In a world in which everything has already been invented, re-invented and nothing seems to be new anymore, innovation is an old word which does not seem to find an easy way to flourish. However, humans have the great capability to innovate, and that has been the driving force of our progress since the early days.
From an early age, my vision has always been to imagine new scenarios and ways of doing things. I have always been driven by the possibility of transforming the world we live in. Since then, I have developed a fertile imagination. This is reflected in the various activities I have been involved in, spanning from being a self-taught concert pianist to a technology evangelist. I have always believed in the power of humans to change the world by the right usage of technology, to improve the way they live in the short and long term. My work and research reflect the continuous vision of thinking globally by acting locally.
Locally, I am serving as the chairman of the IBM Technical Experts Council, a community of 350+ eminent technical leaders who manage projects spanning from AI, Blockchain, Quantum and Cloud in Central and Eastern Europe, with main focus on Czech Republic and Slovakia. Leadership for me means inspiring others to achieve mutual and their own goals, motivating people to engage and leverage their potential, creating an environment where everyone can contribute. I am the intersection between the technology, research and business innovation worlds. Slovakia represents a fertile place in which all this could be realized, by maintaining a global perspective.
Nowadays, I drive global innovation by translating business needs into technical solutions – powered by AI. I bring cognitive computing abilities and make them accessible to the IBM population, by providing guidance, best practices and simplifying complexity to enable a continuous learning environment. Most of these elements would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Yet, it has proven to be the environment in which various things are possible in both the corporate and the entrepreneurship worlds. Figures support that vision, with over 90 quality startups founded in recent years. Moreover, Slovakia has the unprecedented advantage of the coexistence of unique job roles, companies, internationality and quality of life.
The American Chamber of Commerce is becoming a solid platform for innovation, business opportunities and a beacon of enlightenment for technology and business expertise sharing. It has been pivotal for the creation of slovak.ai (Slovak Research Center for Artificial Intelligence), now actively participating in the formation of the position of the Slovak Republic in the various fields of AI to become an accepted and recognized player and partner of major international structures in the field of AI in Europe. Such initiatives are among the foundations for boosting innovation and research for the country, driving the increasing need for knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship. In the context of a knowledge economy, we shall focus at increasing investments into education, R&D and a broader application of IT.
I believe in innovation and in its power to be the engine that helps every business blossom, every engagement to be authentic. Innovation is beneficial to the world and it is vital to the survival of mankind. Thanks to its power to drive radical societal changes, either by introducing new products, services or technologies, it gives the concrete possibility of a better future by transforming the way people perceive life, technology and society.
To me, innovation is the translation of societal and economical needs into tangible, adaptive and transformational products, processes and services to serve the development of mankind. I believe our greatest opportunity resides in the unprecedented access to information, technologies and availability of resources. Nevertheless, that comes with a price, and innovation is not a choice. The challenge is to connect and combine the information overflow to link all the potential dots which can enable ideas and innovation to happen. Technology is constantly creating change and we shall keep our eyes open and continuously look for opportunities. With that, I want to share all the wishful excitement into embarking on a new era of radical innovation, reinvention and digital disruption for Slovakia. Ideme na to!
William Carbone, Chairman of the Technical Experts Council for Czech Republic and Slovakia, IBM Academy of Technology Member
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