Better Innovation

We’re launching our new miniseries with a bang. In episode 1 of COVID-19 and Crisis Innovation, Jeff is joined by Sienna Leis from the Covid Safe Paths initiative emanating from MIT. Sienna, a graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School, along with a few hundred volunteers within this Safe Paths movement, have created a solution to help slow the spread of Covid-19.   Jeff and a team from EY are supporting the Covid-19 Safe Paths movement with pro bono support to help stop this deadly virus. Sienna and this incredible Safe Paths movement are making such a positive difference in the world; they truly represent what it means to innovate during a crisis. Join Jeff and Sienna for a glimpse into the advancement of a movement for the public good.    

Until COVID-19 is behind us, not much else matters. Who’s getting us going again? What will it look like when we do? How can this change the world for better? We have decided to pause our Artificial Intelligence theme for Season 3, and spend the coming months focused on COVID-19 and Crisis Innovation. We’re talking to the people innovating for the next phase of this crisis and beyond; the people who are trying to understand what the future will look like, and innovating to make it a safer and prosperous world for all of us.

We’ve all heard of the so-called “sin taxes” on items like cigarettes and soda. When these harmful products become more expensive, consumption naturally decreases. What if we tried the same approach with fossil fuel consumption producing carbon emissions?    This special throwback episode features Jeff’s 2016 TEDx talk that was the impetus for Better Innovation, focused on citizen activism and the impact of a carbon tax in British Columbia. The province adopted a carbon tax that cut fossil fuel consumption by 16% without stifling economic growth — and since revenues were given back to the people by cutting other taxes, it enjoyed public support. In 2019, the carbon tax was extended throughout Canada.   While partisan gridlock may hinder a national carbon tax in the U.S., Jeff argues we could adopt it at the state level using ballot initiatives; and, perhaps extend this idea across the globe! Tune in to see how we can leverage taxes as a powerful tool for social change.

Every January, The World Economic Forum holds its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The goal is to improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. As part of our “Davos Talks 2020 ” series, Jeffrey Saviano is bringing us 6 episodes from and inspired by his time in Davos.  Government agencies and the private sector once operated in completely different spheres. Today, the public sector is ill-equipped to deal with urgent global challenges, while the private sector has plenty of capital but faces an uncertain future. In today’s episode, Jeff discusses the potential of “uncommon coalitions” between the two with Tomicah Tillemann and Dante Dispartae. Tomicah, executive director of the Digital Impact and Governance Initiative at New America, and Dante, head of policy at the Libra Foundation, cite vaccination and transit improvements as strong examples of public-private partnerships. As challenging as they can be to implement, the two say, they’re often the only effective solutions to pressing global issues.  Join them for an in-depth look at how these strategic partnerships can promote a more sustainable future, stable business environments and greater diversity in leadership.

Every January, The World Economic Forum holds its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The goal is to improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. As part of our “Davos Talks, 2020 ” series, Jeffrey Saviano is bringing us 6 episodes from and inspired by his time in Davos.  As new technologies become widely adopted, they’re still controlled by small - and often, biased - groups of stakeholders. In this episode, Jeff talks with Dante Disparte, head of policy at the Libra Foundation, who wants to turn that model on its head.  Dante has spent much of his career improving institutional risk, readiness, and resilience. In his leadership role at the Libra Foundation, Dante promotes an open infrastructure of collaborative fintech platforms to bring more people into the formal economy. This collaboration - the best of the public and private sectors, and civil society - calls for uncommon coalitions to democratize the power of emerging technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. Join Jeff and Dante as they explore how this ecosystem approach to technology development and governance can fundamentally change the way that emerging technology shapes our world.  

Every January, The World Economic Forum holds its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The goal is to improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. As part of our “Davos Talks 2020 ” series, Jeffrey Saviano is bringing us 6 episodes from and inspired by his time in Davos.  Government agencies across the globe are tackling 21st century problems with outdated systems — and it’s little wonder that the associated public trust is at an all-time low. In today’s episode, Jeff explores open-source innovation in the public sector with Tomicah Tillemann, Executive Director of the Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (DIGI) at New America. Tomicah explains how collaborative open-source platforms can help the public sector effectively administer taxes, better allocate resources, and fight corruption. According to Tomicah, strategic partnerships with the private sector and civil society can help governments fund, develop and implement new technologies — allowing them to better serve evolving public needs and restore trust in their programs.

This week, we’re back to our regularly scheduled artificial intelligence programming with Navroop Sahdev, economist, futurist, Founder & CEO of the Digital Economist. Navroop is obsessed with complex systems, and the power of technological convergence to make better sense of those complexities. Navroop’s work with complex systems is heavily influenced by the natural laws of biology. Rather than studying the world in artificially created fragments, a better paradigm is to study the complex system inclusive of all its interconnected parts. Navroop has leading views on the application of converging, innovative, technologies to address problems within a complex system.

We talk to a lot of great minds on this podcast, and we always try to ask each guest what they’re reading. In this special mini-episode, you’ll hear about some of the books that inspire and inform our guests—and hopefully get a few gift ideas for the readers on your list.

For this episode, we’re going to take a quick break from Season 3’s theme of Artificial Intelligence to bring you something very special. Kate Barton, EY’s Global Vice Chair of Tax, takes over hosting duties. Kate recently attended “The Nantucket Project", where she had the opportunity to interview Phaly Pichota, CEO and Cofounder of Cibus Health and Jessica Orkin, President of SYPartners.    The interviews have some great insights on leadership, personal growth, volunteerism, mentoring and if you listen closely, you’ll even hear a mention of Artificial Intelligence.   Kate’s been a supporter of the show from the beginning, as well as a guest, so it’s a really unique opportunity to have her perspective on the other side of the mic this time. We hope you enjoy these discussions.

Emerging technologies like AI and blockchain have the potential to transform industries and entire economies — so where do governments come in? Jeff breaks it all down with Minister Ivan McKee, the Minister for Trade, Investment, and Innovation in Scotland.   Minister McKee plays a critical role in building an inclusive tech ecosystem for the public and private sectors. He and his colleagues have promoted training opportunities, integrated AI into the country’s healthcare and tax systems, and developed a regulatory framework for data privacy.   While many see emerging tech as a threat, Minister McKee views it an evolution of Scotland’s rich industrial heritage — and as a powerful tool that enables Scotland to compete on a global scale.