Ideas are the new oil

Ideas are abundant. They can be found everywhere through searching or asking nearby, those around us. We live in a world of vast information, referred to as the “Big Ideas Globe” (BIG for short). The “big” in this case refers to the quantity of ideas, not their quality or complexity. Generative algorithms are rapidly increasing the size of this globe by producing both “natural” ideas generated by humans and “artificial” ideas generated by machines (that mix in a probabilistic or in a combinatorial way words). Additionally, there are “hybrid” ideas which are a combination of the two. These ideas exist in a variety of mediums such as books, articles, blog posts, and product lists.

Do you remember the slogan “Data is the new oil”? Similarly, we can say now “Ideas are the new oil”. What? Ideas? Ideas should already have a value associated; one could argue. No, my friend no! Ideas do not have an intrinsic value (or very few of them perhaps), but you need to go deep on each proposal to figure out the value, most of the times the value is in the eyes of who observes the ideas, so external to idea itself and potentially with multiple values at the same time as an exotic quantum computing qubit that it is in a super-position.

The ability to shape an idea, adapt it, create context, critically evaluate it, and ultimately monetize its value is the challenge. Do you agree that this ability or set of skills can be referred to as “Innovation”? Whether or not we agree on the term, it is important to acknowledge that ideas can be compared to coins, and that one must think about how to create new ideas, copy, use, accumulate, evaluate, and exchange them. These skills and abilities should be a fundamental part of everyone’s skill set.”

This is the “prompt” of my series of lectures I am planning to do provide during the first hours of the course “Emerging Technologies for Industrial Innovation” (https://www.uniba.it/it/didattica/competenze-trasversali) organized by University of Bari e jointly with prof. Donato Malerba a Domenico Cuoccio.

I will act as HumanGPT as a multitude of professors and trainers around the world right now and for what is concerned the “Innovation” part 3 are the key concepts I am going to consider: Innovation, Invention, and (Emerging) Technologies that are at the base of any Digital Transformation process nowadays.

I will begin by reviewing some tools that can assist in recognizing the potential value of ideas and the associated technology in facilitating digital transformation in both business and societal contexts.

We are constantly bombarded by “tech hypes” and “tech claims,” often blending ideas and technology together. Many of these topics, such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Big Data, XR/VR/AR, Cyber Security, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Quantum Computing, and others, will be explored in depth throughout our course.

It may seem that gaining knowledge about technology is the key to innovation, but what truly defines innovation? Is it simply embracing the latest technological trends? In this course, we will delve into the true meaning of innovation and what makes a product, solution, business model or even an organization or country innovative.

This is a fundamental question that I will aim to answer by highlighting the distinctions and connections between the concepts of “technology” and “innovation.” Through exploring these and other points, I will work to establish the foundational knowledge required to recognize the value of emerging technologies and ideas. We will cover multiple subtopics and concepts that are essential to building this knowledge, starting with defining and understanding the relationships between technology, innovation, and invention. We will proceed step by step.

·     What is an idea?

·     What is Innovation and why its matter Matter

·     Business Innovation and Creative Disruption

·     Material vs Immaterial Innovation

·     Technologies and digital technologies

·     Technology waves

·     Technology vs Innovation

·     Emerging Technologies

·     Inventing and Patenting

·     Innovation vs Technology vs Invention

·     Innovation and Sustainability: Innovability

·     Measuring and contextualizing Innovation: Dynamics. Barriers, Tech delta, Mega Trends, TRL, Hype Cycle

·     Digital Disruption

·     Corporate Foresight and its predictive methods

·     Decoding and Analyzing Innovation Trends

·     Closed Innovation vs Open innovation

·     Innovation and invention tools: Design Thinking, Innovation Challenges

·     TRIZ: find a solution to a problem

In this course, we will delve into the dynamics of innovation and how it can drive digital transformation for companies and entire industries. We will examine how external factors such as sustainability, population changes, and climate change are impacting the need for innovation and technology advancement. Additionally, we will explore tools that can aid in measuring and organizing a technology observatory, as well as mapping potential futures. We will also examine pre-existing knowledge on the subject, including studies by the European Union and private organizations such as the Future Today Institute, Gartner, and the IBM Institute of Business Value. Furthermore, we will examine the importance and methods of predicting technology and innovation trends in a systemic way, as the discipline of Corporate Foresight suggests.

Our aim with this course, jointly with prof. Donato Malerba a Domenico Cuoccio,is to help students (and ourselves as lecturers in a bidirectional way) to build a map to move “smart” into the endless variety of Emerging (digital) technologies and more importantly understand how they are created, utilized and their impact measured in nowadays business and societal contexts.

Pietro Leo is an Executive Architect in IBM Italy, a well-known Innovation Agitator and free thinker. Member of the IBM Academy of Technology and Head of IBM Italy Center of Advanced Studies. You can also follow him on Twitter (@pieroleo).

My blog posts on are also on my Personal Site: http://pieroleo.com