In my field of technology, I see the main challenge to be the more effective integration of technology into our daily lives. Technology is invading all aspects of our private and professional lives and it is not clear that we understand how to best manage or leverage this relentless progress. There are no easy solutions as technology will keep changing and each individual will find his or her own specific way to use it. A key focus should be to be clear about our core values and principles and then to use the core values and principles to drive the use of technology within our organizational and societal contexts.

The main issue that society should be addressing over the next 18 years is how to reduce the levels of inequality that exist in the world today. While overall income levels are increasing in countries such as China and India, the inequality is increasing in nearly all countries in the world. The situation is especially acute in Africa where large parts of the population are starving and living in marginal conditions even today. This is unacceptable from any standard.