Yair Landau,
Former President, Sony Pictures Digital; former Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Greg Papadopoulos,
Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development, Sun Microsystems Inc.
Stephen Pawlowski,
Intel Senior Fellow; Chief Technology Officer, Digital Enterprise Group, and General Manager for Architecture and Planning, Intel Corp.
Shane Robison,
Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, HP
Moderator:
Gordon Crovitz, Columnist and former Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
Will Google still be relevant in 10 years? What lies ahead for technology? Is Wiki the new wave for education?
Moderator Gordon Crovitz launched a discussion on Computing′s Next Playground by asking a panel of technologists to identify areas where technology drives opportunities for growth and progress.
Greg Papadopoulos predicted that the connection between the physical world of atoms and the digital world of patterns is the direction of the new digital age. He described the current shift in technology as a "network revolution — a time we connected everything." Stephen Pawlowski said the changing computing paradigm means more connectivity in your house and benefits to the smart grid but greater challenges to information security. Shane Robinson agreed that innovation is now focused on communication and collaboration, such as YouTube, while past innovations targeted productivity.
"Facebook and YouTube are just the beginning," Yair Landau said. Facebook has empowered people because services are simple and communicating is easy. YouTube allows for mass customized consumption. It is the beginning of a global migration from text to video, Landau said, and it will transform how the world communicates.
Search technology is another opportunity for innovation, some panelists said. "Today you search a sea of information, but tomorrow search will be done for you," Robinson said. He thinks future technology will know user preferences and navigate the sea of information for users. Papadopoulos agreed, saying the next wave of search technology would even interpret the meaning of your question in the context of your location.
Innovative technologies that use crowdsourcing, such as Wikipedia, were also discussed. Crowdsourcing relies on many experts, and Robinson said the predictive crowdsourcing models created by HP are more accurate than normal models. Crovitz demonstrated the ease of using Wikipedia, arranging for the IT staff to create a Wiki entry for the Milken Institute during the panel discussion.
Papadopoulos predicted a dramatic shift to storing data in technological clouds, which may be safer than at home. Pawlowski said digital information can be vulnerable, so one obstacle will be establishing trust that information will be protected in clouds.
The economic downturn presents tremendous opportunities for more innovation, panelists said. As Papadopoulos noted, "Innovation loves a crisis."
