The use of technology is rising by the day and there is need to embrace open collaborations, as well as defeat the unnecessary fear of adopting new technologies. This was emphasized during the second annual TrustInTech Summit which was hosted by Huawei. The summit was attended by ICT industry experts, academia and economists from around the world. The world has faced unfamiliar and unprecedented challenges in 2020 and this summit focused on those, and also highlighted the crucial role that technology is playing and will continue to play in societal well being and economic recovery.
Speakers at the summit included Huawei’s Executive Director of the Board and President of the Carrier Business Group, Ryan Ding, international investor Jim Rogers, GSMA CMO Stephanie Lynch-Habib, and others.
In 2020, ICT played a vital role in resuming work and production during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 2020 has witnessed the exponential growth of 5G business applications. Global consultancy firm STL Partners estimated that 5G-enabled scenarios will raise the global GDP by US$1.4 trillion by 2030.
During the virtual, live streamed event, Huawei Carrier Business Group CTO Paul Scanlan said that in 2020, the industry began to accelerate 5G adoption, offering spectrum discounts, innovating business models, and driving industry transformation. That’s never happened in the last 10 years.
Huawei Enterprise’s digital transformation expert Edwin Diender explained how 5G, AI, big data, and cloud computing played a role in pushing for faster drug screening and diagnosis, intelligent monitoring, and remote working and education during the pandemic. 5G will influence consumer-oriented industries such as e-commerce, as well as boosting innovative services like virtual reality and augmented reality.
Several guests at the event commented on early adoption and major technological breakthroughs by saying there has always been a mistrust and fear of new things. For example, during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, as there was fear for automated production, factories were destroyed. As the events in 2020 led to more isolation and nationalism, there’s been a rise against transnational cooperation, and more countries are closing their doors and decoupling from each other over technology.
“Anybody taking a unilateral approach to anything, certainly to technology and economics, are going to have problems. Foreign policy should be around opening. We need to avoid protectionism, especially in technology.”
Jim Rogers, International Investor
“An open and trusted ecosystem is required for everyone to share the prosperity brought by technology. To do so, the ICT industry needs to continue adopting unified technical and security standards. Given the current complex geopolitical environment”
Ryan Ding, Huawei’s Executive Director of the Board.
Politics should stay away from technical issues. We need to remain fair and open to drive technological cooperation. Industry cooperation is not a zero-sum game. If an isolated approach is adopted now, while new technology is unlocking social and business value at a faster rate, the victim will not be one company.