EmTech 2015, MIT Technology Review's annual conference which took place in the heart of the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA from November 2-4, focused on ways technology will advance in the future while giving the message that the future of technology lies in artificial intelligence, big data, and privacy. Among the topics discussed were Rethinking Urban Infrastructure, Infinite Energy, Better Living Through Data, Robots Among Us, Investing in Big Ideas, 10 Breakthrough Technologies, and Innovators Under 35.
The conference highlighted the significance the big data, robots, and privacy will have in the near future of technology and how these three main topics will define the future tech trends.The show was opened by MIT Technology Review's editor in chief Jason Pontin, who said that “data is becoming a business's biggest commodity” and that “our devices can now collect data in ways the average consumer won't even notice, and help companies gain an advantage over the competition.”
One of the speakers, Robert Armstrong, Director at MIT Energy Initiative talked about The Future of Solar Energy, while Arturo Baroncelli, business development manager of Comau Robotics, tried to answer the question whether robots are capable to do human’s work in various industries. According to cio.com, Baroncelli said “there is a lot of talk about the future of drones and robots at work, but the focus remains on making robots work with us, rather than against us. Essentially, no one wants to take away your job with a robot, but they would like to make your job easier and safer through artificial intelligence.”
Among the speakers were also Jay Whitacre, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Aquion Energy, Robert Wood, Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, and Yann LeCun, director of AI Research at Facebook who talked about the smart technology topic. His presentation titled ‘Teaching Machines to Understand Us’ explained how important it is for us humans to help computers understand us better by teaching them how to reason, which in turn will improve the user experience.
Another speaker, Joseph Coray, vice president of Technology and Life Science Practice at the Hartford Financial Services Group, talked about how important big data is becoming nowadays, and how corporates that are investing in big data must become more responsible and learn how to use the technology positively. He also noted that even though big data is helping most companies to better function and reveal the company’s ‘invisible’ flows, the big data must be protected and used in a way that it will not harm the companies in the future.
The mission of MIT Technology Review is to inform the audiences with the available and most advanced intelligence so that they better understand how the world is shaped by technology.‘We identify the technologies and innovators who have the greatest potential to change business, society, and the world for the better. EmTech MIT brings this journalism to life. It's an opportunity to discover future trends and begin to understand the technologies that will drive the new global economy. It's where tech, business, and culture converge, and where you gain access to the most innovative people and companies in the world,” according to EmTech 2015 official website.
With partners like The Italian Trade Agency (ITA), Ford Motor Company, The Hartford, The Data Transparency Lab, The Lemelson-MIT Program, Elarm, Fitzpatrick, MIT Professional Education, The CSAIL Alliance Program, and MIT Sloan Executive Education, the 15 annual EmMIT brought together CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, policy leaders, innovators, Tech Media, entrepreneurs, venture investors, and IP Attorneys from all over the world.