Montreal, July 21, 2022 ― For its 4th edition, MTL connect: Montreal Digital Week is orienting its programming towards a desirable digital environment, generating wealth and resilience for our ecosystems. The theme of ECO(Systems) of Hope will be the focus of the 6 topics, each introduced by a major opening keynote.
Founding member of FARI, the New Institute of Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good, Hugues Bersini is also the director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, he is the author of many books, including “Big Brother is driving you” et “Artificial intelligence in practice with Python“.
Hugues will present the opening keynote of the Artificial Intelligence topic.
AI’s influence is increasing: from autonomous cars to cancer detection, with the potential to positively impact humanity. But on the other side, AI threatens to eliminate millions of jobs and increase social inequalities. How do we ensure that algorithms make the right decisions without bias? How do we guide this technology to become truly intelligent and enhance human capabilities?
Cheryl Bryce is a member of the Songhees Nation and has over eighteen years of experience in First Nations land management. She is also a community researcher and educator in Kwetlal (camus) food systems from the Songhees First Nation. For Bryce and the Songhees First Nation, the Island’s forests and ecosystems are not just natural but cultural, with a connection that goes back to time immemorial.
Cheryl will present the opening keynote of the Culture and Creativity topic.
The pandemic has dramatically and disturbingly transformed the cultural sector and the creative industries. At the same time, the dematerialization of cultural content and its dissemination on digital platforms have continued to disrupt the modes of distribution, dissemination and access to contents. How do we reinvent ourselves in this context? How can we make the most of the data culture? What are the new business models that can ensure the sustainability of cultural and creative industries?
Bronwyn Boyle is on the list of the most influential women in cybersecurity and fintech. She is an IT security expert with over 20 years of experience in financial services technology and security. She has led risk and governance programs at Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, 10x Future Technologies and others.
Bronwyn will present the opening keynote of the Cybersecurity and Digital identity topic.
Global interconnectivity is accelerating. Unprecedented security risks and threats are undermining trust and growth. What is the state of play in Cybersecurity? Meanwhile, projects around digital identification are multiplying. Biometrics, facial recognition and multi-factor authentication help build trust online, but our personal data continues to be commercially exploited. How do we protect our digital assets?
Shohini Ghose is a quantum physicist and Professor of Physics and Computer Science at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a TED Senior Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Society’s College of New Scholars and Creators in Art and Science. In 2019, she was one of 25 eminent scientists from around the world. Elle discutera des avancées quantiques et comment celles-ci viendront impacter nos écosystèmes.
Shohini will present the opening keynote of the Disruptive innovations topic.
Disruptive innovations offer us the opportunity to look to the future: they are all about accepting change. The digital transition generates a break with current markets to create new ones. How can new and future technologies contribute to the coexistence of the digital transition and the ecological transition? What technologies do we want to see in the next few years that could have positive impacts on our ecosystems and our community?
The professor of education at the University of Geneva works on the issue of gender in technology. She has published “Les oubliées du numérique” and founded the journal “Genre, éducation, formation”. Isabelle Collet leads the team of the : Gender – Intersectional Relations, Educational Relation. A computer scientist by training, she is also an honorary member of the Société informatique de France.
Isabelle will present the opening keynote of the Education and Work of tomorrow topic.
The pandemic has transformed not only the educational world but also the professional world. We are now facing innovations that are transforming the way we teach and the relational aspects of the workplace. What kind of transformations can we expect? How can digital technology help us in this transition? How can we ensure that technological innovations do not exacerbate social inequities?
Togolese anthropologist and architect Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou founded the HubCité project, which gives the inhabitants of Lomé, Togo, the opportunity to reappropriate their urban space. He is also the creator of WoeLabs: a network of Togolese tech-hubs whose ambition is to make everyone equal in front of digital technologies. He invites us to take a different look at smart cities and “set out to reclaim the urban initiative through technology”.
Sénamé will present the opening keynote of the Resilience and Future of the city topic.
Faced with the metamorphosis of our cities and territories, which are increasingly vulnerable, it is becoming imperative to adapt collectively. Digital technology allows us to better design ecological policies, to measure pollution and climate change. What technologies should we turn to to help the ecological and energy transition? How can technological innovations help us create an ecologically and socially responsible prosperity?
Save the dates for the PRO program, from October 17 to 21, 2022, in Montreal and online, to bring together the worlds of business, the arts, academia and the public.
