The Web Summit has become one of the most important events on the technology conference calendar. Taking place every year in Lisbon, Portugal, it attracts start-ups, tech giants and famous faces alike. This year, artificial intelligence is at the top of the agenda with dozens of conferences, presentations and panels discussing the topic. The conference will take place Monday to Thursday next week and I myself will moderate a panel focused on the use of AI in business.
Although it may feel like AI suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the last 12 months, the technology has been around for decades and is slowly improving with each new advancement. It is built into phonesused in businesses and present in medicine.
I’ve been covering the topic as a journalist for years and as we approach the first anniversary of the launch of ChatGPTI will be paying particular attention to generative AI and how it is deployed.
What’s happening with AI?
We are already seeing companies like Microsoft confirm its use in future Xbox games to bring NPCs to life, YouTube is deploy AI robots to improve the functioning of its comments and of course each Office type application will soon have a text generation tool.
Taking a look at the Web Summit schedule, it’s clear that much remains to be decided regarding regulation and the ethical use of technology, with multiple panels on both aspects. But what I find more interesting are the startups and organizations currently deploying AI.
Going to an event like Web Summit as a journalist usually starts with searching through all the panels in the hopes of finding something that will lead to good news. This includes networking to connect with people who are building or doing something unique and a lot of walking – there are a lot of areas to cover and usually little time to get from panel to panel.
It all started with a wiki
One of the first moments of the tech festival, after the opening drinks and festivities, is a talk by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. At this point, it’s unclear exactly what he’ll talk about, but it’s expected that there will at least be some mention of how Wikipedia plans to use AI and manage its content to train AI models.
Massive amounts of data are required to obtain a AI tool like ChatGPT to deliver that funny joke for your best man speech, or write the essay you’ve been putting off the day before the deadline. One of the most important sources of this data is Wikipedia, in part because it is pre-organized, labeled, and verified.
I will also attend an Airbus conference on how it uses AI to measure and improve a pilot’s response time in flight. This will include a workshop and demonstration to show how computer vision can be used for much more than just identifying a factory and can lead to safer air travel.
Replace ads on YouTube?
It’s not all grand celebrations of engineering. Another panel will explore how AI-driven product placement could lead to the end of video ads as we know them today. Why watch a 30-second ad for a 2-minute clip of a cat playing the piano when AI can put a can of Pepsi on the piano right in the video itself?
AI cuts across all industries and fields. This is becoming evident here at Tom’s Guide in my new role as AI Editor. During pitch meetings, we continue to come up with fun crossover ideas that cover everything from using AI in sleep tracking to fitness and gaming.
A talk at the London School of Fashion and Dress for Impress Web Summit will explore how the fashion industry can use AI in clothing design to improve the customer experience through virtual try-ons and fittings.
So what’s the highlight?
There will be footballers, models, actors and technicians mingling in an event that goes beyond AI, tackling the commercial space sector, the evolution of the internet and even the future of television and broadcasting. There will be lots of discussion about podcasting. and even a podcasting booth in the media room.
Despite the celebrity profile and the chance to chat with DJ Marshmello, my highlight will be exploring AI and how it works. change our lives in ways we may not yet understand. And, of course, I’ll share my thoughts after the talk right here on Tom’s Guide.
