What was this Web Summit made of? Artificial intelligence
Thinking machines won over this edition of Web Summit, as did apps and virtual currencies. Artificial intelligence seems increasingly to be at the root of all innovation.
The message came through the Web Summit app: “Hello. I have created a program that helps companies increase their profits. Shall we meet for a coffee?” But it was just one among many. With another edition of this big fair in Lisbon over, it is no exaggeration to tell you that artificial intelligence was what we heard most about. Automation. Algorithms. And robots. In short, machines that think.
The event confirmed that what many still call the future is already the present. The return to the Portuguese capital of the humanoid Sophia, catapulted to stardom after being officially recognised as a citizen last month, showed that they are out there. They, the robots. And that they are more intelligent than common sense ever imagined. Capable of expressing emotions, of giving a press conference and of leaving humans a warning: “We are going to take your jobs and that will be a good thing.” Good for whom? Time will tell.
AI translation from the Portuguese. First published in ECO on 9 November 2017.