The fourth industrial revolution (4IR), empowerment through technology, Australia’s talent shortage and emerging technologies.
It was all up for discussion as ACS held its fourth annual Reimagination Thought Leaders’ Summit, this year in Melbourne for the first time.
The theme of the day was ‘The Blueprint to Success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ with leaders in technology, government, media and education all presenting.
Opening proceedings for the day, ACS President Yohan Ramasundara spoke of the role of the technology industry in creating the future.
“Those of us gathered here are shaping the fourth industrial revolution,” he told the crowd.
“Like all colossal endeavors we are defining the way forward. Defining is a good word because we cannot exactly say how tomorrow will unfold. There’s no agreed single purpose or a collective mindset.
“ACS’ vision is for Australia to be a world-leader in technology talent which fosters innovation and creates new forms of value.
“We want to ensure that Australia has its capacity and capability in technology skills to realise this vision and the ACS continues to be a catalyst for this change.”
ACS CEO Andrew Johnson welcomes participants to Reimagination. Photo: Kat Stanley Photography
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also had a message for the audience.
“I’ve often said my job is to keep Australia safe, keep Australia secure and keep Australians together and prosperous,” he said via video message.
“And that’s your job too. Whether it be fighting cyber crime, our national security or keeping the lights on, your sector is vital to the entire country.”
Investor Steve Baxter at Reimagination. Photo: Kat Stanley Photography
From runways to coding
For the first keynote, the audience of 900+ heard from iOS mobile app software developer, model and actress, Lyndsey Scott.
Scott, who has worked with the likes of Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret, shared how she was able to take lessons from her modelling and acting careers and apply them to her software development.
“I had to learn how to be resilient and accept rejection,” she said about her early modelling career.
“Creativity is something I use in both [coding and acting]. I get to transform into these different characters and tell a story.
“When I’m doing programming I’m also coming up with creative solutions to different problems I encounter.”
Rewriting the business playbook
Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Andrew McAfee this year returned to Reimagination, after previously presenting at the 2016 summit.
His talk ‘Business Advice We Shouldn’t Believe Anymore’ addressed ways businesses can adapt to emerging technologies.
Andrew McAfee at Reimagination. Photo: Kat Stanley Photography
“About once a century a technology or set of technologies comes along and it’s so powerful that it rewrites the business playbook,” he said.
“It actually changes the guidelines of the playbook for running a successful business and succeeding out there in the marketplace.”
He compared current technological advances to previous industrial revolutions and explained “the playbook is being rewritten by technologies.”
