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Have you ever been stuck on a homework question—in electrical engineering, for example—late at night and wondered what to do? You couldn’t call your professor and your friends weren’t in your class. You’re in a bind—what to do?

Estelle Metayer, an entrepreneur and trend-spotter and a keynote speaker at the University’s 2017 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP), told a KAUST audience the answer to this quandary lies in the near future at her lecture on January 18.

“Soon, ‘hyperconnectivity’ will be found in our world,” she said. “We will all be interconnected with each other and to everyone else in the world. For example, if you need a professor of electrical engineering to help you out on your homework at night, you’ll just need to access an app on your phone. Through the app similar to Uber, you’ll find professors available who can give you a half-hour lesson and grade you, and at the end, you rate the chosen professor. All of these interactions will be based on trust.”

“The world is changing very fast now,” she continued. “If you look at what you will experience in your lifetime—if not in the next five years—there will be significant changes in the world and for science and technology.”

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Estelle Metayer spoke about the future of technology and science as part of the University’s 2017 Winter Enrichment Program. Photo by Lilit Hovhannisyan.​​

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'The answer for everything'

Metayer worked as a consultant at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where she gained consulting experience in aerospace, consumer good and financial services. She then founded and was president of a leading training organization for executives and analysts in strategic intelligence. After selling her company in 2004, she became a public speaker and workshop organizer for managers, CEOs and executives, and she is also an adjunct professor at McGill University in Canada.

“I believe science can provide the answer for everything where everything is open and transparent and where the answers come from putting the pieces of the puzzle together,” she said. “Science and technology have a huge impact on our lives, and they are all about vision and tracking for new horizons.”

Metayer noted that the world of the future will feature many advances, such as the advancement of artificial intelligence, with computers and robots becoming more and more intelligent; autonomous cars on the streets; and drones “coming to life” to deliver everything from packages to pizza, and even finding a place as artificial bees to help pollinate fruit trees.

Robots will one day become commonplace in our everyday lives, she said, describing how some hospitals have already begun using robots to take the place of nurses. Studies revealed that patients preferred the robots to humans, as they never suffered from bad moods and were always friendly.

“With all of this, however, comes the realization that we must decide what to do with the data gathered,” Metayer said. “We must think intelligently about this, as data will be pervasive. We have to make a choice: Do we use the data for good or evil? Will this be the end of privacy? Regulators are agitating for privacy, but in most markets already, companies are giving up private information for increased services and convenience.”

‘Tons of opportunities’

Although technology provides “tons of opportunities and tons of ways to do things differently,” Metayer said, “we also have to think about whether technology is a good thing or not.”

As an example, she cited autonomous cars. Although many feel these will revolutionize travel, Metayer noted that with the development of these vehicles, more and more people will be on the roads, leading to increased congestion. Cities and roadways will have to be redesigned to accommodate the cars and areas for drop-off and pick-up.

In addition and more chillingly, programmers for autonomous car operation will have to determine what happens when the vehicle is in an accident situation—does the car hit a barrier, for example, killing the people in the car, or does it continue onwards, killing pedestrians crossing the street?

“We must determine whether these advances are something people need or something people want,” she said. “We have to think about whether they are good for society and sustainable or just providing for a particular need.”

Shifting assumptions

Science and technology have always had a huge impact on the development of industries, Metayer noted, but many industries take a long time to shift and shift slowly.

For example, department stores 60 or 70 years ago had sales assistants choosing products off the shelf for customers, she said, but this changed with the idea of self-service stores like our present-day supermarkets. Companies are increasingly moving towards getting rid of physical stores, further changing the way retail is carried out.

“Science and technology are behind all of this,” she said, “but industries only shift when key assumptions are challenged. Companies that succeed today always shift assumptions.”