Robots, blockchain and fun

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The Digital Tech Conference is over for this year! And these two stimulating days have proven that, when it comes to robots and blockchain, most of the story is yet to be written.

In its new two-day format, the event toed the line between expertise and discovery, between debate and exploration. It presented a topic that is easy to understand, and yet more complex than it looks (robots), and another that’s just as complex as it looks (blockchain)!

Day #1: a deep dive!

On the first day of the Digital Tech Conference, which took place entirely at French Tech, you were able to take part in dense, stimulating discussions on the topics selected for this 3rd edition.

Specialists got to face off their visions and knowledge against other professionals and amateurs got a chance to dive deep into the expertise. For both types of attendees, the speakers demonstrated attentiveness and patience, providing precise answers to questions and remaining as accessible as possible.

Day #2: a variety of pleasures

With keynotes in English and French, as well as battles, we hope that we’ve given you plenty of food for thought to power your reflections on robots and blockchain. How can blockchain be regulated? What loyalty can robots have for humans, when they can learn without understanding? How can we monitor and test robots capable of learning? And what about the moral guidelines and ethical questions that are an unavoidable part of our technological landscape?

In the luxurious environment of the Opéra de Rennes, the buzz was palpable when Pierre Paperon mentioned a “moral button” on self-driving cars. A moral configuration that would help the vehicle’s AI make decisions in the event of an accident requiring a choice between two potential victims…

Being and thinking together

During this 2017 edition, multidisciplinarity was mentioned multiple times – in relation to both topics – as an answer to the questions posed by technological progress. There are already scientists, technicians, psychologists and ethicists who work together… It would be reductive to think that the reflections surrounding the transformation of the working environment boil down to wondering if robots will replace humans, as was emphasized by Guy Caverot, the Innovation Director of BA Systemes, and Laurence Devillers, a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Sorbonne.

Industrial robots are already capable of great things in their domain: to adapt them to other sectors, multidisciplinary teams have a lot to offer through their collaboration. Even more so since robots and humans are already working together. We explained this in our glossary by giving you the definition of a cobot.

Asked to describe your day in a single word, you favoured the words inspiring, fabulous, future, and anticipate. As it turns out, this reflects our roadmap for the third Digital Tech Conference! As for knowing whether you were able to explain blockchain to your friends during the Transmusicales concerts on Friday night… that will forever remain a mystery.

To know more about this unique event: