In the race to innovate, companies often find themselves navigating a fine line between progress and responsibility. As new advancements like AI and photonics reshape the future, how can businesses advance while maintaining ethical integrity and sustainability? On this episode of Catalyst, Clinton sits down with NTT Corporation's Global Chief Marketing Officer Vito Mabrucco, who discusses how the company infuses its values into its work and shares insight into NTT’s latest innovations, sustainability initiatives, and cutting-edge advancements in photonics.
The pillars of responsible innovation
At the core of any successful business is a commitment to ethics and long-term sustainability, and NTT is no exception. The company embraces and abides by an innovation framework built on four pillars: ethics, global collaboration, trusted partnerships, and long-term innovation. These pillars aren’t just abstract ideals but practical foundations for driving both business and societal value. Ethics, in particular, is key, and for organizations to truly make an impact, they must operate with a clear moral compass.
Take AI, for example. It holds immense promise for solving complex problems, but it also raises ethical questions about data privacy, fairness, and bias. Companies that fail to address these concerns risk eroding public trust. A clear ethical code for AI development, focused on transparency and risk mitigation, is becoming critical to any responsible innovation strategy.
At the same time, innovation cannot be stifled by overly cautious approaches. While ethical standards are essential, they must be balanced with the need for technological progress. This requires a nuanced approach that safeguards against harm while encouraging responsible experimentation.
How photonics sustainably powers progress
One of the most often overlooked aspects of AI’s rapid expansion is the immense energy consumption required for its computational capabilities, which places significant strain on global energy resources. Photonics – the science of transmitting and processing data using light rather than electricity – offers a solution. By shifting from an electronics-based communication and compute infrastructure to light-based systems, photonics can reduce energy consumption, increase speeds, and handle larger volumes of data. NTT is at the forefront, with specific IP for replacing electronics with photonics inside communications equipment, computer systems, PCs, and data centers using photonics at the computer, board, and chip levels.
Photonics allows companies to scale AI capabilities without worsening the energy crisis. However, adoption will take time, starting with data centers and large-scale computing. As the technology evolves, photonics could revolutionize consumer devices and manage the energy load from AI and other data-heavy technologies.
Innovate, don’t just invent
Beyond energy and ethics, the real potential for change lies in addressing real-world challenges. But it’s important to distinguish between invention—creating something entirely new—and innovation, which is the application of that invention to solve problems. Many companies get stuck in the invention phase by creating technologies that fail to gain traction. The key to success is applying these new technologies in ways that address existing market needs or can help to create a better tomorrow.
Whether it’s improving healthcare access for senior citizens or using high application platform services to improve mobile connectivity, technology has immense potential to move society forward. By inventing with clear applications in mind and keeping ethics and sustainability at the forefront, enterprises can help to shape a world that is better for all through innovation.
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