True North

We’ve all got a supercomputer in our pockets, yet so many business and government processes are impeded by entrenched, obsolete technologies and administrative models. At the same time, some tech has moved ahead of our society’s ability to integrate it with our values and ideals.

How is ‘fake news’ even a thing? Trust and truth are in short supply. Faith in institutions is low. Government can’t keep up, but where else do we look for solutions when market outcomes don’t reflect our values?

The good news is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We don’t have a tech problem, we have an implementation problem. A people problem. We have the tech to energize old institutions and give them a much-needed shot of transparency. The truth still matters; big tech just needs a reminder. Let’s give it to them.

1:30 - Marianne Harrison: Welcome

1:35 - Scott Totzke: Breaking (and Strengthening) Digital Trust: Quantum’s Effect on Cybersecurity
The quantum race is on. Tech giants and nation-states are investing billions of dollars in developing the world’s first large-scale quantum computer with the expectation that they’ll be able to solve some of today’s most pressing problems.
But with great possibilities comes an even more significant threat: A powerful enough quantum computer can break the very foundation of digital trust that we rely on every day to securely connect; whether that’s between people or between devices, such as in the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected cars.
In this T-Minus 5 presentation, cybersecurity expert Scott Totzke, CEO & Co-founder of ISARA Corporation, explores quantum’s effect on current security measures, the quantum-safe solution that’s ready today and how Canada's Quantum Valley is leading the way to create technologies that will seamlessly transition and strengthen the security ecosystem before the threat is realized.

1:40 - Hillary Hartley: Tech for Public Good
Digital makes government more accessible, bends the cost curve and creates better outcomes for individuals, organizations and society at large. Join Ontario's first Chief Digital Officer, Hillary Hartley, as she shares her reflections on designing and delivering simpler, faster, better services with people, across a people-first public organization, serving an increasingly diverse and digital population of almost 14 million individuals across the province.

Key topics covered will include recruiting talented, creative technologists and designers to serve the public good, and introducing user-centred design practices, open standards and digital leadership skills to bring about positive change for the public sector and the people of Ontario.
 
2:00 - Ted Livingston and  Russell Verbeeten: How cryptocurrency can help our inequality problem, Moderated by Rita Trichur
In today’s digital world, we have an online economy where people provide value to each other, but they aren’t compensated for it. Ordinary folks generate thousands of likes, retweets and vast data troves from browsing and searching, and yet all the money goes to deep-pocketed third parties.

Decentralization can solve this problem because cryptocurrency is about more than the Bitcoin bubble. Cryptocurrency can facilitate the exchange of value in the digital world, while bringing together a broad group of participants to create an ecosystem of digital services that prioritizes consumer experience and choice. The session is a dialogue between Kik CEO Ted Livingston, who recently launch the cryptocurrency, Kin, and cryptocurrency expert, Russell Verbeeten.

2:20 - Craig Silverman: The Golden Age of Media Manipulation
Every digital product or service can be gamed or exploited, and this is especially true of today’s media and information.

Whether it’s Russian trolls trying to create division in a democracy, marketers scheming to get the best reviews for their product, or criminals using a self-publishing platform to launder money, our media environment is more open to manipulation than ever before.

Craig Silverman, the reporter who brought fake news to the world’s attention, exposes the secrets of how this manipulation is being done online, and why entrepreneurs and technologists must plan for how their products could be used and abused.

2:50 - Neil Desai and Jad Saliba: Coding Alone – The Erosion of Social Capital Online and How We Can Revive It
The Internet has been a force for so much good for so many.  But it has also been a conduit for crime and despair. Money misappropriated through cybercrime makes headlines. We’re starting to learn more about how our trust is eroding online. What about the loss of innocence, is that next?
Jad Saliba and Neil Desai of Magnet Forensics will highlight how the perverse use of online platforms, marketplaces and other technologies have inadvertently contributed to the harm of vulnerable populations like children, immigrants, seniors and those suffering from mental illness.  They will provide their analysis on the erosion of social capital online and how its destabilizing our fundamental democratic values, specifically the rule of law, leaving lawmakers with little choice in the future but to lay down innovation-stifling digital red tape.        

Not to worry, they are glass half-full types and have ideas as to how leaders of technology companies can contribute to safer communities online while building-up their own social capital.

3:10 - Marianne Harrison: Closing Remarks