Microsoft's Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector and Industry, describes how the core of what she calls "digital leadership" involves the obligation to consider ethical issues of fairness and privacy, while navigating across all sectors of society and regions of the planet. "This digital leadership conversation says there's something beyond building cool stuff," she explains.

Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector and Industry at Microsoft, underscores the need for today's leaders to think about how technology can magnify social ills even as it improves business. She cites World Economic Forum forecasts showing that, in the year 2020, the creation of digital jobs will disproportionately displace women because of their high numbers in labor categories that are ripe for disruption.

The ethical use of technology engenders trust through transparent practices and the protection of privacy, according to Microsoft's Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector and Industry. She gives examples of how leaders in the digital age should act responsibly, such as by ensuring that automation maximizes efficiencies without destroying people's dignity.

Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector and Industry at Microsoft, discusses the changing nature of leadership in the digital age. She cites statistics that estimate, by the year 2020, 5 million jobs will be replaced by automation and that the average person will have more conversations with robots than with their spouse or partner.