Introducing Influential Voices in Technology™
with Kimberly Maki, Host of Influential Voices in Technology™
EPISODE 1 • INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Technology isn’t evolving in isolation.
Connectivity, artificial intelligence, energy, infrastructure, and workforce development are converging to shape the future, and the biggest opportunities are where those worlds intersect.
Influential Voices in Technology™, hosted by Kimberly Maki, brings together leaders and ideas from across industries to explore the trends, challenges, and opportunities defining what's next.
If you’re a business leader, investor, policymaker, educator, employer, or simply curious about what’s next, join us as we explore the technologies powering human potential and the conversations shaping the future.
Thank you to the sponsors of the first season of Influential Voices in Technology™: NCTI, ATX Networks, and the Broadband Library - their valuable contribution to this new and independent platform.
IN THIS EPISODE
Why technology, energy, connectivity and economic growth are increasingly interconnected
How broadband and digital infrastructure can expand opportunity
The importance of asking critical questions and considering different perspectives
How technology can strengthen communities and create pathways to jobs and entrepreneurship
What to expect from the series, including executive interviews, Ask Me Anything conversations and audience-submitted questions
EXPLORE THREE THEMES
Broadband Futures: The infrastructure, technologies and innovations connecting people, places and possibility.
Energy and Connectivity: The growing relationship between power, communications and digital infrastructure.
The Opportunity Layer: How technology creates pathways to jobs, entrepreneurship, economic opportunity and thriving communities.
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Something extraordinary is happening.
The systems that power our world, the networks that connect us and the technology shaping our future are coming together in ways we’ve never seen before. Artificial intelligence, new data centers, broadband expansion, connectivity from the ground and from space, energy, the future of work, economic growth and thriving communities.
We hear about these things every day. At first glance, they may seem like separate issues, but they’re not. They’re increasingly connected, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what that means for all of us.
Hi, I’m Kimberly Maki. For more than three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to work with technology leaders, innovators, educators and community leaders around the world. What I’ve learned is that no one person and no one industry has the whole picture.
Some of the most important conversations about our future aren’t happening within industries anymore. They’re happening between them. And I believe we need to be part of these conversations.
Technology is moving incredibly fast. We need to understand what’s out there, what it can do, where the opportunities are and where there are real questions and concerns.
Let’s face it: there’s rarely just one side to the equation. I believe technology can be used for the betterment of humanity, but that doesn’t mean accepting every new technology without question. It means staying informed, listening to different perspectives and asking great questions.
This is personal for me, too. I grew up in a small community where opportunity often meant leaving home. I’ve seen firsthand how technology can change what’s possible for people, businesses and communities.
That’s why I created Influential Voices in Technology. I believe technology should expand opportunity and strengthen the communities we call home.
I think we have an extraordinary opportunity to ask: What can we build? What should we build? Who benefits? And how do the choices we make today create opportunity for tomorrow?
I’m inviting you to join me as we explore three interconnected themes.
Broadband Futures explores the infrastructure, technologies and innovations connecting people, places and possibility.
Energy and Connectivity examines how power, communications and digital infrastructure are becoming inseparable.
And my favorite, The Opportunity Layer, explores how technology creates pathways to jobs, entrepreneurship, economic opportunity and thriving communities.
We’ll follow the connections between these themes and beyond them. You’ll hear from CEOs, engineers, innovators, educators, entrepreneurs, community leaders and people who may see the same issue very differently.
We’ll have executive interviews and Ask Me Anything conversations. And here’s something that’s really important to me: I want you to have a voice in this, too.
You’ll have the opportunity to share the questions you want explored, including questions for leaders you may never otherwise have the opportunity to ask.
Because this isn’t about telling you what to think. It’s about helping all of us understand more, hear different perspectives and make more informed decisions about what’s next.
I’m grateful to the organizations helping support the launch of this first season of this independent platform, and to the friends, mentors, colleagues and industry leaders who believed in this vision before it became a reality. Thank you.
The future will not be shaped by technology alone. It will be shaped by the conversations we have, the questions we’re willing to ask and what we learn from one another.
I’m Kimberly Mackey. Welcome to Influential Voices in Technology.
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