In October, Barcelona will gather more than thirty artificial intelligence experts at the 10th AI & Big Data Congress which is to address the scale of the impact of this technology and the challenges in its application, in particular issues including sustainability, creativity, sector applications and regulation.

The event, which will be held on 9-10 October at L’Illa Auditorium in Barcelona, ​​will showcase “the track record of the congress which since the outset has sought to disseminate technology and share expert knowledge as a lever for building and improving the data and AI ecosystem in Catalonia,” says Joan Mas, the director of CIDAI and scientific director of Eurecat’s Digital Area.

Over the ten years of the AI & Big Data Congress, “we have witnessed and been part of the evolution of data science and the integration of big data, the internet of things and AI disciplines from machine learning to computer vision technologies, natural language processing and the consolidation of generative AI,” he adds. “These tools make it possible to create applications and products that impact people’s lives and businesses.”

The opening session of the congress will feature technology expert Rika Nakazawa, recently recognised as one of the 50 most influential women in the United States by Forbes magazine’s ‘50 over 50’ list and currently Global Head of Business Innovation at the NTT DATA Group, who will outline how greater use of generative AI can be made compatible with energy sustainability by deploying innovative procedures and concepts such as “organic intelligence”.

Cristóbal Valenzuela, director and co-founder of the start-up Runway, will discuss how advanced artificial intelligence models in the film, entertainment, audiovisual and art industries are transforming the creation and editing of content and the user experience. In turn, Susana Gimenez, CoE AI Technical Solutions at CaixaBank Tech, will explore generative artificial intelligence to enhance the customer experience and service quality in the financial environment.

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, this year’s edition will recognise the lifetime scientific achievements of Ramon López de Mántaras, emeritus professor of the CSIC at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (IIIA) which he founded and directed and who is a pioneer in artificial intelligence in Catalonia. Several Catalan businesses and institutions that have stood out for their use of AI over the last ten years will also be acknowledged.

The second day of the event will feature companies running innovative projects and initiatives that will explore the main technological trends in artificial intelligence in sectors such as publishing and culture, the pharmaceutical industry and in the application of quantum AI together with advances in the explainability of AI, i.e. understanding the results generated by artificial intelligence algorithms. Other initiatives to be showcased include a smart system for the wine industry and an application for mosquito monitoring and control.

The congress on artificial intelligence and big data in the business sector, organised by the Centre of Innovation for Data Tech and Artificial Intelligence (CIDAI) and coordinated by the Eurecat technology centre as part of the Artificial Intelligence Strategy of Catalonia, Catalonia.AI, is sponsored by the Government of Catalonia, CaixaBank Tech, Huawei, NTT DATA, Softeng, Telefonica Tech and Minsait. The AI & Big Data Congress is supported by Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the Computer Vision Center, the i2CAT Foundation, the Intelligent Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Center (IDEAI) at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC), Microsoft, SAP and the SDG Group.

You can view the full programme and register for the event here https://aicongress.barcelona/congres/inscripcions/