Copyright - World Economic Forum. Credit Michele Limina

"The San Francisco Bay Area is the center of technology innovation, with an amazing community of entrepreneurs, business leaders and thought leaders who are paving a way forward," said Benioff ahead of the panel. "The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution can serve as an essential platform where some of the brightest minds can help understand the trends shaping our world and navigate the future."

The Center will focus on technologies, concepts, scientific developments and new business models such as artificial intelligence and robotics, precision medicine, blockchain, drones and their civilian use, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, and the role of the individual in the era of big data, the internet of things and artificial intelligence. It will also advance Forum projects such as industrial internet of things safety, digital trade, advancing the shared economy and project-based workforce, and harnessing Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and innovation to improve global ocean health, management and governance.

The Center will be led by Murat Sönmez, Chief Business Officer and Member of the World Economic Forum Managing Board, who joined the Forum in 2014 after having spent 25 years in Silicon Valley.

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