Web Summit: Highlights From The 3rd Day ♦ Sustainability and innovation were the main themes of the third day of the event taking place until Thursday in Lisbon. Ideas that sell out in pitch format, deals that close in on corner conversations, always with a good deal of fun in the mix and some robots, of course, or we weren’t talking about the Web Summit. This was the third day of the technology fair brought to you by Secrets From Portugal.
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The technological summit, which was born in 2010 in Ireland, the event is being held in Lisbon since 2016, will remain in the capital until 2028, after last November it was decided to hold the conference in Portugal for more. 10 years after a successful application.
The third Web Summit day started with Microsoft President Brad Smith, Robot Sophia and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The announcement of the day came late Wednesday afternoon when Nokia announced the opening of a centre of excellence in Portugal. This announcement represents the creation of 100 jobs by the company.
One of the figures on the third day of the world’s largest technology summit was the CEO of one of the world’s largest technology summits, Microsoft. Brad Smith warned Web Summit attendees that we are “the first generation of mankind that will empower computers to make decisions that until now were made by humans.”
Robot Sophia
SingularityNET founder and CEO Ben Goertzel predict that some countries may recognize robot rights “in the next five to 15 years,” depending on the degree of intelligence and autonomy these Artificial Intelligence machines may have. Sophia’s “father” pointed to the example of countries that have already shown openness to such a step, such as Malta and South Korea, but admitted that his most famous creation at the time he worked for Hanson Robotics has not yet is at the level that will be needed.
A flying taxi may be flying over Lisbon skies by 2022
The Volocopter is a drone that has the ambition to become the first air taxi in the world. The goal is for this taxi to be flying in the skies around the world from 2022. The Volocopter is an electric drone capable of carrying two people plus carry-on luggage. It can be controlled remotely or from the aircraft itself. And the icing on the cake is 100% electric, a key requirement for 21st-century mobility. It reaches a top speed of 110 kilometres per hour, with a range of 35 kilometres.
Jaden Smith, the successful sustainable businessman
Among many advantages, being the son of Hollywood star Will Smith can have some setbacks. Living under the shadow of the charismatic and talented actor could be the main one. But not for Jaden Smith, a 21-year-old who blends his busy routine between film, music, entrepreneurship and the fight for the environment. And it was precisely to talk about projects in the last two areas listed that Jaiden took the stage of the Web Summit, the event of innovation and technology held in Lisbon.