Tech for Good: bullshit marketing or paradigm shift?
Last week, VivaTech, one of the biggest tech events in Europe took place in Paris. As the Anova team, we analyzed one of the main themes of the year, “Tech for Good” as well as the implications of digital transformation to corporates. Here is the impression I got from the “Tech for Good” theme.
This year at VivaTech, Tech for Good was in the spotlight: Dedicated conferences, Better Life Avenue, Positive Impact Map, the communication teams had spared no effort to make this theme predominate.
But behind this saturation of the positive appearance, is the change towards a better world simulated or effective?
Large groups: a marketing operation that leaves doubts about the degree of reflection on the paradigm shift to be made
Jean-Paul Agon (L’ORÉAL), Isabelle Kocher (ENGIE), Stéphane Richard (ORANGE), Ginni Rometty (IBM), Philippe Wahl (La Poste) and Young Sohn (SAMSUNG) met at a conference as part of Tech for Good Summit to discuss this subject. The audience was doubtful about this conference with promising speakers: they would have liked an enlightening reflection on the future role of transnational firms in Tech For Good, and deplored the lack of linkage between the speakers. The latter presented the social actions implemented within their organizations, but however laudable they may be, they put all the causes in the same basket: Jean-Paul Agon was hiring more women, Ginni Rometty replied that she was educating and hiring unemployed people, where La Poste was committed to helping the disabled. Let us note the intervention of Isabelle Kocher who raised the debate by initiating a reflection on the prioritization of actions to fight climate change, underway at Engie (it must be said that this type of company is particularly expected on the subject). A promising but disorganized round table that leaves citizens in doubt: one wonders whether firms prioritize the common good over the economic benefits of such marketing arguments.
Politics: chained to the power of money, between disillusionment and denial of reality
Politicians also had a voice on the issue: Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, John Kerry, Paul Kagame and Macky Sall followed one another on stage. To the disillusioned America replied a supercharged France, in the person of Emmanuel Macron, but who seemed more concerned about the elections of the following week than about the need for a “Tech for Good”.
Indeed, Justin Trudeau opened the dance with a rather profound but pessimistic discourse on the role of the regulator responding to the digital giants. For him, the giants are neither good nor bad, only the regulator can tip the balance in the right direction. Later, John Kerry, former Secretary of State for Barack Obama, delivered a very sober and defeatist version of today’s America, led by an irrational and dangerous leader.
In between, Emmanuel Macron gave a speech as he has the secret, surfing on the reception of the public already rallied to his cause. Europe will be the solution to all the problems, which are already few in number thanks to the tremendous work of its European predecessors. We would love to believe it, but we came out with the feeling that we have missed something.
At the end, the two African presidents delivered a rather optimistic vision of the issue, recalling that Alibaba built its success on China’s weaknesses, which promises great opportunities for African start-ups.
Entrepreneurs: a myriad of promising ideas and achievements.
Finally, it was by going to meet the entrepreneurs on the stands that we could feel a wind of invigorating change. Here and there, energetic young people carry an impressive number of meaningful projects. A more sober marketing, less in words and more in action, which warms the heart.
Of particular note is the Plastic Odyssey project, a boat that travels around the world in 3 years using recycled plastic to promote a more rational use of it; the d’Un Seul Geste initiative that trains many people in first aid through Augmented Reality; and Petit Côté that promotes a healthier diet by replacing cake butter with vegetables. It should also be noted that the tendency to master a better use of plastic is certainly the one that recurs in the largest number of projects. What is ultimately striking is the global energy released by these entrepreneurs for the common good, who are increasing in number each year.
I note from this 2019 edition that the change towards a more sustainable and liveable society for all has indeed begun, but that it did not wait for public and private institutions to drive the movement. On this subject, these mastodons are more in reaction than in action, so I encourage all my fellow citizens to follow the example of the opinion leaders who are emerging at the moment, because today we have the power to make things happen, and the duty not to wait for others to do so.
