Tech Celebrities Who Changed the World in 2020: Elon Musk, Avi Benezra and More
By Space Coast Daily // September 4, 2020
the fourth industrial revolution is upon us
As the fourth industrial revolution is upon us there are many trends that will transform and expand the way humans and businesses function.
Compared to the industrial revolutions of the past the current one will be much faster and will have a greater social and economic impact in a short period of time as technologies advance exponentially.
One of the biggest tech trends of the new industrial revolution is AI technologies and machine learning. AI is everywhere, affecting many elements of our everyday lives and oftentimes it goes unnoticed by most people and that is why there should be more awareness surrounding AI transparency and accountability.
AI is transforming the way most businesses function – giving machines the ability to learn by themselves and make autonomous decisions creating faster and more sophisticated services and products.
To understand the magnitude of the AI revolution you need to compare it to inventions that had a great impact on the world such as the steam engine, electricity and the computer revolution.
Other big tech trends:
■ Big Data and intelligent algorithms that give companies access to more valuable information
■ IoT technologies means that we have more interconnected and intelligent devices such as smartphones, smart tvs etc
■ Cloud and Edge computing which means that on the one we can store and process data via the internet on other people’s data centers and on the other hand we can process more of this data on our devices such as smartphones
■ Voice interfaces and ChatBots will become more widespread and more intelligent, helping us communicate with them on a much higher level than we can today
In such an exciting tech reality we must remain aware of user privacy and the security of all of these wonderful apps and technologies that we have at our disposal. It is thus the responsibility of the key tech players to revolutionize the market by offering cutting edge products that can at the same time ensure user privacy and data security.
Machine learning technologies and data mining tools can be used in many ways that will be beneficial to society but we will need a careful strategy to harness these new technologies, making sure that they are used for good and not evil, and that no individual rights and privacies are being violated.
Below we attempt to name some of the most influential people in tech today who are leading the 4th industrial revolution with their groundbreaking ideas and their values for safer, more transparent and accessible tech innovations.
Elon Musk -Neuralink
Elon Musk has become a household name synonymous with the future of tech innovation determined to revolutionize any sector that he gets his hands on. His company SpaceX hopes to make space travel accessible to all and eventually colonize Mars.
Tesla is his car company that creates electric cars of the future creating cleaner energy alternatives to today’s conventional car. Musk also has shown an interest in AI by developing a research study aimed at studying the security aspects of AI but also helping developers better understand how the machines they’ve built learn and evolve.
Lastly, his latest project is Neuralink which is a minimally invasive brain computer interface designed to enhance the capabilities of the human brain in order to ultimately raise the intelligence of humans and connect them to the digital world.
His latest venture Neuralink is particularly ambitious and in line with one of the most promising technological advancements i.e Artificial Intelligence that will transform the world we live in which is perhaps closer than what we think.
Neuralink was created to first and foremostly help people that are suffering from various health problems related to restricted motor skills such as people with spinal cord injuries or paralysis.
Trials on humans have not yet taken place but Elon Musk is hopeful that they will get the green light in 2020.
Some of the key issues that arise with technologies that are so groundbreaking are regarding user privacy and security and for now there are no comprehensive answers.
Avi and Henri Benezra -SnatchApp
Snatch App is one of the newest and securest additions to the messaging app world that boasts an innovative integration with AI-powered chatbot technology called SnatchBot.
Avi and Henri Benezra are the masterminds of SnatchApp, the two brothers bring several years of experience in the communications and computer science sectors with them channeling that experience into their new project SnatchApp.
Avi Benezra, the company’s CTO and leading AI research authority, is the mastermind behind SnatchBot and the one that executed the seamless integration of this AI powered chatbot with the brother’s joint venture, SnatchApp.
SnatchBot, is a global leader in AI-powered chatbot technology, giving SnatchApp the ability to tap into unique RPA & Chatbot automation features for business.
One of the most important and relevant features in an ever-growing sea of messaging apps is the level of security and personal privacy that SnatchApp offers its users.
The app has all of the basic privacy features to make it truly secure such as end-to-end message encryption by default, an open-source code that can be audited at any time by experts and minimal metadata collection.
There are also special features like self-destructing messages and secret chats making it harder for your data to be traced and tracked.
Henri and Avi Benezra succeeded in revolutionizing the world of messaging apps by offering one of the safest alternatives in the market while at the same time harnessing the benefits of leading AI technology in order to offer users a unique experience that will only enhance and grow with use and time.
Sal Khan – Khan Academy
Sal Khan is the founder of Khan Academy and his ultimate goal is to make the world a better place by bringing education to the masses for free.
Khan academy reaches 100 million users annually, providing over 6,500 video lessons primarily in mathematics and science subjects.
Khan has always advocated that online learning is the future of education and the COVID-19 pandemic came to reinforce that belief.
He also adamantly believes that technology can be a means to make proper education accessible to everyone no matter their socio-economic background.
During the pandemic when schools started closing his online free school saw a significant surge in users that he hopes will be a more long-lived shift in the way we approach education.
He believes that technology can be a tool for positive change and his academy is proof that change can take place if you put in the time and effort and believe in the future.
Eric S Yuan – Founder and CEO of Zoom
Eric Yuan is the founder of the video conferencing app Zoom that went public in April 2019.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of people to work and socialize online due to the enforced lockdowns and social distancing regulations, the app had seen major growth since its IPO.
After the onset of the pandemic in April, the app saw its user growth rate surge as everyone was using the app for business meetings, everyday interactions amongst employees, online yoga classes, online parties and chats.
What was truly revolutionary about Zoom is how it democratized video conferencing making it available to everyone and not just boardroom executives. As the app’s popularity rose it also attracted hackers that hijacked video conferences exposing many of the app’s security flaws as well as the lack of end-to-end encryption on video calls.
Since the security scandal, the company has located where the problems were and has made strides in fixing their reputation hoping that it won’t hinder the apps popularity that has become synonymous with video technology.
Andrea Loubier -Mailbird
In one short sentence, Mailbird is an email client for managing multiple accounts. CEO and Co-Founder Andrea Loubier, one of the few female entrepreneurs successfully navigating the male-dominant world of tech has created so much more than a successful email client for windows.
Mailbird actually functions as a hub integrating a plethora of management and organizational tools such as evernote, slack, asana, whatsapp, wechat, dropbox, twitter, Facebook just to mention a few.
Apart from offering a unified inbox that has all of your email accounts in one place seamlessly and with an easy to use, simple and sleek interface the most important feature that Mailbird offers is user privacy.
An e-mail client that integrates all of these features, enabling a more trustworthy remote experience for employees is more relevant now that remote working has become the norm for millions of office workers around the globe.
Mailbird seems to be the tool that will help employees become more flexible and stay connected in the new remote digital world that keeps changing and adapting to new circumstances each day.
Antonio Neri – HPE Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Antonio Neri is the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and his strategy is to pivot and sell the company’s entire portfolio as a service by 2022.
Neri has an engineering background and a customer-centric approach that will help him in this ambitious shift from a decades-old hardware-based sales model to an entirely services-led organization. He wants to become an edge-to-cloud platform as a service company providing open-source, automated, intelligent and secure services to their users.
The recent pandemic has perhaps only fortified his conviction to transform the company to a services company as the majority of his employees worked remotely. Neri explains that up to 50 % of the workforce will never return to the office to work on a daily basis as the office as a concept will be redefined to become more collaborative and efficient.
Zhang Yiming – Tik ToK
Zhang Yiming is the founder and CEO of the company behind the popular app Tik Tok. The parent software company that developed the app is called ByteDance.
Tik Tok is a social media app that enables users to create their own 15-second videos that can be shared with the world. These short and highly entertaining videos are usually accompanied by trending songs and choreography.
Especially during the coronavirus lockdown, the app saw a surge in users and an increase in popularity with Tik Tok challenges becoming all the rage. The extra time during lockdown meant that users were looking for a creative and safe outlet to show off their dance moves and that is exactly what the app offered them.
There has been some controversy surrounding the app’s popularity in the US and various safety concerns as there were discussions of even banning the app in the country. However, Zhang Yiming considers these concerns unreasonable and is just interested in creating an app that others can enjoy especially during trying times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jack Dorsey – Twitter
Jack Dorsey is the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, he has created one of the most popular social media platforms in the world and has become one of the most influential tech leaders of our era.
Dorsey has also publicly shown his support for better regulations in social media and is in favor of interventions such as the European GDPR that he believes can enhance clarity and increase security.
Through the Twitter platform, he has shown that free speech doesn’t mean that social media platforms should tolerate the spread of fake or inflammatory news from spreading – blocking any fake news or political propaganda throughout the platform.
After the Cambridge Analytica scandal that implicated Facebook and data from millions of unknowing users, Twitter takes a brave stance on the issue of regulation in tech and the social impact these platforms have on society and democracy.
Meredith Whittaker – AI Now Institute
Meredith Whittaker is an AI researcher and the co-founder and co-director of AI Now Institute that challenges the status quo in tech, leading the change that needs to be seen in big tech companies and holding them accountable.
Whittaker is a former Google employee and is more well known as one of the leading organizers of the Google Walkouts that in 2018 shed light on issues of sexual misconduct and citizen surveillance.
One of AI Now Institute’s latest projects is the interest in regulating biometrics worldwide as concerns over the increase in the use of biometrics have grown. Furthermore, the Institute is constantly making new proposals to governments around the world in order to establish a human rights framework concerning AI.
Alex Karp -Palantir Technologies
Co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp is truly a tech visionary creating a data mining startup that received investment and backing by CIA investment arm I-Q-Tel.
The company apart from having strong ties to the CIA also does various contract work for government agencies such as the NYPD. Their goal in cooperating with government agencies is to help develop software with people’s best interests in mind – keeping them safe instead of selling their personal data to the highest bidder.
Palantir has two software platforms, one for government agencies and the other for businesses.
Palantir is selective with the companies that they do business with, choosing like-minded entities that have the same values as they do – to protect user privacy, advocate for data transparency and guard democracy.
Each and every one of the tech celebrities mentioned in this article are trying to change the world for the better by using the industry’s leading technologies while keeping in mind the importance of regulating technologies and keeping users safe and protected at the end of the day.
The importance of privacy policies, human rights and civil liberties should not be overlooked or even sacrificed at the altar of technological advancement.
These tech celebrities are trying to send across the message that AI technologies and tech advancement, in general, can coexist with privacy regulations – there is no need to believe that one needs to cancel out the other, there can be a way for both to advance as long as we make the effort and stay informed as citizens and avid tech users.
