New technologies, however remarkable they might seem, are fundamentally just tools made by people for people.
Interpretation
Technology is created by humans to serve human needs.
Klaus Schwab's quote emphasizes that despite the impressive nature of new technologies, they are ultimately tools crafted by people to meet the needs and demands of society. This perspective highlights the human element behind technological advancements, suggesting that our intentions and purposes shape the tools we create and use.
In practice
In a technology conference, to illustrate the importance of the human aspect in innovation.
We must address, individually and collectively, moral and ethical issues raised by cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, which will enable significant life extension, designer babies, and memory extraction.
Of all the many leaders I have met in the course of my life, none made a deeper impression on me than Nelson Mandela. His courage, compassion, humility and wisdom were without parallel on the world stage, and he himself was an enduring source of inspiration.
Corporate social responsibility is measured in terms of businesses improving conditions for their employees, shareholders, communities, and environment. But moral responsibility goes further, reflecting the need for corporations to address fundamental ethical issues such as inclusion, dignity, and equality.
Talent is a by-product of education; the quality of a country's human capital depends on it.
The world must become aware of the fantastic transformational power of social entrepreneurship and the Foundation will work as a catalyst in this effort.
As technology increasingly takes over knowledge-based work, the cognitive skills that are central to today's education systems will remain important; but behavioral and non-cognitive skills necessary for collaboration, innovation, and problem solving will become essential as well.
I believe 3D is inevitable because it's about aligning our entertainment systems to our sensory system. We all have two eyes; we all see the world in 3D. And it's natural for us to want our entertainment in 3D as well. It's just getting the technology - it's really more the business model than the technology piece. We've solved the technology.
Perhaps one day we will have machines that can cope with approximate task descriptions, but in the meantime, we have to be very prissy about how we tell computers to do things.
[The internet] ought to be like clay, rather than a sculpture that you observe from a distance.
Every one of today's smartphones has thousands of times more processing power than the computers that guided astronauts to the moon.
Social media's greatest assets - anonymity, 'virality,' interconnectedness - are also its main weaknesses.
Holding back technology to reserve business models is like allowing blacksmiths to veto the internal combustion engine in order to protect their horseshoes.
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