/179184456-59671a10">multinational businesses</a>. Not surprisingly, it finds gross losses for countries considering localisation. Yet, a <a href="https://baxtel.com/data-center/facebook/files/facebook_data_centers_2018">2018 study</a> commissioned by Facebook found that its data centre spending in the US had created tens of thousands of jobs, supported renewable energy investments and contributed US$5.8 billion to US GDP in just six years.

Like the equivalent arguments for and against free trade, taking a dogmatic position for or against the issue masks other complexities on the ground. The economic costs and benefits depend on the type of data stored, whether it’s a duplicate or the only copy, the level of government support for wider infrastructure subsidies, to name just a few factors. 

India has been the most vocal supporter for localisation, promoting its own regulation as “<a href="https://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Data_Protection_Committee_Report.pdf">a template for the developing world</a>”, but it’s in a strong position to do so given the country’s relatively advanced digital industrialisation and technical manpower. Other emerging economies with large online populations, such as Indonesia, have vacillated on their localisation regulations under pressure from the US government which has threatened <a href="https://inet.detik.com/law-and-policy/d-4318420/revisi-pp-pste-diduga-sarat-tekanan-asing">to pull preferential trade terms</a> for other goods and services if they went ahead with restrictive regulations.

<h2>What governments do with the data</h2>

While the international economics of personal data may follow some of the same general dynamics as oil production, data is fundamentally different from oil because it does a double duty – providing not just monetary value to businesses, but also surveillance opportunities for governments. Some civil society activists I’ve met as part of my research in India and Indonesia told me they were sceptical of their own governments’ narratives about data colonialism, worrying instead about the increased access to sensitive personal information that localisation gives to governments.

It’s not just large corporations and states that have roles to play in this bid for “data sovereignty”. Tech developers may yet find ways to support the rights of individuals to control their own personal data with platforms such as <a href="http://www.databoxproject.uk">databox</a>, which gives each of us something akin to our own personal servers. These technologies are still in development, but <a href="https://www.decodeproject.eu/pilots">projects</a> are springing up – mostly around Europe – that not only give people greater control over their personal data, but aim to produce social value rather than profit. Such experiments may yet find a place in the developing world alongside what states and large corporations are doing.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123048/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jacqueline-hicks-780656">Jacqueline Hicks</a>, Marie-Curie Skłodowska Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nottingham-1192">University of Nottingham</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-colonialism-why-some-countries-want-to-take-control-of-their-peoples-data-from-big-tech-123048">original article</a>.

‘Digital colonialism’: Here’s why some countries are considering taking control of their people’s data from Big Tech companies

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/21/bill-gates-13-best-ted-talks-you-need-to-watch.html">Tom Popomaronis</a>



<a class="" href="https://www.ted.com/talks">TED Talks</a> are one of the best online resources for anyone who loves learning. I try to dedicate some time every week to watching a few of them. But there are so many good ones that it’s impossible to choose.



Luckily, I recently came across a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BillGates/photos/a.10150331291841961/10152060779241961/?type=1&amp;amp;theater" class="">2014</a>&nbsp;playlist of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/playlists/35/bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">Bill Gates’ favorite TED talks</a>. Naturally, I had to watch them all.



The Microsoft co-founder whittled down his favorites to 13 essentials. There’s a broad range of topics to digest in the videos. Some of them, like ones about <a class="" href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-development/polio">polio eradication</a> and <a class="" href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/US-Program/K-12-Education">fixing the education system</a>, are specific to Gates’ own interests.



But there’s one common thread throughout the videos: They’re all about how we can positively shape both ourselves and the world.Even if you aren’t interested in algorithms and robotics, there’s something for everyone here — and you’ll definitely finish the videos feeling smarter, wiser and more hopeful.



Here’s the complete list of Gates’ favorite TED talks, and what you can learn from each one:



1.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal#t-76874" class="">“The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen,”</a>&nbsp;by Hans Rosling



Putting a bunch of data together in a coherent and captivating way is a challenge. But Rosling, a physician and epidemiologist who died in 2017, was brilliant in his creative use of visual aids.



In this talk, which has been viewed more than 14 million times, the stats guru dispels common myths about the so-called “developing world” by zeroing in on global trends in health and economics.



The most fascinating part of the talk is Rosling’s stunning presentation technique — using interactive bubble charts, compelling data and an energetic speaking style, which has been likened to the “drama and urgency of a sportscaster.”



Even if global health economics isn’t your thing, “The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen” will give you insight into how the use of stats, visualization and lively body language can shift perspectives.



2.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_specter_the_danger_of_science_denial?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“The Danger of Science Denial,”</a>&nbsp;by Michael Specter



Specter, a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of “Denialism,” explores why the world has increasingly begun to fear scientific advances, instead of embracing them.



“I don’t need to say this, but vaccines are essential,” he says in the talk. “You take them away, and disease comes back, horrible diseases. That’s happening. We have measles in this country now. And it’s getting worse.”



Specter does a great job using several examples — vaccine claims related to autism, “Frankenfood” bans, the herbal cure craze — to illustrate the public’s fear and denial of science and reason. His talk encouraged me, and hopefully many others, to reflect on the consequences of ignoring scientific consensus.



Another great takeaway: There’s nothing more powerful than the scientific method, which involves trying stuff out, seeing if it works and changing it when it doesn’t. As Specter says, “It’s one of the great accomplishments of humanity.”



3.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“The History of Our World in 18 Minutes,”</a>&nbsp;by David Christian



Christian, a historian who is specifically a scholar of Russian history, starts the talk by winding back to the beginning of time: 13.7 billion years ago.



“Around us, there’s nothing,” he says. “There’s not even time or space. Imagine the darkest, emptiest thing you can and cube it a gazillion times — and that’s where we are. And then suddenly, bang! A universe appears, an entire universe.”



If you’ve ever wanted to learn the complete history of the universe, from the Big Bang to the internet, in a less amount of time than a “Simpsons” episode, here’s your chance. Or, maybe you don’t care to learn about history at all. If that’s the case, watch it anyway.



I was at first skeptical about how long my attention span could last watching this video, but after a full 18 minutes, Specter made me realize that in order to understand the challenges and opportunities in front of us, we must first learn about the journey that got us here.



4.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/04/15/melinda-gates-fights-to-put-birth-control-on-the-global-agenda-and-save-childrens-lives/#429919652f16" class="">“Let’s Put Birth Control Back on the Agenda,”</a>&nbsp;by Melinda Gates



Since the moment it was introduced, contraception has been a controversial topic. But Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, believes many of the world’s social change issues depend on ensuring that women are able to control their rate of having kids.



In the talk, Gates tells the story of a young business woman she met in Nairobi, who made and sold backpacks out of her home. When asked why she chose to have only three children, the woman said, “I wouldn’t be able to run my business if I had another child.”



Her income afforded her just enough to provide an education to all three of her children. “This is the same mental calculus that hundreds of millions of men and women have gone through,” Gates explains. “They’re able to give their children more opportunities by exercising control over when they have them.”



The list of priorities for countries both rich and poor is a massive one, but this talk makes a compelling argument about how essential something like access to birth control is.



5.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/bruce_aylward_how_we_ll_stop_polio?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“How We’ll Stop Polio for Good,”</a>&nbsp;by Bruce Aylward



It’s not surprising to find this one on Gates’ list of favorites. Like Gates, Aylward, a Canadian physician and epidemiologist, is fighting to make a polio-free world.



Polio is almost completely eradicated, but as Aylward says in his talk, “Almost&nbsp;isn’t good enough with a disease this terrifying.” The disease, which affects mainly children, can cause paralysis, sometimes within a matter of hours, and death.



Aylward’s plan to continue the “scientific miracle” that ended polio in most parts of the world — and finally stop it for good — will inspire you to get the word out and encourage governments to keep their generosity up in helping to eradicate this horrible disease.



6.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/atul_gawande_how_do_we_heal_medicine?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“How Do We Heal Medicine?”</a>&nbsp;by Atul Gawande



Doctors are capable of extraordinary things, and we depend on them to keep us healthy. But Gawande, a doctor and writer, argues that in order to do their job effectively, they must take a step back and look at new ways to do medicine.



Doctors used to know everything (at least in their area of expertise) and do everything themselves; those days are over, says Gawande. Physicians need to work together, and a new system for that may be as simple as a checklist, or a new way of coaching one another.



And his point isn’t exclusive to physicians; it applies to all of us, no matter what field we’re in. As Gawande says, “We’ve come to a place where we have no choice but to recognize, as individualistic as we want to be, complexity requires group success. We all need to be pit crews now.”



7.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence/transcript?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal#t-1337790" class="">“The Surprising Decline in Violence,”</a>&nbsp;by Steven Pinker



Pinker, a professor of cognitive science, makes a bold claim in this talk: We are far less likely to die violently than members of any previous generation.



“Until 10,000 years ago, all humans lived as hunter-gatherers, without permanent settlements or government,” he says.



Pinker uses visuals to show the corresponding statistic from the U.S. and Europe in the 20th century, and includes all the deaths of both World Wars. “If the death rate in tribal warfare had prevailed during the 20th century,” he says, “there would have been 2 billion deaths rather than 100 million.”



While I don’t doubt his data, the statistics are hard to believe. Has violence really declined? If the answer is yes, then could this decline be reversed? And if the answer to&nbsp;that&nbsp;is yes, how can we prevent it? These are all important questions we must ask.



8.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/nathan_myhrvold_could_this_laser_zap_malaria?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“Could This Laser Zap Malaria?”</a>&nbsp;by Nathan Myhrvold



This was a fun and insightful one that I ended up watching twice. Myhrvold, who used to work at Microsoft, rolls out a live demonstration of a mosquito-zapping gizmo he and his team created.



It basically involves a “photonic fence” that uses lasers to track and obliterate disease-carrying mosquitoes. Of course, this talk was given nearly a decade ago, so it’s unclear how far Myhrvold’s invention got or where it is now.



His enthusiasm and obvious brilliance, however, are not only entertaining, but are also a simple reminder of how boldness and creativity can contribute to our efforts in tackling problems, big or small.



9.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education,”</a>&nbsp;by Salman Khan



If you’re not familiar with the Khan Academy, it’s a non-profit organization that provides a series of educational videos, in subjects like math, arts and humanity, and science.



Khan, a former hedge-fund analyst with degrees from MIT and Harvard, talks about how and why he created the Khan Academy. He also explains why interactive exercises through video are a key ingredient to humanizing the education system.



Not only can this help those in parts of the world with limited access to education, but it can also benefit the “adult learner, who’s embarrassed to go back and learn stuff they should have known before going back to college,” says Khan.



Gates, who moderates the talk, calls Khan’s efforts “amazing,” and an example of how technology can help create a more educated world.



10.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera_y_arcas_demos_photosynth?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“How PhotoSynth Can Connect the World’s Images,”</a>&nbsp;by Blaise Agüera y Arcas



Engineer Agüera y Arcas gives a luminous demo of a PhotoSynth, a software originated from Microsoft Live Labs and the University of Washington.



PhotoSynth uses still photos culled from the Web to build breathtaking dreamscapes, and then lets users navigate them. (While Microsoft shut down the software in 2017, its features returned later that year within the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-brings-back-photosynth-in-its-pix-app-for-ios/" class="">Microsoft Pix app for iOS</a>.)



We’ve come a long way in using technology to connect the world’s images, but the real inspiration here is about all the things we can do with the social environment. “This is now taking data from everybody — from the entire collective memory, visually, of what the Earth looks like — and linking all of that together,” says Agüera y Arcas.



11.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_for_17_min/transcript?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“How I Held My Breath for 17 Minutes,”</a>&nbsp;by David Blaine



“As a magician, I try to create images that make people stop and think,” Blaine says in the beginning of his talk. “I also try to challenge myself to do things that doctors say are not possible.”



One of those challenges: holding his breath for 17 minutes. I won’t give too much away (you’ll have to watch the video), but it involves meeting with a neurosurgeon, researching pearl divers and some major oxygen deprivation.



“I push through the pain to be the best that I can be,” Blaine says, as he gets a little emotional. “And that’s what magic is to me.”



Whether you’re a magician or not, he reminds us that with practice, training and lots of experimenting, you can do things that seem impossible.



12.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“The Power of Introverts,”</a>&nbsp;by Susan Cain



In a world that prizes extroverts, looking inward is a virtue, not a problem, argues Cain, author of the best-selling book, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.”



Some of the most influential people in history were introverts, she says, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks and Gandhi.



“Introversion,” Cain explains, “is different from being shy. Shyness is about fear of social judgment. Introversion is more about how you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation.”



Extroverts crave large amounts of stimulation, whereas introverts feel at their “most capable” when they’re in quieter, more low-key environments. But the problem is that places like our schools and workplaces are designed mostly for extroverts.



Cain offers a number of suggestions for how we can create a better balance between the two types. It’s essential, she says, especially if we want to maximize&nbsp;all&nbsp;of our talents.



13.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate?referrer=playlist-bill_gates_my_13_favorite_tal" class="">“Robots That Fly &#8230; and Cooperate,”</a>&nbsp;by Vijay Kumar



Kumar, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, gives an interesting lecture about something he and his team built: flying quadrotors, or small, agile robots that swarm, sense each other and form ad hoc teams. They can be used for construction, surveying disasters and far more.



He demonstrates the several features of the robot, which is built like a cross, with four rotors — each on an end of the cross pointed straight up. “You can send them inside buildings as first responders to look for intruders, maybe look for biochemical leaks [or they] can be used for construction and for transporting cargo,” Kumar says.



They can even be sent to collapsed buildings to assess the damage of disasters, he continues, or to map nuclear radiation levels after a nuclear accident. Even today, with all the advancements in the robotics industry, it’s amazing to watch and think about how far we’ve come.



<a class="" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_in_tpopomaronis_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;m=P_Ys4FkTrXS6d3lDujeEcG0RASS_Te__ciXliHG8uo0&amp;s=rHzz9dkDjfkID7To9v-Lu83SKuT7yQyc4bQT7r89G-o&amp;e=">Tom Popomaronis</a> is a commerce expert, cross-industry innovation leader and Vice President of Innovation at <a class="" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.massivealliance.com&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;m=P_Ys4FkTrXS6d3lDujeEcG0RASS_Te__ciXliHG8uo0&amp;s=MAZG4XFe5vj2XGn8I5ATujLEG6mysjDhAM2R5QnyNpQ&amp;e=">Massive Alliance</a>. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company and The Washington Post. In 2014, he was named one of the “40 Under 40” by the Baltimore Business Journal.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/21/bill-gates-13-best-ted-talks-you-need-to-watch.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/21/bill-gates-13-best-ted-talks-you-need-to-watch.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

These are Bill Gates’ 13 favorite TED talks—and they’ll make you feel smarter, wiser and more hopeful

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elvira-bolat-392016">Elvira Bolat</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/bournemouth-university-1215">Bournemouth University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nasiru-taura-773412">Nasiru Taura</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/bournemouth-university-1215">Bournemouth University</a>

Digital technology has created new opportunities for businesses in sub-Saharan Africa to compete on a more equal footing. However, these businesses have yet to enjoy the full benefits because of a difficult operating environment.

Our recently published <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/us/series/15149">book</a>, ‘Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects’, details case studies of economic sectors where digital technologies are making a positive impact.

In Ghana, digital technologies have had an impact on the agriculture sector. Agri-tech firms like Farmable, Farmerline and Esoko have successfully pursued the creation of new business ventures and renewal of existing, matured corporate business models. These agri-tech firms support farmers with pricing data, crowdfunding and communication activities. They are also connecting farmers with buyers as well as helping them work out what differentiates them from competitors.

Digital technologies are playing a role in Nigeria’s agricultural sector too.
<a href="https://primewavesltd.com">Prime Wave </a>, an engineering company that supplies equipment to rice processing firms, and Al-Wabel Trading Company Ltd, a rice miller, have been working together to invent new technological solutions. These are aimed at improving the performance of rice processing. The innovative solutions the company came up with for rice processing can be applied more widely across the agricultural sector. However, these firms have had to overcome regulatory and institutional challenges in the sector. 

<h2>Crossing boundaries</h2>

Digital technologies have also become a part of arts, media and entertainment, in particular in Kenya and Nigeria.

Case studies from <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-04924-9_4">Nigeria</a> show how small and medium-sized new media players benefit from embracing a culture of experimentation, partnership and continuous learning. These businesses have adopted a “mobile first” mindset. They do this by using mobile technology as a resourceful, quick and flexible solution to do business, connect and promote their content. 

The advertising, game development and media companies that took part in the research had all invested substantially in establishing their own systems for sharing data. These firms also embrace the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45152042-the-passion-economy">Passion economy</a> which centres around social causes and <a href="https://europeansting.com/2019/08/29/how-to-turn-africas-manufacturing-sector-into-a-high-tech-powerhouse/">high access to mobile technology</a> “as driving forces of the business”.

Nigeria’s movie industry, too, has benefited from digitisation. The technology has improved production time and quality. It has also helped extend the reach of movies to wider audiences. Foreign investors are taking <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/15/canal-acquires-african-film-studio-rok-from-irokotv-to-grow-nollywood/">greater interest</a> in this <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/07/08/nigerias-nollywood-film-industry-reels-in-foreign-investors.html">fast growing business</a>.

A potential drawback of digital technology in the arts is that cultural artefacts created digitally can also appear in many places at once. So, instead of gaining visibility it is actually lost in the digital crowd. But <a href="http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/31756/">Kenyan artists</a> have managed to use social media networks to build their own “cultural capital” and gain access to physical galleries.

<h2>Innovation hubs</h2>

There’s also been an increase in the number of digital hubs across the sub continent. But do they really help business to start up and survive?

The number of innovation hubs in Africa has grown sharply. There’s BusyInternet and <a href="https://hubtel.com">SMSGH Solutions</a> in Ghana; <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-57878-5_3">Erik Hersman’s iHub and Safaricom’s M-PESA</a> in Kenya; and Nigeria’s Yaba, a suburb of Lagos labelled the country’s Silicon Valley.

A chapter in <a href="https://www.hiig.de/publication/innovation-hubs-in-africa-what-do-they-really-do-for-digital-entrepreneurs/">our book</a> discusses the social complexity of engaging these hubs. In Accra, the Ghanaian capital, hubs could not provide support that is relevant to local digital entrepreneurs’ circumstances. Entrepreneurs in Harare thought that hubs “wasted precious resources”. Most hubs on the subcontinent also appear to make little contribution to the creation of new businesses. 

Perhaps <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/to_augment_techs_transformation_of_sub_saharan_africa_impact_investors_should_focus_on_the_startup_ecosystem#">“impact-oriented” investors</a> who are passionate about the region should assist digital hubs to make the necessary changes to how they operate.

Local conditions and culture can shape the “ecosystems” in which businesses operate. Some of these conditions, such as corruption, are hostile to business efficiency. The <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/inside-africas-bid-digital-economy">challenges</a> are most pronounced in the communications, transport, and energy networks. Much of the region’s infrastructure is inefficient, and more than three-quarters of the <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/sub-saharan-africa-s-future-linked-to-technology/1556198">population remains offline</a>.

Take Nigeria’s movie industry. It needs more than <a href="https://guardian.ng/business-services/bank-sees-opportunity-in-lending-to-creative-sector/">investment</a>. It also needs government to make regulatory changes to protect the creative sector. Government should also prioritise the development of movie industry skills. The same can be said about <a href="https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/09/20/latest-nigeria-music-industry-pricewaterhouse-coopers/">the music industry</a>. 

<h2>Afrocentric digital solutions</h2>

Overall, the book highlights that in a region with multiple social, environmental, economic and political challenges there is a need for more interrogation into how both incumbent and new players in sub-Saharan Africa are shaping the landscape with a view to meeting the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a>.

Digital technologies, as some of our case studies show, can play an important role in transforming African economies. However, digital technology solutions must not just be mere adaptations of dominant Western services and products. They must be aimed at meeting the sub-continent’s needs. In this regard, there’s a lot to learn from Japan. 

Demand for technology after the Second World War resulted in the development of a plethora of advanced solutions which secured Japan’s status as an innovator. 
There are promising new ventures such as <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/14/africa/google-ai-center-accra-intl/index.html">Google’s Artificial Intelligence lab</a> in Ghana – the company’s first in Africa. This is a centre of research into digital solutions to Africa’s problems.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120005/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elvira-bolat-392016">Elvira Bolat</a>, Principal Academic in Marketing, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/bournemouth-university-1215">Bournemouth University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nasiru-taura-773412">Nasiru Taura</a>, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/bournemouth-university-1215">Bournemouth University</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-technologies-are-transforming-african-businesses-but-obstacles-remain-120005">original article</a>.

Digital technologies are transforming African businesses, but what are the obstacles that remain?

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kif-leswing/">Kif Leswing</a>



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=AAPL">Apple</a>’s iPhone launch on Tuesday didn’t shock anyone.



The company launched new iPhones a few months ahead of the critical holiday season, as it has done every fall since 2011. The new iPhone 11 models feature faster chips, better cameras, and longer-lasting batteries than the 2018 models — solid improvements, but not a revolution.



The most important announcement Apple made on Tuesday was about price. Two years after Apple broke new high-end ground with its first $1000 iPhone, Apple reduced the price of its least expensive current-year iPhone. When the iPhone 11 goes on sale for $699, it will be $50 less than the phone it’s replacing, the iPhone XR.



The iPhone price decrease gives Apple a new way to get new customers into its system of connected products. It’s a move that makes sense as iPhone unit sales peaked in 2015 and haven’t fully recovered. (Apple doesn’t even report iPhone unit sales anymore.)



The online services Apple launched on Tuesday were also lower in price than expected, and give Apple a way to entice new customers with content that’s more expensive or impossible to get elsewhere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Not everyone needs all the bells and whistles</h2>



$699 for the iPhone 11 is a significant price drop, especially after Apple raised the price of its second-best new phone from $699 for the iPhone 8 in 2017 to $749 for the XR last year. Apple’s high-end phones, the “Pro” models, still start at $999 and $1099.



The new iPhone 11 has a better camera than last year, and a faster processor, but most people will never notice the difference. Smartphone cameras have been very good for a few years and while some apps need a lot of processing power, some of the most common apps, like Facebook, or Snapchat, or Uber, don’t.



Apple also dropped the price of last year’s iPhone XR to $599, showing how price drops can trickle down the lineup as Apple likes to keep older phones around as low-cost models.



That’s exactly what it’s doing with its Watch hardware, too.



Apple’s newest watch, the Series 5, sports a screen you don’t have to turn on to check the time, the more important announcement might be that that Apple is now selling the 2-year-old Series 3 for $199 — much closer to an impulse buy than the $399 or $499 for the new models.



“While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as Watch 5, it will attract many first-time buyers,” Moor Insights analyst Patrick Moorhead said in a DM.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Services surprise on price</h2>



Apple also revealed how much it was going to charge for its streaming TV service, Apple TV+, when it launches later this year:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/10/apple-tv-pricing-vs-disney-hulu-cbs-and-others.html" class="">$4.99 per month</a>, significantly less than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=DIS" class="">Disney</a>+ or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=NFLX" class="">Netflix,</a>&nbsp;although with significantly less content. Apple’s also going to give users a free year with purchase on an Apple device, which will make the first year free for most prospective subscribers, except Jennifer Aniston fans who are committed to Windows and Android. (The service’s flagship program is a drama called “The Morning Show” starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carrell.)



“The biggest news was the $4.99 price point for what look to be some unique titles. I do believe Apple will have at least one hit across the catalog, making it a no-brainer for customers in every ecosystem,” Morehead said.



Apple also introduced a surprisingly inexpensive $5 per month all-you-can-game subscription called Apple Arcade that parents can share with kids for free. If the games are competitive, that’s a great value for families — instead of buying a single console game for $60, you can get a year of access to a bundle of games for the same price.



“The family-friendly titles and cross Apple platform are nice, but I believe the biggest news was the $4.99 per month price point for an all-family plan,” Moorhead said. “For premium Apple customers, this will be a no-brainer.”



Indeed, dedicated Apple users — “premium Apple customers” — remain incredibly interested in whatever Apple has to launch. Tuesday’s device launch was streamed on YouTube, and over 1.5 million people watched it concurrently. 1.5 million tweets about the event were sent, according to statistics from Sprout Social.



But the main question after Tuesday’s event is whether the price cut for the iPhone 11 will entice new customers to buy a new iPhone, eventually leading to them buying a new Apple Watch or paying for Apple TV+ — or whether Apple’s simply introducing more options for people who already live in Apple’s world.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/10/iphone-11-top-feature-price.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/10/iphone-11-top-feature-price.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

The most important feature of the new iPhone 11 is its price

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/taylor-locke/">Taylor Locke</a> 



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/bill-gates/">Bill Gates</a>’ biggest fear is that his brain will “stop working.” That’s what Gates says in the upcoming three-part Netflix documentary“Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates.”



With the documentary, which drops Sept. 20, director and executive producer Davis Guggenheim aims to find out what goes on inside the mind of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/#57df5cba689f" class="">second richest man in the world</a>. But some things about how Gates’ brain works can be gleaned from the series short&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv29JKmHNY" class="">trailer</a>, released Thursday.



Gates is a&nbsp;″multiprocessor” says his wife Melinda Gates in the trailer. “He will be reading something else but then processing at the same time. It’s chaos!” Melinda says.



Gates&nbsp;″thrives on complexity,” Melinda says. “He makes aframework in his mind, then he starts slotting in the information. If something doesn’t line up, he gets really frustrated.”



“It’s scary,” says Melinda.“But when Bill stills himself, he can pull ideas together that other people can’t see.”



The idea of having a “framework” is something Gates has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/how-bill-gates-remembers-what-he-reads.html" class="">talked about himself</a>.



When explaining how he remembers what he reads, Gates told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xwh88cI_d8" class="">Quartz</a>:“If you read enough, there’s a similarity between things that make it easy, because this thing is like this other thing. If you have a broad framework, then you have a place to put everything.”



“At first it is very daunting,” Gates told Quartz, “but then as you get the kind of scope, then all these pieces fit in.



“It’s fun to say, okay, this is where this belongs and does this contradict something I knew before? And I better look that up, I better figure it out.”



According to the documentary trailer, Gates looks at problems from usual angles, which allows him to innovate, and “he’s at his best when the deck is stacked against him” — skills that come in handy as he tries to tackle some of the world’s most difficult problems like disease and poverty.



In addition to giving a small glimpse into Gates’ thinking, the trailer for the documentary also gives away some fun facts: Gates’ favorite food is a hamburger, he doesn’t eat breakfast and dogs are his favorite animal.



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HBEDE1yLopw?start=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/how-bill-gates-brain-works-netflix-documentary.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/how-bill-gates-brain-works-netflix-documentary.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

This is how Bill Gates’ brain works

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/elon-musk-computers-will-surpass-us-in-every-single-way.html">Jordan Novet </a>



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=TSLA">Tesla</a> CEO <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Elon Musk</a> on Wednesday said that computers are getting smarter than humans in more and more spheres and that the trend will continue.



“We will be far, far surpassed in every single way. I guarantee it,” Musk said to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/jack-ma/" class="">Jack Ma</a>, chairman of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BABA" class="">Alibaba</a>, at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.



The comments highlight an evolving landscape in technology, including in artificial intelligence — an area&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/17/what-is-artificial-intelligence.html" class="">technology companies are tapping</a>&nbsp;to enhance their products and sell to businesses.



Musk pointed to advances in chess and the Chinese board game of Go as evidence of progress in AI.



“Your cell phone could crush the world champion of chess, literally,” Musk told Ma.



company is seeking to draw on AI for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/elon-musk-brain-machine-startup-neuralink-plans-human-trials-in-2020.html" class="">augmenting people’s cognitive capabilities</a>&nbsp;with brain-machine interfaces. The company is not there yet, though.



“The first thing we should assume is we are very dumb,” Musk said. “We can definitely make things smarter than ourselves.”



Ma had a different view, suggesting that a computer has never spawned a human being, or even a mosquito.



“I’ve never in my life, especially [in the] last two years, when people talk about AI, human beings will be controlled by machines,” he said. “I never think about that. It’s impossible.”



And Ma said that he does not want to play chess or Go against a machine. These games were designed for people to play against each other, he said.



“I’ll be happy to see two computers fight each other,” Ma added.



The Tesla chief has spoken previously about AI. In 2017&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/04/elon-musk-says-global-race-for-ai-will-be-most-likely-cause-of-ww3.html" class="">he suggested</a>&nbsp;that competition among nations in AI could lead to World War III.



Tesla has sought to do more in AI. Musk revealed that Tesla was working on a custom AI chip&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/08/elon-musk-talks-up-teslas-upcoming-artificial-intelligence-hardware.html" class="">in 2017</a>, and last month he said the automaker would “most likely” start retrofitting older vehicles with its chips by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/8/20685873/tesla-fsd-chip-upgrade-2019-install-hw2-full-self-driving" class="">the end of 2019</a>.



In 2015 Musk co-founded <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/22/microsoft-invests-1-billion-in-elon-musks-openai.html">OpenAI</a> as an AI research nonprofit. He <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/elon-musk-is-leaving-the-board-of-openai.html">left the board</a> last year. He said in a tweet earlier this year that OpenAI and Tesla were at times both trying to hire the same people, and that he and OpenAI didn’t always see eye to eye.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Also, Tesla was competing for some of same people as OpenAI &amp; I didn’t agree with some of what OpenAI team wanted to do. Add that all up &amp; it was just better to part ways on good terms.&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1096989482094518273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/elon-musk-computers-will-surpass-us-in-every-single-way.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/elon-musk-computers-will-surpass-us-in-every-single-way.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Elon Musk: Computers will surpass us ‘in every single way’

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The Mozambican government formally launched an exchange offer for its defaulted 2023 Eurobond on Tuesday, seeking the consent of bondholders for a restructuring that would ease pressure on its strained public finances.



Mozambique said in May it had agreed a restructuring deal “in principle” with the majority of the holders of the dollar-denominated bond, one of the instruments at the centre of a hidden debt scandal that triggered a currency collapse.



In the exchange offer, Mozambique said settlement of the restructuring of the bond was expected to occur on Sept. 30, if the offer was approved by at least 75 percent of bondholders.



Reporting by Alexander Winning and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Alison Williams

Mozambique launches restructuring offer for 2023 Eurobond, what you need to know

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/karen-gilchrist/">Karen Gilchrist</a>



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/search/?query=Artificial%20intelligence">Artificial intelligence</a> and <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/cloud-computing/">cloud computing</a> are terms once reserved for the realms of science fiction. But, today, they’ve become an increasingly important — and lucrative — fixture of the employment landscape.



“Some of the top skills we’re seeing that are in great demand are artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing,” Feon Ang, vice president for talent and learning solutions in Asia Pacific at professional networking site&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=LNKD" class="">LinkedIn</a>.



The demand applies globally. However, it especially pertains to the <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/linkedin-these-are-the-most-in-demand-skills-jobs-in-asia-pacific.html">most sought-after skills in Asia Pacific</a>, which is currently suffering a “brain drain,” whereby talented workers are relocating overseas for better socio-economic prospects, Ang told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” Tuesday.



Tech skills should not be viewed in isolation, though — especially given the changing nature of technology.



By some measures, the average skill now lasts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/20/creative-skills-critical-to-protect-workers-from-automation-expert.html" class="">just six years</a>, which means that workers should be well-equipped with the skills to adapt to the changing work environment.



Such so-called soft skills include <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/21/future-of-work-these-5-traits-pose-the-biggest-skills-gap-linkedin.html">critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving</a>, noted Ang.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CNBC-.png" alt="" class="wp-image-343463" width="436" height="526"/></figure></div>



Increasingly, employers and governments are looking at ways to prepare their workforce for such shifts in the jobs landscape.



Amazon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/11/amazon-plans-to-spend-700-million-to-retrain-a-third-of-its-workforce-in-new-skills-wsj.html" class="">announced last month</a>&nbsp;that it plans to invest $700 million to retrain a third of its workforce. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/andrew-yang-on-google-amazon-helping-pay-for-his-ubi-plan.html" class="">rallying support for a universal basic income</a>&nbsp;to help Americans cope with volatile future work prospects.



Non-profit organizations, such as international training academy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.womenwhocode.com/" class="">Women Who Code</a>, are also cropping up to address growing skills gaps.



Women Who Code provides training and support from women pursuing careers in tech specifically. But the firm’s CEO, Alaina Percival, told CNBC Tuesday that more companies should be providing training, regardless of whether or not their employees’ work is directly technical.



“This really needs to be done more broadly and it needs to be starting at even younger ages,” said Percival. “Every industry is becoming a technology industry. There aren’t enough highly skilled workers to fill the current market needs.”



However, the responsibility for picking up new skills also falls to individuals, said Ang.



She said the growing availability of free training courses has made accessing education much simpler.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/" class="">LinkedIn Learning</a>, for instance, hosts a wide range of video-based courses, she noted. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 free — or partially free — programs from&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/1437623/600-free-online-courses-you-can-take-from-universities-worldwide/" class="">a consortium of 800 universities are also available online</a>&nbsp;via a scheme called Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).



“It’s important for companies to continue to invest in their people so that they are upskilling and reskilling their people to keep up with the roles that are in demand,” said Ang.



“But, at the same time, people need to continue to invest in themselves and have a growth mind set,” she said.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/22/linkedin-ai-big-data-cloud-computing-among-top-future-tech-skills.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/22/linkedin-ai-big-data-cloud-computing-among-top-future-tech-skills.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

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