Watch “The Next Billion,” our forum about the mobile internet in the developing world
Today in New York, we are hosting an event about the billions of people who will connect to the internet for the the first time in the next few years, largely on mobile devices. We’re calling it “The Next Billion,” and you can follow along with the livestream below, starting at 9:30am Eastern Time. The hashtag is #qznextbillion.
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Here’s the schedule for today’s events (Eastern Standard Time):
9:30am: Welcome to the connected world
9:35am: Leapfrogging
If you think you know how people will be communicating three years from now, you’re probably wrong. Some of the most innovative and surprising ways to use mobile technologies will not be found in countries that have had them for years, but among people who have only just started using them. This “leapfrogging” effect is only likely to become more pronounced as the next billion get online. What happens on these frontiers of communication and e-commerce may surprise you. Quartz hosts a talk-show style conversation highlighting the emerging technologies that are defining the future of mobile.
Mike Bell, Intel
10:15am: Quartz interlude
Five questions with Nathan Eagle, Jana
10:35am: Cybersecurity
With a billion new hackers, the world ushers in the era of cyber vigilantism. The surge in mobile technology is making the world’s largest companies-and every country’s critical infrastructure-exponentially more vulnerable to cyber threats. This trend is propelling the issue of cybersecurity from the back office to the boardroom. Consider the rise of the Chief Information Security Officer, whose job is to assume that hackers will get in. How can companies develop a command and control security posture that is creative and agile? Is there a business case for cyber offense? Quartz invites leading cybersecurity experts to discuss the risks of technological dependency and the future of the cyber wars.
Bill Stewart, Booz Allen Hamilton
Break: 11:15–11:30am
11:30am: Online learning
The person sitting next to you just received an MBA by answering questions on their tablet. The increasing demand for online education will have ripple effects in the rich world as well as the developing world. What new apps will emerge to teach literacy as well as primary, secondary and graduate-level university education via mobile devices? Is the future of online learning truly in software, or are hardware and accessibility the key to revolutionizing global education? And what are the downsides of cyber-learning? Quartz invites education innovators from around the world for a special discussion and debate about whether online learning’s future is in hardware, software, or a convergence of the two.
Neal Taparia, Imagine Easy Solutions
12:30pm: Quartz interlude
Five questions with Susan Athey, Microsoft
Break: 12:50–1:40pm
1:40pm: A billion revolutionaries
A special photography presentation from Platon
1:55pm: Cheat sheet
Five things that have made me sit up and listen so far
2:00pm: Quartz interlude
Five questions with David Gilboa, Warby Parker
2:20pm: Global commerce
The next billion might re-energize the world economy-or just give it a bad shake-up. What will happen to businesses when there are a billion new customers in the marketplace? Online commerce at this scale will open new channels of economic growth for individuals as well as multinational corporations. What does the coming wave of connectivity tell us about class mobility and the global marketplace? Will emerging markets -specifically India, China, and parts of Latin America-see a rise in the middle class? And, what strategies are necessary to seize this opportunity wisely?
Venkatesh Bala, The Cambridge Group
2:50pm: Quartz interlude
A conversation on global startups with Jalak Jobanputra, Future Perfect Ventures, and Christopher M. Schroeder, author, Startup Rising
3:20pm: Digital Finance
The next billion are more likely to have phones than bank accounts. What happens when 1 billion more people wired with mobile devices begin to require online financial services? The complete reinvention of banking as we know it. Won’t this make financial regulation more complex and the world financial system more prone to instability? Will new digital currencies finally become real? What are the implications for cybersecurity? Quartz invites senior executives from the world’s leading financial services institutions to discuss and debate the future of finance and the impact of digital money.
Claire Alexandre, Vodafone
4:05pm: Social Cities
Welcome to Jakarta, the world’s most active Twitter city. The physical and virtual worlds are converging. Consider Jakarta, which is the world’s number one Twitter city in terms of posted tweets, mostly because people in traffic jams have nothing better to do. In addition to coming online, the next billion are moving into cities, which will require massive investments in both physical and digital infrastructure. What does all this mean? Quartz hosts a talk show-style discussion featuring leading designers, technologists and futurists to explore the challenges and opportunities of wired cities.
Chinedu Echeruo, HopStop
4:55pm: Crowdsourcing
Companies will now have 5 billion people to test their good ideas-and bad ones. Open innovation, the practice of crowdsourcing business solutions and new ideas outside the four walls of a company, has revolutionized the way companies and governments innovate. Will this trend continue? Yes-and at massive scale. However, the way companies manage the potential of a billion more innovators could either spark breakthrough innovations or ignite mass confusion. Hear ideas about the evolution of problem solving as Quartz invites today’s leading experts on crowdsourcing and open innovation for a rotating interview to unpack how connectivity and collaboration are disrupting traditional business practices.
Peter Bale, CNN International
5:35pm: Closing keynote interview
The “cognitive surplus” of the next billion, with Clay Shirky