World Economic Forum opens Bay Area annex

SAN FRANCISCO — The World Economic Forum opens the doors Friday to a new outpost focusing on ways in which science and technology can positively impact society.

The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution aims to reshape industries, challenge regulatory frameworks and redefine "what it means to be a human,” Murat Sönmez, a member of the World Economic Forum Managing Board and head of the new center, said in a statement.

“We need to urgently develop policy norms and frameworks and apply these innovations to ensure their benefits affect us all," said Sonmez, pointing to jobs of the future, artificial intelligence and ethics, national digital policies, cross border data flows, civil drones, and autonomous vehicles and the environment.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) were planning to open the center at San Francisco's Presidio and play host to more than 120 dignitaries, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland, University of California at Berkeley President Nicholas Dirks, start-up founders, venture capitalists, and participants from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey and the UK.

"The center will help us better understand the impact tech has on society, and the positive role we can play," Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO and a member of the WEF board of trustees, told Paste BN.

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