IP EXPO EUROPE 2016 opened yesterday with a fascinating glimpse of the future, into a world enabled with Artificial Intelligence (AI), from Nick Bostrom, Founding Director of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute. One of the world’s leading thinkers on the implications and potential effects of artificial intelligence, Bostrom discussed how the rise of AI, enabled by the convergence of cloud computing, connectivity and the internet of things (IoT), could shape the future of human kind.
Bostrom claimed that we are on the cusp of a third technological revolution and argued that now is the time to evaluate how we want our world to be shaped by AI. He called for society and especially technologists, to start defining ground rules for the safe application of these tools.
This theme of requiring intelligent approaches to deploying technology, was reflected in many of the hundred plus presentations yesterday, which spanned the key themes of cloud, cyber security, networks, analytics, DevOps and open source software.
The cyber security panel, chaired by Technology Correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, and featuring leading security experts Eugene Kaspersky (Kaspersky Labs), James Lyne (Sophos), Joshua Corman (Sonatype) and Rik Ferguson (Trend Micro) - explored the reality of IT security yesterday. The panel considered whether it is possible to ever be fully secure, and the resulting implications for organisations.
In his presentation, Mark Russinovich Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft Azure took a similarly pragmatic approach, looking at the common barriers that prevent organisations from seizing the benefits of cloud computing, then demonstrating how approaches such as hybrid cloud and other emerging cloud capabilities can overcome them. Russinovich then shared examples of how, with these approaches, some of the world’s largest and most risk averse companies had moved from a position of cautious evaluation, to adopting public cloud infrastructure on aggressive timelines.
HPE used day one to host a series of events focused on how businesses and Government can support the flow of technology savvy talent in the future. A lively discussion at the HPE STEM panel, chaired by Dr. Sue Black, MBE, concluded with a united view that the school curriculum needs urgent revision to ensure adequate STEM skills and talent in the future.
IP EXPO Europe’s second day is opening with a key note from James Gosling, legendary computer programmer, and the Father of the Java programming language now used in billions of devices and applications. Gosling will give the real story behind the creation and success of Java and insight into his current projects at the intersection of IoT/robotics, cloud computing, and the mysterious world of remote digital communications.
