Illuminating how AI breakthroughs will transform science

IBM Research’s approach, Accelerated Discovery, combines AI, cloud, and quantum computing to tackle problems from disease to climate change. But the technology is dauntingly complex. How do you make it clear and compelling to C-suite leaders and a broad audience alike?

Our strategic analysis and interviews revealed the ideal ambassadors: IBM’s own researchers. So we put them at the center of The Fastest Path to Progress, a 16-minute documentary shot around the world, from IBM’s iconic Yorktown Heights headquarters to Johannesburg. We also filmed the researchers outdoors, echoing how quantum computing draws on the behavior of particles in nature. Elegant motion graphics and an original score completed the picture. The film premiered at the Aspen Ideas Festival, followed by an onstage panel with IBM leaders. For IBM Research, it became a defining document, crystallizing its mission for the world and for the researchers themselves.