Event to evaluate impact of robots and artificial intelligence on communities

Dubai, February 8, 2015

The growing complexity, diversity and specialization of technology will come under focus at the Government Summit, which begins tomorrow, February 9, in Dubai, as the world's largest gathering on government of future, discusses 'How the web will transform future services'.

In a session on the first day of the Government Summit, Kevin Kelly, one of the founders of 'Wired' technology magazine, will describe how modern human life is intricately connected to the internet. The session will also highlight the potential end of the smart phone and tablet era and how the increased speed of web services will make it possible for users to gain access to more data.

According to Kelly, the success of innovations and future devices will depend on their ability to embrace virtual tools. Building on the concept that all devices in the near future will be equipped with electronic chips to gather information about the user, Kelly believes there is huge scope for data collection management, classification and analysis. In fact, Kelly predicts that web data process capability will exceed human brain capacity by 2040.

In another session on 'How the Digital Revolution is Reshaping our Economy' on the first day, Dr. Eric Brynolfson, Director of Digital Economy Center at the MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, will shed light on an era where robots and artificial intelligence would replace the human brain and even surpass it. The session will evaluate the impact of this transformation on future jobs availability and the way of doing business, and explore what governments must do for the community in such a scenario.

Dr. Brynolfson sees an economic threat for communities as companies take advantage of technology to do away with certain jobs. At the same time, on the bright side, development of artificial intelligence will make available innovations such as self-driving cars. The session will look at human capability versus artificial intelligence in light of such emerging technology.

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For further information, please contact:
Nedal Al Asaad / Omar Badran                                                                                  
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller                                                         
Tel: (+971 4) 4507600; Fax: (+971 4) 4358040
E-mail: nedal.alasaad@bm.com, omar.badran@bm.com

© Press Release 2015