Innovation is said to be essential for survival in most industries. Yet, innovation can be very risky—some innovations can even destroy value. How can managers and entrepreneurs know what to do, and how should this tradeoff between innovation and risk be treated? What are the broader social goals that ought to be achieved via innovation?

This keynote panel titled "Innovation: To What Purpose" at the Institute for New Economic Thinking's "Human After All" conference in Toronto, with featured speaker John Ralston Saul and moderator Rohinton Medhora, examines these questions.