CDL|WKF

by Adam George

October 16, 2014

At the 15th annual World Knowledge Forum, three major pioneers of the recent Bitcoin phenomenon gathered to enlighten the audience on this new cryptocurrency. Jinyoung Lee Englund, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Bitcoin Foundation, was joined by Roger Ver, CEO of Memory Dealers and one of the first investors with Bitcoin, and Jonathan Mark Southurst, the Editor for the Asian Region of CoinDesk.

Mr. Ver described Bitcoin as “indestructible, uncontrollable money that anybody, anywhere in the world can instantly use without having to ask for permission.” 

A virtual form of currency marked by its lack of regulation and adamantly supported by its users, or “miners,” Bitcoin could enable anyone in the world to make any kind of transaction with any other user if it achieves widespread adoption. 

“The supply of Bitcoin is limited, but not because of politicians.  It’s limited by the laws of mathematics,” Mr. Ver stated.  “I think everyone in this room is smart enough to know that we can trust mathematics more than we can trust politicians.”

After Mr. Ver examined the utility of Bitcoin, Ms. Englund focused on how the essence of Bitcoin mirrors the goals President Geun Hye Park presented in her 2013 joint address to the Korean congress. Ms. Englund firmly believes that Bitcoin can help Korea maintain the center stage of innovation.

“The creative economy is what we needed to jump-start Korea’s economy again,” Ms. Englund avowed, echoing President Park.  “China is quickly eclipsing Korea in innovation; Korea needs new ideas in order to jumpstart its economy.”

Ms. Englund also looked at the benefit of zero regulation within Bitcoin, explaining that with other payments, like credit cards, a third party must always intervene, approve, and record the transaction.  This is not the case for Bitcoin, which has eliminated the necessity for the third party.

“Whenever you take out the middle man, you reduce cost and increase options for the consumer,” she said.

Following Ms. England’s comments, Mr. Southurst addressed some of the negative responses Bitcoin has received and dispelled concerns with the fiat currency.

“There are a lot of people out there who disparage Bitcoin…[but] these are literally the guys who, in the 90s, looked at the Internet and saw no value there,” Mr. Southurst claimed, referring to two prominent individuals who have vocally criticized Bitcoin.   

Mr. Southurst then compared the narrow-minded perception of Bitcoin’s initial stages to that of personal computers in the 1980s: “Everyone approached it with fear and awe, not knowing how to possibly fathom such a creation. But now we can control it, without having to acquire any licenses or approvals. The same will apply to Bitcoin,” Mr. Southurst assured. 

After their opening statements, the panelists converged on the idea that governments should embrace Bitcoin and avoid limiting people’s ability to take part in the virtual transactions.  In fact, Mr. Ver questioned the qualifications of any government that decided to abrogate the use of Bitcoin by its people. 

“Even if there is only one country with a free market exchange of Bitcoin, that will set the market price for everybody else around the world,” he said,  “and anyone with a smartphone will be able to use Bitcoin.”

by Thomas Kwon

October 16, 2014

Speakers:

Xavier Boute, Affiliate Professor of HEC Paris, Academic Dean Saint-Cyr Military Academy

Colonel Cyril Barth, CEO of Saint-Cyr Military Academy Foundation

What do corporate and military leadership have in common? According to Colonel Cyril Barth, CEO of Saint-Cyr Military Academy Foundation, and Xavier Boute, affiliate professor at HEC Paris and academic dean at Saint-Cyr, the overlap is clear. Speaking at the 2014 World Knowledge Forum, Mr. Barth said, “Leadership matters. The way we are leading our teammates is exactly the same. We’ve got to trust others and give them the chance to challenge everything.”

In considering the role of a leader, Mr. Boute posed the question, “What is the relationship between master and servant? Are you a member of the team?”

According to both speakers, there is a disconnect between book learning and practical application. To fill the gap, their academy puts current and future business leaders through a crash course in crisis management involving various simulated missions, such as building bridges, rescuing wounded squad members, and escaping confined rooms.

At first glance, the activities of Saint-Cyr may not seem directly linked to corporate leadership, but to Mr. Barth, this is precisely the point. He explained that for people to properly handle the unknown, they must practice outside of their comfort zone, regardless of context.

“There is a kind of pedagogical approach we have to deal with. If you are just teaching things, if you are just explaining in a room, you won’t be as understood as you can be if you let people do things on their own," he said.

Mr. Boute drove this idea home with a story about a civilian corporate trainee who approached him after what she called a “life-changing” session. After accomplishing an extremely challenging feat during a physically and mentally draining military exercise, she could not explain how she had completed the task. The key, Mr. Boute said, is that she was able to perform in the stressful environment, gaining valuable experience for future situations.

For Mr. Barth, the transformation and adaptation to uncertain circumstances is critical to leadership. He boiled the process down to three key aspects: decision-making, behavior, and empathy.

“If you don’t know what you want to do, if you don’t know where you want to attack, if you don’t know what market you want to win, you can’t ask people to work for you,” he said.

He continued, “If you’re telling what is right and wrong, if you’re explaining things clearly…it will be very, very nice for people. And if you’re not, well, they won’t get a word of what you’re saying.”

Adding to his colleague’s perspective, Mr. Boute shared his own thoughts on the necessary characteristics for leadership, strongly reiterating the themes of trust and teamwork.

“As an officer, I think a good leader has to love the members of their team. Then maybe it will make them work, it will make them work harder,” he said.

For their final point, the gentlemen stressed that leadership is about continuous learning and achieving tasks once thought of as impossible – or not thought of at all.

In spite of the numerous commonalities shared by corporations and armies, Mr. Barth made certain to distinguish the stakes.

by Shelby Dattilo

October 16, 2014

In one of the final panels of the 15th Annual World Knowledge Forum, three prominent speakers in the areas of media and journalism gathered to discuss the burgeoning digital media era. James Kynge, the Emerging Markets Editor at the Financial Times, Jeff Jarvis, Professor at City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, and Reiner Mittelbach, CEO of the Geopolitical Information Service AG, agreed that the outlook is looking bleak for traditional journalism.

The panelists pointed out that the general public now uses search engines, such as Google, to get brief news snippets, as opposed to picking up newspapers. Mr. Kynge, therefore, expressed little hope for the survival of traditional journalism.

“I think that the word ‘journalist’ will be extinct in five years,” he said.

Mr. Mittelbach noted that this extinction of traditional journalism is due in large part to digital media nearly eliminating the time that journalists usually needed to acquire facts, and then deliver that information to the public.

“In many cases, the journalist is some sort of a middle man. In the digital era, I don’t need a middleman,” he said.

The panelists made it clear that the digital era is the key force which is turning the journalism world upside down. Mr. Kynge compared the effects of the digital era on journalism to the digitization of the music industry.

“[Digitization] can wipe out whole industries. All of the value that you create today in music can be wiped out by the fact that digital music can be shared and copied virtually free of charge,” he said.

The main issue the music industry faced during the digital revolution was product distribution. In contrast, the panelists explained that news media had a long standing business model based on a clear distribution network. Businesses put advertisements in papers, papers went out to shops, readers received the papers, and the businesses received the advertisement they paid for.

Mr. Kynge said, “Now this type of distribution can be achieved at almost no cost.”

Whereas the music industry was vexed solely by distribution issues, the field of journalistic media is plagued by issues of content management as well. The lack of barriers to the distribution network has made content so much more important.

“We are facing another digital revolution and this time it isn’t about distribution, it’s about content. What I’m talking about here, in particular, is big data,” Mr. Kynge said.

Big data, according to the panelists, is the ability for internet companies to compile data on each consumer to create a greater picture of customer needs.

“This info is more powerful than anything we've ever seen in the world at this moment,” Mr. Kynge said.

Mr. Jarvis, on the other hand, was optimistic about small data being used as a means to radically increase the value of what newspapers serve people. He used examples such as Google’s traffic application, which uses personal location data and computes it into valuable and relevant information for each individual user.

Mr. Jarvis noted that the more effort that is put into personalizing each user experience, the greater engagement and attention newspapers can receive in return. He pointed out that the push towards user personalization creates a need for journalism to specialize more content so that readers can search for specific subjects more easily.

As Jarvis put it, “Do what you do best and link to the rest.”

The idea of specialization was a point of contention amongst the panelists, but Mr. Mittelbach stressed that nobody should have to pay for general interest news.

“Why should they, there are plenty of places to get it for free,” he added.

by Jeffrey Barg

October 16, 2014

Human invention has depended on fossil fuels for its energy needs for well over 150 years. When the train became the primary mode of shipment, coal was used in massive quantities. Eventually, with the invention of the combustible engine, oil became the energy source for the masses. But now even a schoolchild knows that eventually, those energy sources will be depleted. So the world is left with the problem of finding the next effective, efficient, and long-lasting energy source.

The Smart Energy Revolution panel discussion at the 15th Annual World Knowledge Forum in Seoul provided solid evidence that this new energy source may already have been found.

Among the speakers were Doctor Gunter Pauli, CEO and founder of Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI), Doctor San Yup Lee, dean at KAIST, Seong Hoon Kim, a senior vice president of smart energy business for KT, Jaehong Jeong, director of GE Oil & Gas, and Martin Hauske, CEO of Accenture’s Smart Grid business in the Asia-Pacific. The panel of experts presented their ideas on the current direction of energy resources, creation, and application.

“I, of course, always owe an apology to the orangutan,” Dr. Pauli began. “In 1991, I saw that my biodegradable product was destroying their habitat. I realized it was biodegradable but not sustainable, and that forced me to change my model of business.”

Dr. Pauli has since spearheaded innovations across all disciplines of energy utilization, and went on to outline the myriad projects his companies have been a part of.

“Other industries pride themselves on eliminating jobs, but I don’t,” added Dr. Pauli.

His companies have focused on innovation and revenue creation. He went on to illustrate the various endeavors his company ZERI has undertaken in an effort to create renewable, sustainable resources. One such endeavor includes a water filtration system that works by extracting moisture from the air.

Dr. Pauli seems intent on changing the way the energy industry does business.

“In our organization, it is forbidden to write a business plan. You have to focus on doing things,” he said.

The sector of the energy industry that Mr. Hauske focused on was utilities. Certainly, with more people and more devices that use energy than ever before, the utilities industry is in need of its own share of resources.

“Our focus is on energy conservation, efficiency, substitution, and distribution,” he said. He added that fairly soon, there will be an app for everything, and that everyone’s devices will have to talk to each other. This unprecedented era of interconnectivity will result in more energy consumption through utilities, which his company is focused on providing in new and innovative ways.

General Electric has long been at the forefront of energy utilization and distribution, and Mr. Jeong spoke on GE’s place in the current energy revolution.

“We are trying to connect the Internet of Things, intelligent machines, big data, analytics, and people at work,” explained Mr. Jeong. By combining these five components into one fluid system, GE plans on minimizing unplanned down time and increasing result-oriented contractual services, thereby increasing overall productivity.

Mr. Kim brought the presentation back to the basics, rather than focusing on the creation and distribution of energy. KT is concentrating reducing energy consumption by analyzing customers’ lifestyles.

“Analyzing customer data allows us to use energy more effectively,” explained Mr. Kim. “The data allows us to compare energy consumption with your neighbors, and advise people on how to lower their costs. The difficult part is getting people to heed your advice and reduce their energy footprint.”

The discussion then turned to the newest form of energy creation: biofuels. Dr. Lee elaborated on several new forms of energy creation, including butanol, which is created through the fermentation processes of microorganisms.

Dr. Lee left no doubt about the importance of these biofuels as a cornerstone of future energy consumption.

“It’s not about us. It’s about our children’s children’s children,” said Dr. Lee. He then went on to explain the immense applications of the chemicals, plastics, and fuels produced through the employment of microorganisms.

by Sarah Miles

October 16, 2014

Returning to the World Knowledge Forum four years after delivering the keynote speech at the 2010 forum, Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister of Japan, spoke on the great potential Asia has to take center stage in the 21st century. Dr. Hatoyama was especially adamant about the importance of an agreement for mutual collaboration and interdependence between Japan, China, and Korea.

“Such a grouping would make a great contribution to the stability and prosperity of Asia, and therefore to a more prosperous world as well,” he said.

Dr. Hatoyama demonstrated strong support for the “One Asia” initiative, pointing to evidence both in the past and in the current economic environment that such a joint collective may not be far off.

“Asia has always been a source for rich potential from times of old,” he said, “and the nations of Asia are already strengthening their mutual dependence on each other. The industrial structure between Japan, China, and Korea has already become a single organic body, an entity that can no longer be separated into its formerly separate parts.”

The majority of Dr. Hatoyama’s speech addressed the obstacles facing the realization of “One Asia,” and he was particularly critical of his own country’s policies and behavior in regards to the issue. In his own words, “the lion’s share of the problem lies on Japan’s side.”

Dr. Hatoyama expressed regret that Japan’s political leaders choose to place more priority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, rather than on achieving a free trade agreement with China and Korea. He also blamed Japan’s failure to resolve historical issues for the precarious geopolitical atmosphere in East Asia.

“The single greatest obstacle to forming an East Asian community is the worsening state of Japan’s relationship with Korea and China. We must resolve the historical issues,” he stressed. “It is critical for the side that inflicted pain in the past to fully sympathize with the side that suffered as a result of those actions.”

However, recognizing the difficulties of enacting such a bold platform in Japan, Dr. Hatoyama suggested following the proposal of Korean President Geun-Hye Park, a less demanding strategy to improve relations in the short term.

“If we follow President Park’s proposal of a two track system, whereby discussion of historical problems are split from the discussion of other issues, I believe a Japan-Korea summit may be close,” he said.

The former Prime Minister also recommended a similar strategy for dealing with the many territorial disputes plaguing the East Asian triad, particularly the disputes over Dokdo Island and the Senkaku Islands.

“In my opinion, the Japanese government needs to clearly admit that the islands are disputed territory and agree to consign the resolution of that issue to the wisdom of future leaders. Both sides need to act with great care to avoid touching off any explosive situations. Territory issues cannot be solved simply, so it is better to leave it aside for a while, to leave it to the next generation to decide,” he said.

Dr. Hatoyama also called for a change in the overall attitude of both political leaders and the media in Japan towards their East Asian neighbors, as well as a lessening of the dependence on US-Japan relations.

“Unless there is a change in the attitude of government officials, no matter how things may seem to be okay on the surface level, there may be something different going on under the table,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Hatoyama concluded his speech with a renewed appeal to strive for a Pan-Asian community with the potential for worldwide benefits.

by Jeffrey Barg

October 16, 2014

Imagine you’ve sunk the entirety of your life savings into a company you’ve helped build from the ground up. Through hard work and determination, you’ve built your company into a premium service provider, identified as one of the leading companies in your industry. Then another richer, more powerful company comes along and asks to buy yours for hundreds of millions of dollars, making everyone at your company instantly rich, with plenty of leisure time. Do you say yes?

“I was inclined to say yes,” said Avishai Abrahami, co-founder and CEO of Wix.com. “Everyone would get rich, but everyone also felt it was too early.”

In the end, the answer was no. It was not an easy response to make, though.

“For me personally, I love the beach in Brazil,” he said.

At the 15th Annual World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, Mr. Abrahami gave a speech on the creation and development of Wix, and offered words of wisdom for any prospective entrepreneurs in the audience.

Mr. Abrahami shared his insights about how to find investors.

“The most important message to venture capitalists when you first want to raise money is that you have a big dream,” stated Mr. Abrahami. After all, when the investors devote their finances, they are not purchasing a product, they are buying into your dream, he explained.

“You raise money with your dream,” he said.

On the subject of how to best raise funds, Mr. Abrahami was kind enough to offer some advice.

“The best way to raise money is when you want it but you don’t need it,” he said. After Wix’s initial success, the company found it easier and easier to draw investors into its circle.

Wix is now the fastest growing website builder in the world. Their business model is unique among modern commercial websites, with no salespeople and no commissions among its staff, and it is free to use in its most basic form. Revenue is generated through website upgrades such as increases in data usage and the elimination of ads.

Mr. Abrahami believes that the success of his company is derived from its capacity to deliver customers exactly what they need.

“What we sell now is designing something, the ability to create what you want,” Mr. Abrahami explained.

Wix’s success led to several other companies attempting to purchase it, but Mr. Abrahami, along with his associates, decided to stay the course. Eventually the company went public, offering an IPO to overwhelming success.

“The best part is you still have the same chair, in the same office, at the same company, working with the same people,” said Mr. Abrahami. In the end, the company saw the IPO not as an endgame, but as another part of a successful journey.

“An IPO is just a step in the road, unlike a sale, which is the end of the road,” Mr. Abrahami said.

by Adam George

October 16, 2014

Dr. Liu Qiao started off his discussion on the financial history of China by changing the title of his lecture at the 15th Annual World Knowledge Forum to “A Tale of Two Finances: Finance 2.0 in China.” Dr. Qiao explored the nature of China’s past economical depression, and then shifted focus to the positive future in China’s grasp. 

“Right now, there are more than 50 million companies in China, but only about 10 percent can get financial support from the current financial system,” Dr. Qiao explained. 

A lack of efficiency and a focus on fame in the form of the Forbes 500 list has propelled the Chinese companies into a downward spiral as of late.  Companies only looked at achieving a certain number in sales rather than taking into account the importance of investments and the return on invested capital (ROIC). 

“Greater China has 100 companies entering this 500 list, accounting for 20 percent of this total list…Of the 100 companies, 16 of them are losing money; they don’t have any profit, but they’re so big and so huge that they can’t fail….The financial system supports this kind of mentality, so it boosts lots of credits to their size,” Dr. Qiao said.

While this method for finance seemed to work initially, the economy currently grapples with the repercussions of poor investing and returning.  Banking systems normally provide financial loans for starting companies, but banking unfortunately accounts for a large part of China’s debt in the GDP.  Because of poor investment decisions, banks can no longer fund startups as much. 

“Finance 1.0 is a trouble maker, so we need a new financial reform and system in China,” Dr. Qiao said.  He then looked to ways Chinese companies have begun to put an end to this and embrace a new China 2.0.

Dr. Qiao assured the audience that a new surge of finance has been detected in China.  Peer-to-peer startups, or P2Ps, are small loaning companies that advise customers on where and how to invest their money efficiently. 

“[The] cost is very high, as high as 30 percent, but it’s efficient; [it] takes a couple of days to process an application and then receive the loan,” he explained. 

Because of this efficiency, other companies have caught on and have taken it one step further.  Alibaba, for example, advises customers on how to efficiently invest any extra money they have in their account and generate a relatively higher yield in return.  The achievement can also be viewed online, giving the customer a stronger sense of autonomy and success at their own fingertips. 

“This whole process takes 3-4 minutes; a very pleasant experience,” Dr. Qiao said of Alibaba, which sets the company apart from its competitors. 

Dr. Qiao’s appreciation of Alibaba and the P2Ps in China demonstrated his optimism for the 2.0 finance plan and encouraged more support for innovations within the country.  Multiple municipalities compose the nation of China and each can have a large influence on the economy.  By finding a way to support innovations in this area, more ventures like Alibaba can lead China to its coveted 2.0 finance. 

by Thomas Kwon

October 16, 2014

Speakers:

Eric John, President, Boeing Korea, Vice President, Boeing International

Siow Yue Chia, Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has a tight deadline to fully establish its ASEAN Economic Community: December 31, 2015.  In a presentation at the 2014 World Economic Forum, Eric John, president of Boeing Korea, vice president of Boeing International, and former U.S. ambassador to Thailand, and Siow Yue Chia, senior research fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, discussed the ten-nation cooperative’s progress thus far. 

“You don’t have any conversation about regional institutions in East Asia that don’t begin with ASEAN,” said Mr. John.

Dr. Chia began by highlighting the strengths of ASEAN.  She named robust economic growth, a young growing population with 60 percent under the age of 35, and an abundance of natural resources, among other things.

“ASEAN as a region has been very dynamic in economic growth, so the growth has been on average 5.3 percent since 2009,” she said.

Another boon, Mr. John added, is the fact of outside parties negotiating solely with ASEAN.  He gave the example of open skies agreements liberalizing strict rules in the aviation industry, which have resulted in projections that over the next twenty years, of the 36,000 airplanes sold globally, 14,000 will be sold in the Asia-Pacific region, driven by ASEAN carriers.

“With ten separate countries, it becomes very complex…the freedoms of open skies agreements have led to an incredibly robust market,” Mr. John said. 

Of course, ASEAN also has its shortcomings.  Dr. Chia outlined the widening development gap amongst member countries, limited governmental harmonization, and vulnerability to external shocks.  She believes that this can lead to increased fracturing and intra-regional competition.

To support her point, Mr. John cited Indonesia’s step back in governance in removing local Parliamentary elections, Thailand’s history of military coups, and allegations of widespread corruption in many ASEAN nations.

“You’ve got a plethora of religions.  You have ten countries, but dozens of languages.  You’ve got ten countries with separate economies, but that have a lot of overlapping competitive interests,” he acknowledged.

Overall, however, the two remain optimistic.

Dr. Chia singled out the ASEAN+1 free trade agreements with China, South Korea, and Japan as indicators of progress toward the four objectives of a single market and production base, a competitive economic region, equitable economic development, and integration into the global economy.

“There is some trepidation that we will not be able to achieve, or set up to achieve, but the general conclusion is we are moving in the direction,” she said.

There has also been encouragement from other sources.  Dr. Chia admitted, “We have been beating ourselves in the last few years ever since the ASEAN scorecard was published…but outsiders tell us, ‘don’t be so hard on yourselves.’”

Mr. John took a moment to recognize the value of even having such a cooperative in place, without which agreements and dialogue might not occur at all.

“I would say actually one great strength that ASEAN has is simply that it exists.  A lot of times that’s taken for granted,” he said.

In evaluating the accomplishments of ASEAN, Mr. John considered the alternative.

by Shelby Dattilo

October 16, 2014

The risk of failure for startup enterprises is astronomically high, and IT startups are especially at risk of failure due to inefficient quality of marketing. In an insightful panel discussion at the 2014 World Knowledge Forum, Eric Jackson, CapLinked CEO and Co-founder, and Ken Miller, Gem COO, enlightened the audience with information on marketing and risk management for startups.

The discussion began with Mr. Jackson and Mr. Miller explaining that the most critical things startups need to be aware of are product features and customer happiness.

Mr. Miller noted that really good, developed features are best.

“[Developed features] are much more important than suffocating your customers with an endless amount of features that they don’t understand or need yet,” he said.

Both panelists agreed that at the time of launching, a product must be the minimal viable product (MVP) with the smallest set of features, adding that the startup should focus on developing those features more fully as opposed to attacking too many ideas at once.

The panelists noted that this will also aid in boosting the quality of products. If startups cut corners on quality control at their inception, they will invariably accumulate technical debt down the road, causing problems in software they must fix later.

“If you don’t build testing and quality assurance into everything you’re doing, your product will fail,” Mr. Jackson said.

Mr. Jackson pointed out that another pitfall of many startups is the assumption that they will gain a broader customer base if they start out as a free service and shift to charging for the same service later. He discussed how his own company, CapLinked, started out as a premium service but later moved to a subscription model to acquire business from more large scale enterprises.

“Free or premium isn’t always necessarily a good business model,” Mr. Jackson said, because it can be difficult to scale up later.

The panelists also focused a lot of attention on common perceptions about staffing in startups. In regards to making traditional hires versus hiring friends, Mr. Miller noted that startups involve a lot of time and hard work.

“Hire people who you trust and want to be around, because you will spend most of your time at your startup,” he said.

Mr. Miller also clarified that more staff does not equal more productivity. He stated that it is imperative to stay focused on building the minimal viable product (MVP) that customers want.

As he put it, “Stay lean, hire wise.”

In regards to staffing a sales team, Mr. Jackson stated that is is a myth that startups should hire experienced salesmen early on. Many startup founders may believe that experienced salesmen can help figure out how to position their product in the marketplace, but Mr. Jackson pointed out that this is not always the best route.

“There is no substitute for a founder getting right in there and talking to customers,” he said.

However, the importance of understanding the marketplace before attempting to enter it is key. Mr. Jackson described the unnecessary pressure put on startups to hit the global market too quickly. He related this to Korean entrepreneurs who may feel pressure to enter the United States markets they know less about.

“If you want to actually build a good company, focus on the market that you know,” he said.

Both panelists went on to discuss their personal stories in the startup world. Mr. Jackson discussed his job prior to joining PayPal at one of the former “Big Five” accounting firms, Arthur Andersen. He said that if he had not taken the risk in joining the PayPal startup when he did, his career may have been demolished alongside Arthur Andersen during the Enron scandal.

“You can fail at any aspect of life,” Mr. Jackson said, “…doing a startup is insanely risky, but risk is more complicated than that.”

Mr. Miller told of his entrepreneurial spirit as a child and how trial and error eventually propelled him into the autonomous life that startups could offer. He noted that he made many mistakes in his career, but that those mistakes were essential low points on the rollercoaster that is startup development.

by In-Jee Lee

October 16, 2014

During a morning session on the third day of the 15th annual World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, South Korea, leading roboticists discussed the future of robotics and potential consumer applications. The presentation included both video and live demonstrations by Ben Goertzel, chairman of OpenCog Foundation, and Mark Tilden, robotics physicist, industrialist, and design consultant.

Mr. Goertzel and Mr. Tilden are part of a design team operating out of Hong Kong, which develops robotic facial expressions, body movements, intelligence, interactions with humans, and consciousness.

“The fact is that there are methods for testing new technology and new marketplaces,” said Mr. Tilden, “and Hong Kong is the best place to make this happen.”

One of the main objectives that the team has been working to develop and improve is realism. With advances in perception, memory, and prediction in robots, the results have been astonishing.

Speaking on the uncanny resemblance of one robot to a real human, Mr. Goertzel said, “There’s one humanoid robot that David was working on, and when you walk past it, you think there’s really a guy there. And then you do a double take and realize, oh, that’s actually a robot.”

According to the panelists, robots are now able to burp, fart, sing in French, dance to Gangnam Style, and tell silly jokes. This leads to robots being viewed as a more commercially viable product.

“We found a robot that didn’t take itself seriously, and the customers loved it,” said Mr. Tilden.

However, according to Mr. Goertzel, there are still some obstacles that need to be addressed.

“It has elementary self awareness,” he said, while viewing a demonstration of Zoidstein, a miniature robot modeled after Albert Einstein. “It identifies toys as a young child would.”

Mr. Goertzel remarked on the difficulty of developing robot-human interaction.

“Will it obey the questions, will it give me nonsense, will it give me a lecture on the meaning of death,” he mused.  “We’re improving the intelligence of the dialogue.”

The evidence of this improvement was apparent during a video demonstration of Zoidstein’s capabilities. The robot was able to recognize emotions based on fluctuations in the human voice.

Despite these advances, robots are still elusive to the average consumer. Reducing costs, reducing complexities, and increasing public exposure are steps that Mr. Goertzel and Mr. Tilden are applying to their marketing campaign, making it more accessible to the average consumer.

“We knew it would be successful,” said Mr. Tilden, recalling a demonstration in front of an audience of children in Australia, “because kids were fighting over the remote controls.”

With an eye on the future, the potential commercial applications are endless. According to both panelists, possible industries which may incorporate robotics include healthcare and the service industry.

 “We will have robo-touring, robo-shopping, and robot executive assistants,” Mr. Tilden predicted.

Some applications are even available now, according to Mr. Goertzel. He discussed the work of his colleague, David Hansen.

“His Zeno robot, his little boy robot, is used to teach autistic children,” he said.

Ultimately, robots may even provide home nursing to elderly family members. Mr. Tilden looks forward to the future of robotics.

by Sarah Miles

October 16, 2014

In a society where weakened labor markets can’t provide jobs for university graduates and rapidly advancing technology threatens to make traditional classrooms obsolete, questions about the future of education must be addressed. On the final day of the 15th Annual World Knowledge Forum, a politician, an economics professor, and a technology innovator came together to share their perspectives on the need to revitalize the global education system.

Carl Bildt, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, identified the growing importance of education for governments around the world.

“Education has always been an important topic,” he said, “but it has moved up the ranks of policy priority in the last few decades. It now probably ranks number two, right behind economy at number one.”

The panelists opened the discussion with their thoughts on problems with the current education system. According to professor of George Mason University and world-renowned economist Tyler Cowen, one of the key issues stems from the lack of available jobs for college graduates.

“The fundamental problem is that the product universities are selling is worth less than it used to be,” he said.

For Charles Leadbeater, strategic innovation consultant and former advisor to Tony Blair, the ultimate problem is content, what schools are teaching their students, because the current system doesn’t properly prepare children for an environment valuing creativity and entrepreneurship.

“The future of education is not to push people into systems that don’t deliver good results for them and which are training them for jobs that don’t exist anymore or habits that don’t work anymore. The basic problem is that the current system teaches children to put aside what fires them up and instead teaches them to learn how to comply, perform, deliver, and get through,” he said.

Mr. Bildt also pointed to challenges arising from transformations in recent society, namely globalization and the prevalence of technology.

“In recent centuries, education was a national endeavor. Now it is to some extent global, but certainly it has become a trans-border thing, so now we have to deal with the issues of education in a multicultural environment,” he said.

He continued, “We now also have the issue of the digital gaming generation. It’s not easy to get students to sit down and write an essay, it’s difficult. But we also have the question, is that good or bad?”

After detailing the issues faced by the current education system, the panelists took turns explaining how the system might be improved. Mr. Leadbeater again emphasized the importance of changing educational content.

“What students are looking for is math education and also language that gives them access to the global economy. Then they want the skills to acquire entry level jobs, primarily technology skills. So I see a new core curriculum based on math, language, IT, and skills that increase employability,” he said.

Dr. Cowen believes the ability to retrain will allow people to have greater access to jobs and give them the flexibility to react to changes in the job market.

“More and more of the people working in Starbucks have PhDs and higher levels of education. We need to re-gear the system to teach these people how to retrain themselves,” he said.

Additionally, Dr. Cowen posited a new line of thinking to focus more on what students actually get out of their education and what they need to succeed in the future. One of the important benefits of education, he said, is mentoring.

“Education brings us to mentors and exposes us to role models, and we need to reengineer the system to make this more explicit,” he said.

Along the same lines, Mr. Leadbeater was adamant on the role of education in building character and providing valuable life skills to students.

“Education, in a rather old fashioned sense, should be teaching students how to self-govern and how to work together to find better solutions with other people. We need to take seriously the idea that education is about character, not just skills, but building character to be able to persist in the face of setbacks and respond in creative ways,” he said.

In response to the rise of education technology, the panelists expressed a more subdued opinion, explaining the real impact of technology will likely not be felt for another ten years or so. For Dr. Cowen, “the problem of education technology is getting students to give a damn.”

Mr. Bildt echoed these thoughts, pointing to the job market as where the impact of technology will truly be felt.

The jobs with the most demand are not for people who can write essays, but those who can write code,” he said.

by David Currie

October 16, 2014

Entrepreneurs from Korea have often lacked the success of their American counterparts, but that could change very quickly. The nation is filled with what Jay Eum, co-founder and managing director of TransLink Capital, called “the most tenacious people.” He argued that conditions are set for startups to quickly prosper, both domestically and abroad.

Joining Mr. Eum at the 15th  Annual World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, Korea, were Jason Portnoy, founding partner of Subtraction Capital, and Dave McClure, founding partner of 500 Startups. The group discussed how entrepreneurs can succeed globally and in the Korean market.

The panel discussed how government regulations and culture have had a damaging effect on the entrepreneurial spirit in Korea.

“Bankruptcy laws made it harder [for entrepreneurs] to take risks,” Mr. Portnoy noted. “There needs to be more tolerance for failure.”

Mr. McClure agreed that the competitiveness of Korean culture is working against them.

“It is hard for Koreans to make mistakes knowing that others are always watching them. They are worried about taking risks and failing,” he said.

But the nature of competition within Korea is not without its benefits. The competitiveness in the education system has enabled many young Koreans to speak English fluently.

“This skill is necessary for an entrepreneur when going global,” mentioned Mr. Eum.

While the spirit of entrepreneurship may be lacking, the spirit of feeding off the success of others is alive and well.

“If they can do it, why not me?” said Mr. Portnoy, attempting to illustrate the attitude of Korean entrepreneurs. But he offered caution to this, saying that some startups fail because they cannot all achieve the same results.

“Trying to copy others and do the same is a massive waste of time,” he added.

While this theme of replicating others leaves something to be desired, Korea has quickly become a market that is tech-savvy and educated.

“If you build a company or product that can be quickly adopted by this country, you could grow very quickly,” Mr. Eum pointed out.

Mr. Eum also emphasized the necessity for understanding one’s own domestic market before moving abroad.

“If you can’t win in your home market, there is no chance you will win abroad. Once you dominate Korean domestically, you can come out to the rest of the world and win,” he explained.

The panelists made it clear that achieving this success is no easy task, but rather a long and difficult journey that few survive. Mr. McClure and Mr. Eum agreed that it is necessary for a business to understand the needs of the market, and knowing how to best fill those needs will result in a successful venture.

“The best way to do this is to make a small amount of progress, consistently,” Mr. Portnoy reasoned. Contributing to this, Mr. Eum said there is a need to focus on one’s own venture and not be distracted by competition.

“Without doing this, your venture will not be a success,” said Mr. Eum.

Speaking from experience, Mr. Eum clarified that venture capitalists focus much more on a company’s strategy than their finances and other operations.

“Venture capitalists look to fill gaps in their technology and product road maps and find companies that they can work with to get into new business areas that they are moving into,” he said.

Korean startups have been dramatically unsuccessful in the United States compared to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. They should build off of the success of past Korean companies that have entered these Asian markets, as they will be much more successful, Mr. Eum asserted. It is after this point of expansion that entrepreneurs should look to the United States for further growth opportunities.