Fujitsu World Tour 2014: The human centric intelligent society

Fujitsu UK CTO Jon Wrennall talks to James Woudhuysen about how technology can help us meet the most human of needs: energy and food.

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In this brief conversation, forming part of Fujitsu’s World Tour 2014, James and Jon discuss the difference between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human intelligence and the qualities in humans that AI is unlikely to replace… at least not for a very long time.

Putting human beings at the centre of the technology discussion – the problems they face, their experience, tacit knowledge and imagination – ensures IT is used for progressive ends and allows all the wonderful possibilities and opportunities offered to come to the forefront.

They discuss two examples that draw out the relationship between human intelligence and technological innovation.

Regarding energy, they consider what lessons we should be learning from the recession and the recent disaster at Fukushima. Some would argue that we need to manage down demands in energy consumption. However, James points out that energy demand remained consistent despite these problems and his conclusion is that to meet the enduring demand for energy we need reliable, large scale energy production. IT can be used in this field to enhance areas such as safety, asset management and the monitoring of the energy flows of water, gas, oil and electricity.

Within agriculture, Wrennall and Woudhuysen assert that the combination of old and new technologies, such as tractors fitted with cameras linked to satellites, alongside the experience and existing knowledge of farmers, could bring about unprecedented precision in agricultural management. This approach could finally address some of the severe problems of famine and malnutrition that farmers in countries such as Africa and India are trying to overcome.

It is precisely, they argue, these types of gains and advancements we need to see more of.