IBM’s “Let’s Create”: Where innovation is forged

Article in partnership with IBM.

Creativity can be regarded as an attitude, an ability that all human beings share, or — as Albert Einstein once said — where intelligence has fun. One thing that we can all agree on is creativity has played a central role in the development and evolution of Western civilization, insofar as it has allowed us to consistently improve our material, social, and cultural conditions.

In lead-up to the digital age, we have achieved extraordinary things. Chief among them, we have transformed our operations into data that is processed by increasingly cognitive algorithms that can then optimize decision-making. While that is already impressive, we are about to go even further.

The post-digital era is already unfolding before our very eyes. Within the immediate future, we will no longer pay attention to digital, because it will be ingrained in the fabric of our daily lives, like electricity, mobile phones, and tap water. As in the case of power outages, we will only notice digital when it is absent.

In my view, this evolution was only possible because of our creativity, ingenuity, and desire to look beyond the status quo. Technology is surely an enabler, but the human touch is required to forge novel tools and methods.

Recently, I had the opportunity to reflect on this while attending the IBM Think Rome 2022. There, I had the privilege of meeting the creators IBM selected for its “Let’s Create” initiative…