Former President Obama speaks at tech event in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - Former President Obama met with tech leaders in San Francisco on Wednesday to discuss the role of big data in tackling some of the country's most pressing problems.
Software company Splunk hosted the private event called "The Beginning of Everything" and invited Obama as the featured speaker.
The company's CEO Doug Merritt says data analytics will be the key to resolving current and future problems. Part of Splunk's answer is a $150 million initiative to cultivate like-minded companies and support worthy causes.
"It really is to create vibrancy in the overall ecosystem, whether it's on a for-profit basis for organizations that can craft new solutions on top of Splunk, or not on top of Splunk," said Merritt.
The highlight for many attendees was Merritt's dialogue with the former president.
No recordings were permitted but Obama said using tech to crunch big data sets helped him win in 2008. He said new data analytics could be the solution to problems ranging from the high cost of healthcare to climate change, even traffic.
"The question is, are there ways in which we can make better decisions, do things more efficiently, provide services more quickly improve customer service if we have the ability to process all that data," he said.
Obama, possibly making an oblique reference to the current president, said that a good leader cannot get distracted by data that is not critical to decision-making at a presidential level.
"The other thing that's helpful is not watching TV or reading social media. Those are two things, I would advise as president, not to do," he said.
Conference attendees said seeing the president was the highlight, but it was his message to the tech-savvy crowd of being able to distinguish between the signal versus the noise when it comes to, that resonated most.
Michael Green with Intel said, "It was just impressive how he linked a lot of the challenges in the new data-centric world that's evolving. "
Venture capitalist Laurie Yoler said, "I thought having President Obama here was extraordinarily inspirational to talk about how he tried to solve problems while he was in the White House. [And] how he was trying to get the right data and not listening to the noise."
The former president also talked about the lighter side of technology and how it can be used to solve everyday dad problems like keeping up with his daughter who've both left home.