Minds and Tech conference October 9th, 2019, Toulouse

Minds and Tech conference October 9th, 2019, Toulouse

When and where is it on?

The city of Toulouse (France) will host the Minds & Tech conference on October 9th, 2019 at the Quai des Savoirs, 39 Allée Jules Guesde, 31000.

How many years has it been going?

This is the first edition of Minds & Tech, resulting from Opinno’s new collaboration with the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence (MIT CCI).

What was the inspiration to start it?

In the past few years, Toulouse Métropole (France) has been accelerating its promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship and is now striving to foster education and careers dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI).

In its effort to increase its influence on the international scene, the city of Toulouse proposed to the innovation consultancy Opinno to design a new event concept  involving AI.

Seeing a great opportunity in developing AI knowledge for good, Opinno reached out to the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence (MIT CCI), a unique research effort drawing on the strengths of many diverse organizations across the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Humans have been working together since the beginning of time. Through social interactions and union as a community, people are empowered to solve problems and generate conclusions. This phenomenon is aptly called collective intelligence (CI) and has proven in many cases to be more effective than individual intelligence.

For decades, researchers have been working to develop machines capable of behaving as intelligently as people. As a result of the continuous evolution of technology, rtificial intelligence (AI) has now become a key strategic field of research for economic development around the world.

The question still lies upon us however, are we truly heading towards intelligent development and how can we combine human and machine intelligence to foster sustainable development?

It is from this idea that Minds & Tech was born in order to become the first ever event that connects artificial intelligence with collective intelligence.

What exciting things can people look forward to?

Minds & Tech will explore how can we develop more intelligently by combining machine and human intelligence through the fusion of CI with new technologies such as AI.

Therefore, we will open the day introducing the concept of collective intelligence, put into perspective with the greatest challenges that humanity is facing. In order to address these challenges, we propose to explore 3 kinds of solutions: AI solutions, governance solutions and industry solutions.

To illustrate this story-telling, the event content will be articulated around 5 main blocks:

A Global Mind for Global Challenges

Switching to Positive Impact Through AI Solutions

Constructing a Smart Governance to Embrace Uncertainty

Building a New Economy for an Intelligent Ecosystem

Challenging Minds

Within these blocks of content, Minds & Tech will alternate keynotes speakers, fireside chats and panels to drive debate among the audience. Key representatives of the MIT CCI will conduct the discussion all through the day to actively promote co-creation between the experts speaking on stage and the audience.

Thus, the event will end with the celebration of the Brightest AI/CI Mind Award recognizing the winning start-up of the Challenging Minds contest (winner voted collectively).

What opportunities are on offer for those attending?

Minds & Tech will bring together a community of international experts to discuss and question the impact of integrating human knowledge with cutting-edge technology.

What we aim for is to allow the audience to dive into the concept of collective intelligence by actively taking part in the event.

The entire event is designed to encourage participation and debate between the speakers and the audience.

Our Master of Ceremony, Cecilia Nicolini (Fellow at MIT Center for Collective Intelligence & Harvard Ash Center and Director at Opinno Research Center), will animate the day by fomenting the audience participation to Questions & Answers sessions and by encouraging the use of the interactive tool Mentimenter.

Coupled with the Minds & Tech diverse formats of speaker intervention, the animation of the event will incarnate the mindset of collective intelligence, offering a true immersion in the deep waters of collective and artificial intelligence to its audience in a participative manner.

Finally, our Challenging Minds competition will also offer to the 5 pre-selected start-ups using AI and/or CI to pitch their projects on stage. Guided by the questions asked by our selected panel of experts, the audience will get to vote for the winner (the Brightest AI/CI Mind). Sponsored by Ms. AI, the winner will be awarded an exclusive trip to the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence in Boston.

Who will be speaking?

Leading figures from the MIT CCI and the MIT Media Lab will come from the United States and will exchange with their European scientist counterparts, business people from the tech industry and emerging start-ups.

To mention few names (more will be released soon):

Kathleen Kennedy, Executive Director at MIT Center for Collective Intelligence.

Vikas Pandey, Chief Technology Officer at EME.

Nancy Nemes, Founder & CEO at Ms. AI.

Henry Shevlin, Research Associate and Project Leader at University of Cambridge.

Sasha Rubel, Programme Specialist, Knowledge Societies Division, Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO.

Gianni Giacomelli, Head of Innovation at Genpact. Head of Innovation at the Center for Collective Intelligence Design Lab.

What tips would you give to people attending to get the most out of it?

We recommend our attendees to fully give in to the concept of collective intelligence, viewing themselves not only as passive audience members but contributing to one collective thought by opening up the discussion, offer different perspectives and ask relevant questions. In such manner, Minds & Tech and its attendees will evolve into one collective intelligence working towards answering tomorrow’s biggest challenges.

How can people book tickets / when does it usually sell out?

All tickets are purchasable by visiting our webpage www.mindsandtech.com which redirects to Eventbrite (www.eventbrite.es/e/minds-tech-where-artificial-and-collective-intelligence-connect-tickets-62039973230).

The ticket price is currently set at 30€ (early-bird discount) until September 15th and will be set at 50€ past this date. Students, researchers and academics will benefit from the Student price set at 20€.

Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked?

The group of panelists who will join the conversation will be showcasing a perfect gender parity rate. With partners such as Mrs. AI and Girls In Tech, Minds & Tech aims to put an emphasis on diversity and inclusion within the tech industry. One cannot speak of collective intelligence without proper representation. Gender parity is the first step.

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