Entrepreneurs intrigued by ‘Future of Work’ at Maui TechOhana event

During a Maui TechOhana event on Feb. 2, 45 entrepreneurs heard a presentation from guest speaker Jen Chiu about the “Future of Work.”

It was the first in-person gathering in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chiu, who has worked on a design-led innovation team at Google, led a highly interactive and informative discussion on the use of new technologies, including virtual reality, avatars and Artificial Intelligence.

She talked story on her winding career path to and in technology. She is coming from a management consulting, UX strategy and planning, product, creative and entrepreneurial background.

Chiu has led cross-functional teams across tech, start-ups, media and non-profits such as Facebook, HBO, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and government organizations.

Chiu asked some questions to provoke thought, including “Is the future of work a dystopian world where users only interact through VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) technologies or do new opportunities foster connection and enhance work?”

The discussion included a look at generational differences and the influence of Millennials (born 1980-1994) and GenZ (born 1995-2012) on the workforce. As a segue into the discussion, Chiu challenged the audience, “As GenZ dominates the workforce, will everything stay status quo or will they change how work gets done?”

“It’s important to understand the different traits of these generations and how they work,” said Chiu, citing that they will soon be our bosses and political leaders.

Maui TechOhana is presented by the Maui Economic Development Board, with support by the County of Maui. It provides an opportunity for participants to network with peers and to learn key lessons for their tech and/or small business careers.

“We are grateful to having someone like Jen here on Maui to share her time and expertise with the community and to offer an inside look at some of these big tech companies,” said Annette Lynch, program manager with the Maui Economic Development Board. “The audience added fuel to the discussion with their own experiences and questions about avatars, Chat GPT (a viral chatbot) and more.”

“It was great to meet people in person after three years,” said Bogdan Udrea, founder of VisSidus Technologies. “Future of work was very interesting in general, and the details were challenging and engaging. Thank you for restarting Maui TechOhana. We are looking forward to future ones.”

With the free tickets sold-out in advance, 29 guests tuned in via the zoom livestream. The Maui Economic Development Board hosts three to four Maui TechOhana networking events each year with a short presentation on a relevant topic in business or technology.