The second cognitive revolution is upon us

At the first Asia ICT Innovation Forum held in Singapore recently, a slew of international thought leaders spoke on their views on "Building a Better Connected World". Not surprisingly, the core issues were around connectivity and how to get internet access to the billions still not connected. But this was balanced by a number of speakers stressing the importance of data analysis and the move to cognitive systems to get the best out of being connected.Getting value from big chunks of data has delivered companies like Facebook, Google, Uber and Airbnb massive valuations – they understand how to turn data into value and traditional companies are starting to figure that out also. Alan Marcus, Head of ICT Agenda at the World Economic Forum (WEF), focused his presentation on the value of Big Data and moving from IT to DT (Data Technology). He prefaced his talk by stating that the WEF believes we are entering the fourth industrial revolution – the convergence of technologies that build upon the digital revolution.