Digital Future Society advances the debate on public leadership capacity in artificial Intelligence and blockchain

• Digital Future Society brought together over 300 international experts at its second Summit, an event held this Sunday at the Fira de Barcelona Palau de Congressos
• Carlos Grau, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital), closed the event accompanied by the Minister for the Economy and Business, Nadia Calviño, the Vice President of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonés, and the Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Gerardo Pisarello
• Speakers discussed the challenges posed by technological development on governments in terms of regulatory policy and the need to find ethical models to strengthen the digital privacy of personal data
• The initiative, promoted by MWCapital and Red.es, also involved the Future Open Council, a consortium of 18 international organisations that have been convened to offer specific solutions to challenges posed by digitalisation
• Eight reports are to be presented throughout the year on themes including public innovation, digital trust and security, citizen empowerment and equitable growth.

24 February, 2019

Barcelona, 24 February 2019.- Digital Future Society, the programme promoted by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) and Red.es, brought together over 300 professionals and experts today from the fields of innovation and technology, including researchers, thinkers and representatives of civil society, to debate the challenges of digitalisation that impact our daily lives and future. The second Digital Future Society Summit was held at the Fira de Barcelona Palau de Congressos and included an extensive programme of conferences and round tables in which the challenges posed by technological development on public institutions and governments was discussed, along with the need to find ethical models to protect personal data in digital environments.

Carlos Grau, CEO of MWCapital, concluded the meeting unveiling the programme’s roadmap for the coming months. Grau highlighted the importance of the fact that this global initiative, which seeks to respond to the challenges of digitalisation for society, is happening in Barcelona during MWC19 Barcelona. The Minister for the Economy and Business, Nadia Calviño, the Vice President of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonés, and the Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Gerardo Pisarello, accompanied the CEO of MWCapital in closing the event.

The second Digital Future Society Summit brought together a group of high-level participants to discuss future regulatory policies arising from the challenges of digitalisation and the need to create new business models to safeguard personal data. Daria Tataj, founder of Tataj Innovation and Chair of High-level Advisors to European Commissioner for Science & Innovation, Saskia Sassen, professor of sociology at Columbia University, Fabro Steibel, director of the Rio de Janeiro Institute of Technology and Society, and Renata Avila, human rights lawyer and Executive Director of Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente (Smart Citizen Foundation), took part in the programme, opened by Roberto Viola, Director General of DG Connect at the European Commission, and Francisco Polo, Secretary of State for Digital Progress for the Ministry of the Economy and Business.

Running in parallel to the summit, the Digital Future Society Global Board of Trustees, formed by leading figures such as John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd., Mats Granryd, Director General of GSMA, Audrey Tang, Digital Minister of Taiwan, Mariana Mazzucato, founder of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Carlota Pérez, professor of technology and development at the London School of Economics and the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and Rufus Pollock, founder of Datopian, held a meeting to further define the roadmap for this global programme.

Four reports from May to September

Among the actions to be implemented, Digital Future Society is to launch four reports, two in May and two in September, that will offer a more in-depth view of two of the main issues covered by the think tank, which also formed the backbone of the debates held at the Summit: Public Innovation and Digital Trust and Security.

In terms of Public Innovation, Digital Future Society is preparing a report for presentation in May that will pose the new leadership role of public institutions in the simultaneous regulation and implementation of emerging technologies such as blockchain or artificial intelligence, and the need to promote new ethical standards to guide the development, governance and uptake of new technologies. The think tank is also preparing an analysis on new policies for the digital era in which govtech, which is the union between entrepreneurs and governments, the gig economy, characterised by the growing ratio of precarious work, and the increase of digital platforms have an impact on the lives of citizens and, therefore, on public policies.

For Digital Security and Trust, Digital Future Society will publish a report on data ethics and the challenges posed by digital privacy, a very complex matter especially in terms of how artificial intelligence will change both society and businesses. Other topics covered by the programme include the new business models and technological solutions required to strengthen trust, transparency and privacy between society and businesses.

A “Future Open Council” formed by 18 international organisations

Digital Future Society continues to establish its Future Open Council, formed by 18 prestigious international organisations with extensive experience in advanced research, critical thinking and launching transformative solutions. In addition to providing their experience, these organisations will offer specific solutions to the four issues on which Digital Future Society is working: Public Innovation, Digital Trust and Security, Inclusion and Citizen Empowerment, and Equitable Growth.

Some of the organisations forming part of the Future Open Council are: the AIJA – International Association of Young Lawyers, with headquarters in Belgium, the Rio de Janeiro Institute for Technology & Society, the IADB Innovation Lab from the US, and GSMA Intelligence from the UK, among others.

Digital Future Society: four intense months of work ahead

Since its launch last November, Digital Future Society has already held its first Summit, which took place during the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) and that looked at the basic concept behind the initiative: the creation of a new social contract that responds to the new dynamics of the digital era. At the same time as this first summit, Digital Future Society also held the first meeting of its Global Board of Trustees. Members of the think tank have already met twice in Barcelona and have been working for two and a half months to prepare the initial reports.