‘Chaos age’ requires futurists to protect business: Panel

JEDDAH: Disruptive technologies are increasingly becoming part of the day-to-day life at personal and professional levels, participants of a panel discussion said Thursday at the Global IT Summit at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
Panel session participants suggested that the involvement of technology in daily life is inevitable and necessary for advancement in science and technology.
“Every single area of science is demanding more computing power,” said Steven Scott CTO of Cray at a panel discussing the future of supercomputing and high performing computing (HPC).
Learning how to thrive in a digitally disruptive world and being able to imagine how advanced technology will affect lives is a must. To Charles Araujo, principal analyst at Intellyx and founder of the Institute for Digital Transformation, the constant exploration of the future is one of the most important things individuals can do as a company.
“Everyone in your organization needs to become a futurist and be someone who is in a constant state of exploration,” he said at a session entitled “Thriving in a Digitally Disrupted World.”
Araujo described today’s age as the “chaos age” where individuals need to imagine the future and be prepared for the intervention of technology.
KAUST is home to Shaheen II, the seventh fastest supercomputer in the world, as announced at the International Computing Conference in Frankfurt in July 2015. It was a seed planted by late King Abdullah.
“What we have accomplished after seven years of existence is remarkable,” said Jean-Lou Chameau, president of KAUST, in a keynote at the second day of the Global IT Summit. “There is no university I believe in modern ages that was able to develop so quickly and so well.”
Chameau said that KAUST is fortunate that the late king had a vision to make an impact. Philanthropy was a cornerstone in sustaining the university where students from around the world pursue their masters and doctorate degrees.
This, he said, gives flexibility to students and researchers to pursue their education given the financial support.
“When I meet with potential candidates here I encourage them to take high risks, try to look at issues you don’t know anything about,” he added.