Imagine what the next 4 billion

as they connect can help us do.

There are already 12 billion things connected to the Internet:

things, devices, believe it or not like a garbage can, even a basket ball,

I'll get to that in a minute.

Predictions are

20 to 50 billion more things will be connected in the next couple of years.

Just think of the possibilities with that amount of connectivity,

with that amount of collaboration happening around this planet

what can it have as a positive impact?

In fact, the impact is pretty staggering: some predictions say

the Internet of things and the Internet of everything

can drive 19 trillion dollars worth of economic benefit for this planet.

To put that into perspective,

that's almost as large as the US and China's economies combined,

so 19 trillion of good fortune waiting for us

if we make a difference, if we accelerate, if we embrace change.

But just connecting things creates an awful lot of data and information,

and sometimes, overwhelming amounts of data,

massive amounts of data, we call it big data.

So the challenge we have is

how do you get that information, that data into the hands of people

that can make a better, informed, educated decision?

Teachers, people drilling mines, transportation...

Think about the things in our lives

that can improve with a more connected world,

but that takes some responsibility to make sure

we get that information into the hands of the right people.

Think about the Internet of things connecting a bunch of stuff,

creating a bunch of data,

change that data to get the information

to the hands of people who can make a difference,

make a faster, better, informed decision for this planet.

So, let me personalized this for you a little bit:

let me take you back a couple of months ago

on why I truly believe there is a tipping point,

and I need your help tipping this thing a little faster

because I think this tipping point can have a great economic impact,

it can have a positive impact on all our lives.

The first part of the journey was actually, with my son, Alec.

We were at an electronic store a couple of months ago,

and on the bottom shelf was this, a basket ball.

Much to our amusement, we thought it's a practical joke

about inventory, play, something,

but seeing this product in this store was very strange for us.

So upon further investigation, we realized this is actually a connected basket ball.

It connects to your smart phone.

as an athlete, as you take a shot,

this ball tracks the trajectory of that shot,

and it gives you immediate data to say was that banked high or banked that low.

Think about some of the egos on the basketball court nowadays,

it's nice to bring a little bit of data to that,

and help them understand: "You know what,

maybe you're not as good as you think you are

adjust a little bit.

So amazingly beneficial, it becomes a personal coach, a tool for coaching

but think about it: it's a connected device that brings information

to someone that can make a difference, improve the game of basketball.

The good news is this is now turning into a connected soccer ball.

My daughter is in the audience here today; a budding fantastic musician and student

but a budding soccer player.

Connected soccer ball can help you improve your kick, the trajectory of that ball.

So the connected devices are helping you improve you sport.

But then, I had the good fortune of going to Barcelona,

a beautiful city in southern Europe, one of the most beautiful in the world.

But some of you might know

Spain has not been in the best economic shape for the last couple of years.

How troubling Barcelona was?

Average unemployment was at a staggering 29%,

unemployment between the age of 18 and 35 was a very sobering almost 60%.

Horrendous.

Barcelona itself was on the brinks of bankruptcy,

so it had to do something different,

and the Mayor along with other leaders and partnerships collaborated and said:

"We're going to drive some change, and do things differently.

We need to look at things we've done for decades the same way

and figure out can we drive change?"

The first was the connected bus stop. WiFi at the bus stop? What's the big deal?

But it was more than that, it's a digital sign that said: "Where is the bus?

Did I miss it or have I got some time?"

It was more than a digital sign because you are connected to the community

and if I was delayed for a bus and had 20 or 30 minutes to spare,

could I get texts from the local coffee shop or the local pizzeria

to take advantage of that?

As a tourist or a commuter, I felt more connected to the community,

the community got a benefit from me,

it was a better connected experience from just a bus-stop.

We then walked down the boulevard and came to the connected parking space.

30% to 40% of traffic congestion in cities around the world,

especially western cities,

are people like me and maybe you driving around and around

trying to find that elusive parking space.

In Barcelona that doesn't happen anymore.

You have an application as you get within the city limits:

green says that it is parking and red says that it's not.

But it's more than that:

as you park and you stabilize the city gets the revenue,

they get a parking automatically debited from your account.

If you overstay, you're welcome but you get that parking ticket as well.

So Barcelona has changed something,

an archaic thing they did for many decades,

into a profit generating experience.

It was a walk down a beautiful boulevard where I saw a garbage can bigger than this

with a sensor on it and a connected garbage can.

Why, oh why do you need a connected garbage can?

So, tourism, right?

What would make that beautiful backdrop not look so good?

Stinky trash, garbage, right?

They've collected garbage in Barcelona the same way for decades,

so they said: "If we can get information from our garbage and track the capacity,

is that full or empty, maybe we should go pick-up the full trash first,

maybe we don't need to burn the fuel going to empty garbage cans and pick them up.

So what was a very simple concept actually reduce the amount of garbage they had,

spilling it over into streets affecting tourism,

lowered their operating cost incredibly, and improved their green house effect

their carbon foot print was saved as well.

This connectivity thing got me excited, there was a tipping point,

there are things being connected that even I was amazed about

but I know there's a couple of you in the audience out there, thinking:

"All this connectivity, all these cameras tracking where I am,

sounds a little George Orwell-Ian 1984-ish."

I am an optimist, I truly believe we figured these things out,

I truly believe you can make a difference to help figure this out

because you shouldn't feel worried about it, we will figure this out.

Guess what, when another 4 billion people get on Internet

and help us start collaborating

when we connect the unconnected to have 20, 50 billion devices connected,

think about the great things that can happen.

Think about how the world can benefit

from 19 trillion dollars worth of economic benefit.

I am very optimistic about the future.

But we're not just here at TEDTalks to get entertained.

I'd like to challenge us to do something about it.

We've talked about tipping points all day.

Tipping points need help,

they need to be pushed, need to be tipped, they need to be accelerated.

This is a matter of economic benefit,

this can really change the way we work, live, and play,

why would we not do something about it?

Why would we settle for a second best?

Why don't we challenge, why don't we vote, why don't we tweet

why don't we spend our money; why don't we have an expectation

that this experience should have a better impact on all our lives

and on this entire planet?

Thank you very much.

(Applause)