BIOGRAPHY
Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is one of the world’s leading experts on the information economy. He is Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University. He is also a faculty affiliate of the Belfer Center of Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.
Viktor has published ten books, including the international bestseller Big Data (co-authored with Kenneth Cukier, translated into more than 20 languages) and the award-winning Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age. He is the author of over a hundred articles and book chapters on the governance of information.
His most recent book, Reinventing Capitalism in the Age of Big Data(2018, with Thomas Ramge), provocatively argues that increased access to information is re-shaping markets and ushering in an age where the firm is no longer dominant.
After successes in the International Physics Olympics and the Austrian Young Programmers Contest, Viktor studied in Salzburg, Harvard and at the London School of Economics. In 1986 he founded Ikarus Software, a company focusing on data security and developed the Virus Utilities, which became the best-selling Austrian software product. He was voted Top-5 Software Entrepreneur in Austria in 1991 and Person of the Year for the State of Salzburg in 2000. He has chaired the Rueschlikon Conference on Information Policy in the New Economy, bringing together leading strategists and decision-makers of the new economy. In 2014 he received a World Technology Award in the law category for his work.
Viktor is a sought-after expert for print and broadcast media worldwide. He and his work have been featured in (amongst others) the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, Nature, Science, NPR, BBC, The Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, WIRED, Ars Technica, and Daily Kos. He is also on the boards of foundations, think tanks and organisations focused on studying the information economy, and advises governments, businesses and NGOs on the new economy and information society issues.
VIKTOR MAYER-SCHOENBERGER: SPEAKER
A highly energetic and vibrant speaker, Viktor looks at the information economy and Big Data’s role in changing the face of everything from product development and scientific discovery, to human learning, healthcare, transportation, retail, finance and marketing. Why is Big Data transforming the way we live, work and think? What really is Big Data, beyond the hype? How will Big Data offer new sources of revenue to businesses, and how will organisations change in the Big Data age?
But Big Data is not his only area of expertise. As the author of the path-breaking book, “Delete – The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age”, he has also talked about the role of human remembering when capturing and storing digital memory has gotten so easy and cheap. He has talked about user trust, and information privacy, as well as the need for relevance in the data we keep. More generally, he has spoken about how our work and our lives are changing because of our digital tools and networks.