Connected Humanity

Information has been a critical driver of progress throughout human history. Today, technology is enabling an exponential increase in our connectivity with one another, with devices, and with our external environment. At the same time, we are witnessing an explosion in data related to all areas of human life, from our immune system and the structure of the universe to energy usage in our homes and workplaces, and even our social and emotional lives as played out in social media. Harvesting this data to improve the human experience, while securing privacy and cybersecurity, will require progress in many areas, including developing new sensors and methodologies to collect data, new devices to improve connectivity with one another and the world, and new algorithms to extract and verify insights from this wealth of information.