The explosive growth in use of the Internet and the World Wide Web began in the 1990s and saw the rapid establishment of what are now tech titans such Google, Facebook and Amazon as well as the further dramatic expansion of existing tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft. Regulators and legislators were initially sanguine about rule-bending and disruptive new business models and the serious nature of cyber security risks to national security and the operation of essential infrastructure. Google promoted the slogan ‘do no evil’ and there was little enthusiasm among the media, legislators, or the general public to look proactively for evil. This benign view changed radically from around 2016 when the real dangers of misusing private social media data, misrepresenting the news, and leaking state intelligence became more apparent. This roundtable will look from the political, legal and technological perspectives at the potential for new safeguards that could help address the problems that have become manifest, and might start to restore trust in digital tech.

Speakers:

John Brunning - Partner, Fieldfisher LLP

Lord Fox - Liberal Democrats Lords Spokesperson on Business & Industrial Strategy / Energy & Climate Change

Professor Marina Jirotka - University of Oxford

Matt Houlihan - Director, Government and Corporate Affairs, Cisco Systems

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The burgeoning technology sector is now vying with finance to be the most profitable business sector. As the digital wave moves on, it is transforming media, entertainment, communications, logistics, and now threatens to disrupt manufacturing, retail, logistics, transportation and more. In the UK we know that our future prosperity in a post-Brexit world will depend not just on adjusting to such changes but also on leading in some areas. Chi Onwurah MP, a qualified engineer, will outline her views on how the UK should capitalise its undoubted strengths and lead in innovation to keep the country economically successful.

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The patent system is designed to reward innovation by protecting the innovator from competition in exchange for making details of the innovation public. This has generally worked well to foster innovation but there are a growing number of criticisms of the system, including that it is not flexible enough to provide adequate protection for the many rapidly emerging pharmaceutical and tech advancements. As industry is increasingly having to look to other incentives and systems to encourage and protect innovation, an expert panel, led by qualified patent agent Baroness Sharon Bowles, will discuss current problems and how these can be overcome to stimulate greater innovation.

Speakers for this event include:

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London is a preeminent international city with a vibrant economy that recovered well from the 2008 banking crisis. The city is prosperous and the population diverse and they voted strongly to remain in the European Union. Whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, London is likely to remain successful, but the necessary adjustments and problems to be overcome are not yet clear. Rajesh Agrawal, an Indian born entrepreneur and successful business person, will give his views, in his capacity as Deputy Mayor of London for Business, on what needs to be done to ensure that 2019 is a great year for London Business.

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The aftermath of the 2008 banking crisis followed by Brexit uncertainty have hampered UK economic activity for a decade during which productivity and real wage growth have stalled and the gap between the prosperity of London and the southeast, and the rest of the country, has grown. Labour’s plans to reinvigorate the economy include a greater use of fiscal policy to invest directly in infrastructure and skills, the establishment of a national investment bank, and the extension of public ownership in some industries. Peter Dowd MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will outline key points of these policies and discuss their implications.

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The dominance of hydrocarbons as an energy source is coming to an end. There are increasingly good ways to capture renewable energy from unlimited natural sources such as solar radiation, wind, and geothermal rocks. But realising the full potential of this development requires an immense change to the UK and world energy infrastructure. Dr Alan Whitehead MP, Labour’s Shadow Energy Minister will discuss the policy implications for the UK and particularly how we should manage the transition to electric power in UK surface transport, and where alternative fuels such as hydrogen fit into the picture.

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