Panelist — The Future “Normal” using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence
Panelist — Transformational role of Big Data in smart societies

Robert Kirkpatrick

Robert Kirkpatrick is Director of Global Pulse, an innovation initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General driving a big data revolution for global development and resilience (unglobalpulse.org).

Global Pulse’s network of innovation Labs in New York, Uganda and Indonesia, allow UN System partners to discover and mainstream applications of big data and real-time analytics for humanitarian action and sustainable development. Global Pulse’s advocacy agenda focuses on public-private “data philanthropy” partnerships, and data privacy & policy innovation to enable the harnessing of big data as a public good.

Prior to joining the United Nations, Kirkpatrick co-founded and led software development for two pioneering private-sector humanitarian technology teams, first at Groove Networks, and later as Lead Architect for Microsoft Humanitarian Systems. From 2007-2009 he served as CTO of the non-profit InSTEDD.

Mr. Kirkpatrick was a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data Revolution for Sustainable Development (2014), and currently sits on InSTEDD’s Board of Directors, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Data-Driven Development.