Contributor: John Bishop, Secretary’s Department
In the first of a series of seminars focusing on innovation, technology, and their transformative effects on our lives, the Managing Director engaged Walter Isaacson in a wide‑ranging conversation about the history of innovation and its changing nature in the digital age.
Key Points:
- Throughout history, technological innovation has been accompanied by anxiety about job destruction. Time and again, these fears have proven to be misguided, as new technologies inevitably give rise to new industries and job opportunities. Nevertheless, these fears must be recognized and managed.
- While the Bretton Woods institutions represent a model of post‑war innovation, the gains from this world order have not been shared equally, making it critical to refresh these institutions. The Bretton Woods institutions must help create a financial system that does not work only for elites, and a digital revolution that brings people together.
- Drawing on examples from his recent book, The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, Isaacson highlighted that “innovation is a team sport.” The great advances of the digital revolution—the microchip, the computer, and the internet—are products of a collaborative process for which no individual could take credit.
- Rather than viewing humans and technology as locked in a zero‑sum game, it is more productive to recognize that the great advances of our time have arisen from the collaboration and interface between humans and technology.
- Creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to connect science to the arts and humanities will be instrumental to the future of innovation. Those who learn to collaborate across disciplines will thrive in the digital economy.
- Isaacson advocated an overhaul of the U.S. educational system akin to the establishment of the land‑grant universities, free high school, and the G.I. Bill. He recommended that the U.S. government provide free education from pre‑kindergarten through grade 14.
- Isaacson identified pre‑kindergarten through high school education, finance, health care, and genetic engineering as industries ripe for disruption.
- In response to a question from the audience about the conditions that foster an environment of innovation, Lagarde cited recent IMF research that showed that trade and investment are critical to boosting productivity. Legacies from the financial crisis, most notably debt, make it difficult to generate productivity gains.
Quotes:
“The movement of people, the flowing of ideas, and sharing of views is very conducive to innovation.” Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
“The great innovation of the digital age, of the web, of the internet is that it decentralizes and distributes authority as opposed to handing it from the top down.” Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, Aspen Institute
“Every great innovation is done in a collaborative way between humans and machines; between teams of people; between teams of people, the government, and academia. That’s one of the things that we’re starting to lose these days—the notion that innovation is a team sport, that creativity requires collaboration from all sectors.” Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, Aspen Institute
“It’s true that [when it comes to] the benefits that have come from this new economy, we’ve had policies that have not allowed people equally to share in the prosperity of the 1945 to 1949 global system.” Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, Aspen Institute
“Don’t believe that if people just learn coding they’ll be fine. Knowing the humanities, knowing history, arts, literature, and creativity—it’s the connection of the life sciences, the creative arts, and digital technology that will drive future jobs.” Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, Aspen Institute
