Thinker-Fest 2023: Uniting Thinkers50 and the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy

• Sinan Aral – Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
• Devin Cook – Associate Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
• Des Dearlove – Co-founder, Thinkers50

Des and Sinan welcome attendees, point out the highlights, and outline some of the important topics up for discussion.

• Des Dearlove  – Cofounder, Thinkers50
• Rahaf Harfoush – Executive Director, Red Thread Institute of Digital Culture
• Martin Lindstrom – Founder and Chairman, Lindstrom Co.
• Marshall Van Alstyne – Professor of Information Systems, Boston University

The internet was originally designed to bring people together. But instead, the rise of online misinformation and fake news has splintered online users into numerous often-hostile factions. What can be done? Join this informal discussion to learn how business leaders and others can understand and even reduce the spread of false and misleading information online.

• Jerry Carter – VP of Engineering, Dell Technologies
• John Horton – MIT Sloan School of Management, and Research Group Lead, MIT IDE
• Geoff Parker – Professor, Dartmouth College and Visiting Scholar, MIT IDE

One result of the global pandemic has been the rapid acceptance of remote working (often from home), the overnight adoption of Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, and the urgent need for new approaches to managing today’s widely dispersed workers. Join this panel discussion to learn about the latest challenges, opportunities and solutions for remote working and remote leadership.

• Renée Richardson Gosline – Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Research Group Lead, MIT IDE
• Sanjeev Vohra – Senior Managing Director & Global Lead, Applied Intelligence, Accenture

In our rush to develop artificial intelligence, has the human element been overlooked? In this conversational session, you’ll learn how new approaches of behavioral science can improve the interplay between humans and AI algorithms. You’ll also hear how “human-first AI” can lead to both optimal decisions in the office and responsible innovation in the lab.

• Sinan Aral – Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy

In 1973 sociologist Mark Granovetter demonstrated that job seekers benefited more from their “weak ties”—acquaintances and familiar strangers—than from their strong ties with close friends and colleagues. Now, 50 years later, a new research project on weak ties and job seekers has been completed involving 20 million people worldwide, 2 billion ties and 600,000 job changes. Find out what this new research means for the growing mismatch between today’s job seekers and hiring managers.

• Sinan Aral – Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
• Des Dearlove – Co-founder, Thinkers50

Join Des and Sinan for a wrap-up of the day’s discussions and a look ahead at the future of AI, Web 3 and other technological advances.