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Big data, big possibilities

Minister for Higher Education and Science Søren Pind's speech at Innovation Centre Denmark’s conference – ”Join the data-driven (r)evolution – Unlocking the business potential of big data” 14 June 2017.

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Good morning and thank you for joining us here today.

Before we start “unlocking the potential of data-driven innovation”, I hope you will allow me a short thought experiment:

Picture Hansel and Gretel with a smartphone, a Google Maps-app and a Tripadvisor review of the witch’s candy house. I imagine the story would have taken a different turn.

Or picture if French aristocracy had had a Peasant Satisfactory Index and real-time GPS reports on rebel movements …

The course of these stories would certainly be different with our modern, data-driven tools.

The combination of artificial intelligence and big data is fundamentally changing the way we go about our lives, run our businesses, interact with each other.

And what I want to address today is why it is crucial that we adapt to this new reality and how the Innovation Centres may help us.

The potential of data-driven innovation

First, a few words on the potential of data-driven innovation and why we need to take this seriously.

In the olden times, data-driven innovation was what happened when enough patients had died from the local doctor’s treatment to start considering a new technique.

But these insights were not necessarily shared with the neighbouring village’s doctor – everybody had to make his own experiences. And more people had to die …

Today, we have access to results from treatments at doctors worldwide and – almost – in real time.

The digital revolution we face is mindblowing. For one thing, the “Internet of Things” truly fascinates me.

Several billion electronical devices are connected to the internet. And the number is expected to multiply in years to come.

The effect? Vast amounts of data quickly boiled down to simple answers to everyday problems.

Changing the way we seek information, medicate, shop, eat, exercise, travel and date.

Changing the way we carry out research. There is a lot of big data-based research going on at Danish universities.

A project I think is of particular interest, is a study initiated by the Technical University of Denmark:

1,000 students are giving the university’s researchers full disclosure as to where they have been and who they have been in touch with based on smartphone data on all their social interactions – such as text messages, social media and phone calls.

These data are then used to look into, for instance, how sleeping habits, school attendance, discipline and grades depend on the groups they are part of.

Big data like these gives us the means to reach an entire, new layer of insights.

At the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences they are comparing data from blood proteins from thousands of samples with data from other disease patterns.

The idea is to find out if it is possible to forecast life-style diseases, such as diabetes. And, based on this, initiate early preventive treatments. Data help us get healthier here.

Imagine then, if you added other kinds of data to these: Where have people been, what were their habits, what did they eat regularly? Such patterns would be extremely interesting and potentially life-saving.

And data can give retail businesses a head start in customer acquisition:

I have heard the classic story of the American supermarket Target. Based on a woman’s shopping history, they can tell if she is pregnant – and can even predict the delivery date. Or so the story goes.

It is told how an angry father came into Target, demanding to talk to the manager because Target was sending his daughter coupons for baby clothes and cribs, though she was “still just in high school”.

He asked them if they were trying to encourage her to get pregnant.

The thing was – the girl was, in fact, pregnant. He just did not know it yet.

This story is several years old so who knows what Target – and other supermarkets – know about their customers now.

This potential is a little bit eerie. But ignoring it is no solution. Using the new possibilities for something good is crucial and potentially very rewarding.

Why it is important to seize the potential of big data

You have probably seen this chart before:

It is called “the unicorn club”.

A “unicorn” is a private start-up valued at over $ 1 billion – and was once said to be a mythical thing – but they are not mythical anymore.

When I checked CB Insight’s list there were 202 of them.

The speed at which new businesses are emerging is taking your breath away. It is so much faster and cheaper to go from idea to business today than it was 100 years ago.

But it is not simply a sudden and dramatic change – it is continuous.

I think we are not simply facing a once-off digital revolution – I think we’are also facing an evolution.

It is here to stay.

Still more refined robots, sensors, 3D printers and algorithms are emerging – and will soon escalate the development.

Data is, of course, only worth something if you know how to use it.

And when I look at this chart, I get a little worried.

According to a report from the Danish Bankers and Mortgage Association (Finansrådet/2015), a sad 7 per cent of the larger Danish businesses prioritise big data – and just 42 per cent expect it to be a priority in the future.

We have to step up.

Data is the new big resource – and it is available for all, irrespective of climate or underground geology. It is available for us, right here in Denmark.

Running a business is no longer a national affair. When there is online access to everything you cannot ignore the international trends and markets.

Never before in world history has there been such a market access. You can reach billions, almost instantly.

Therefore, you need an international perspective in order to compete for the customers or to make cutting-edge research.

How the Innovation Centres may help

That is why we have Innovation Centre Denmark.

The Innovation Centres’ overall objective is to assist Danish research and education as well as business in international collaboration.

They have substantial networks and they are up-to-date on the latest technological trends.

This means they can help you find relevant partners abroad and set up a collaboration. Or assist you in identifying and gaining access to a network – or a market – relevant to your specific needs.

And they can inspire you by providing information on international trends and technological breakthroughs.

The Innovation Centres are eager to help you so do not hesitate to contact them.

They are born to help Danish business, science and research to thrive.

And to this end, it is crucial that we adapt to the new reality in which artificial intelligence and big data is key.

We need to seize this potential.

We want to.

Because data-driven innovation is about to rewrite our fairy tales, transform how we live and die – and challenge what we think possible.

Thank you for your attention.

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last modified November 03, 2023