Often the news about technological advances make us imagine the great contributions that these innovations will have in the future. Virtual spaces where we will move with our avatars or applied artificial intelligence in fields such as health or education. However, they can also raise many questions: How much data can a company collect through the metaverse? Can you do it without our consent? How can the blockchain stop fraud attempts?
Several international experts in the field of technology and digitization have discussed these and other issues during the “Digital Future Society Summit” forum, held within the framework of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Digital Future Society, an initiative promoted by Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, has organized this event to offer global information on the steps necessary to achieve a digital transition based on respect for human rights, the ethics and safety. All this with the aim of advancing towards an equitable and sustainable digital age.
How much data can a company collect through the metaverse? Can you do it without our consent? How can the blockchain stop fraud attempts?
In her opening speech, Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, stated that “we are here to talk about the future of the human species, democracy and the notion of what it is to be human, and how it fits with digitization. Never before has the world had a technological context where one could have so many possibilities of inclusion” of all the inhabitants of the planet. For this reason, the Secretary of State has assured that “the time has come to put technology at the service of the common good, to solve the problems we have as a society. Aspects such as climate change, depopulation or the protection of civil rights are areas that must be taken care of and maintained”. In this sense, Carme Artigas has referred to the leadership capacity that Spain is carrying out.
Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence
MOBILE WORLD CAPITAL BARCELONA
“We are leading this transition while also exploring what new rights may be needed as technology and digitization continue to advance.” The Secretary of State also recalled that in 2023, “Spain will host the first neurotechnology center in all of Europe, which will be among the top five in the world.”
The first panel of the forum dealt precisely with neurotechnologies and their role in the new digital reality, as well as the relationship of the individual with technology, and the digital divide. For example, there has been talk of how some studies are already creating AI images in mouse brains to see how they react to these stimuli. With this methodology, it is intended to see how progress can be made in the treatment of patients suffering from schizophrenia. The focus has also been placed on the importance of giving new impetus to technology as a tool to more effectively monitor neurological diseases and design treatments to stop or eliminate them.
Among other initiatives, the UNICEF and ITU GIGA project has been presented to bring the Internet to all schools in the world by 2030
The second panel has focused on the ethical approaches necessary for a safe immersive reality for all, including social relations in the digital space and the impact of new digital media, such as the metaverse and the digital divide. Finally, the third block of debate has dealt with the confluence of Twin Transitions, a term that calls the green and digital transition, and our relationship with other living beings and with the planet. Some of the initiatives that are being carried out in this area have been presented, such as the design of an AI that makes it possible to relate the health of the planet to the impact it has on human health; UNICEF and ITU’s GIGA project to bring connectivity to every school in the world by 2030; or that of an association of entrepreneurs that promotes and promotes projects that seek to improve the environment.
The event was closed by Francesc Fajula, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, who stated that “all public administrations and private companies must work to ensure that the development of technology goes hand in hand with the values of society and which focuses on improving the quality of life of people to create a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable world”.
The MWC Keynote Stage hosted experts from around the world during the ‘Digital Future Society Summit’
MOBILE WORLD CAPITAL BARCELONA
Spain Neurotech, a pioneer center in Europe
In line with advancing towards an ethical and regulated development of new technologies, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation has promoted the National Center for Nanotechnology, ‘Spain Neurotech’, which aspires to become a benchmark in the field in Europe.
The headquarters, located in the Zenit building on the Cantoblanco campus of the Autonomous University of Madrid, will have around 200 people, including researchers and associated personnel, who will work in an area of 4,500 square meters. The objective of ‘Spain Neuro – tech’, which if the forecasts are met will begin its activity at the end of this year, is to create technological tools based on the fundamentals of the human brain.
These will be put at the service of health and the fight against certain clinical pathologies, such as chronic diseases in their initial stages, neurodevelopmental disorders including the autism spectrum, as well as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, depression, sleep disorders, rhythm ailments heart disease or sequelae after acute and acquired brain injury.
