Why 'Information' may drive the next IT revolution

Dr Mike Lynch OBE is founder and chief executive (CEO) of Autonomy, and executive vice-president (EVP) of HP Information Management. Autonomy, part of HP since October 2011, makes software that processes human information, or unstructured data, including social media, email, video, audio, text and web pages.


In his 1950 paper entitled Computing Machinery and Intelligence, computer scientist Alan Turing opens with the words: "I propose to consider the question, 'Can machines think?'"

Sixty years on, the idea of intelligent computers seems a little less ridiculous. Technology leaps forward year by year with ever greater processing powers, bigger clouds, faster internet connections, sleeker interfaces and cleverer self-learning algorithms.

It poses the question: are computers getting closer to human intelligence by being able to make value judgements, understand concepts and process a world that is not just black and white in real time?

The answer is yes.Not only is this a significant step forward, but it also has the potential to fundamentally change the world we know.If technology can give data meaning, whether it is voice, video, text or images, for instance, think of the prospect of using this insight to create a more predictable, and consequently less volatile, world.

For CEOs, using technology to spot the "unknown unknowns" during this time of economic uncertainty will be regarded as a "superpower", helping them to make better business decisions and ultimately beat the competition.

Now think of the potential of applying this approach on a macro level to other forms of information, such as medical or seismograph data.