Hello everyone. 

I am Tom Coughlin and I have the pleasure to serve as the 2024 President and CEO of IEEE. 

I would like to thank the organizers of the World Internet of Things Convention for the opportunity to speak to you today. 

For those who are unfamiliar with IEEE, we are the world's largest technical professional society. Our more than 460,000 members work across academia, industry, and government with the goal of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. 

Through our highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE members from over 190 countries build communities of diverse engineering and technological professionals and inspire innovative technological solutions.

IEEE has a tremendous technical reach, with communities spanning areas from semiconductors and circuits and computers and communications to power and energy and well beyond – to explore and apply technology to solve the world’s most challenging problems. 

At IEEE, we are driven by what’s next—enabling innovation and the creation of new technologies.  Our focus is on fostering collaboration, building and convening communities, and supporting the creation and dissemination of technical knowledge.

We are witnessing rapid developments in technology such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and more.  These innovations have tremendous potential for transforming industries, improving human health, and solving complex problems.  

But these technologies bring new challenges and uncertainties, such as ethical dilemmas and privacy concerns and create the need for foundational elements that ensure technology serves the broader societal goals of efficiency, safety, and environmental responsibility. 

Standards enable technologies to work seamlessly together, ensuring that products and services are reliable, secure, safe, scalable, and efficient. Standards are the unseen force behind today’s technological innovation and the growing circular economy.  

In the context of sustainability, standards are vitally important for several reasons. 

Emerging technologies produce new opportunities for improved energy efficiency, and support the transition to a more sustainable future, as energy availability and consumption are some of the most pressing challenges of our time.  Standards are playing a pivotal role in redefining data center resource use, providing the framework needed to make them more resource efficient and to optimize energy use, while providing required services.

Standards also support the transition to the circular economy where products and materials are reused, refurbished, and recycled.  Standards for e-waste management, recycling and material recovery ensure that valuable resources are reclaimed, reducing the strain on our environment.

Standards play an important part in establishing a framework for equity and inclusion by developing design principles and guidelines for emerging technologies that, for instance, establish safeguards for age-appropriate access and online safety.

Standards create a level playing field for innovation.  They enable different stakeholders, using a true multi stakeholder collaborative environment, to develop solutions that work together to drive progress towards the sustainable development goals.

As we look to the future, the role of standards will only grow in importance. Emerging technologies hold great potential for sustainable development.  However, their responsible deployment hinges on the establishment of comprehensive standards that address ethical, environmental, and social considerations.

Standards are the invisible threads that weave together the fabric of our digital society, ensuring that technical advancements are aligned with a sustainable, inclusive, principled, and prosperous future.

A thriving exchange of global, leading-edge viewpoints on technology and innovation is imperative as we continue to pursue IEEE’s mission of advancing technology for humanity.

I am honored to be part of IEEE’s global, technological enterprise. One that is committed to scientific and technical discovery and innovation that improves our standards of living and helps us care for each other and for our planet. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you.  I applaud the organizer’s efforts to build a platform for international cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.  I wish you a successful convention.  

Thank you.