Web Summit Lisbon 2023
We were there live!
The Marketing Event of Superlatives
From November 13th to 16th, 2023, the Web Summit took place in Lisbon, and it was a colossal affair! With 70,236 attendees from over 150 countries, the event served as an international melting pot of innovative ideas and cutting-edge technologies.
Over 1000 speakers delivered captivating presentations and discussions over the course of four days. But that wasn't all! Spread across the exhibition grounds, which were originally constructed for the Expo back in 1998, were five halls bustling with startups and companies from around the globe. And this year, the diversity was even greater than ever before! Of the total 2,608 startups present, approximately one-third were founded by women, marking an impressive stride towards gender equality in the tech industry.
Social Media Post mit Folgen
Unfortunately, this year's event was overshadowed by political events. The Israeli ambassador to Portugal called for a boycott of the Web Summit after its founder and CEO, Paddy Cosgrave, accused Israel of war crimes on a social media platform. Several tech giants like Google, Meta, Apple, and Amazon subsequently withdrew their participation. It's astonishing to witness how a single statement on social media can have such significant repercussions. Following the outrage over his post, Cosgrave eventually stepped down from his position as CEO at the end of October. His successor, Katherine Maher, former director of the Wikimedia Foundation and chair of the board of the messaging service Signal, promised a new leadership style and improved culture of debate.
Despite this political backdrop, the Web Summit was once again a successful and spectacular event this year. We were delighted to be a part of it and to witness the latest developments and innovations up close!
Four Days – One Theme: AI
At this year's event, one theme stood out: artificial intelligence (AI) and its diverse impacts. From most presentations to discussions at the coffee stand - everywhere revolved around the benefits and potential dangers of this groundbreaking technology.
It was truly fascinating to see how many companies have already integrated AI into their products and working methods. Some use it only superficially, while others are already at an advanced level, employing AI for complex tasks. The range of applications spans from virtual assistants to data analysis and machine learning.
It seems as if we are already in the midst of an AI revolution, and the discussions at the Web Summit underscore the urgency of dealing with the opportunities and risks of this technology.
From our perspective, here are the three highlights of the presentations:
1 Vasco Pedro - AI Wearables: The Future of Multilingual Communication
Let's start with the first presentation on the Mainstage, Unbabel - a platform revolutionizing the translation of human language with the help of artificial intelligence! Based in Lisbon, their presentation at the Web Summit was a true highlight. Vasco Pedro, co-founder, and CEO, showcased live the impressive functionality of Unbabel HALO, a non-invasive neural interface that can communicate thoughts thanks to AI.
Part of the Halo project is a wearable device based on neurological signals, generating real-time responses without the wearer having to utter a word. The live demonstration on stage was truly captivating, especially when a question came from the audience, to which Pedro responded using the system.
Another showcased use case was a video of a patient with a neurological disorder - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As his symptoms progressed, communication became increasingly challenging for him. That's why he participated in an experiment with the Unbabel Halo system - and the result was astonishing! The AI could react to his neuronal signals and generate responses, even using his own voice from previous voice messages. The reaction of his wife, hearing her husband's voice for the first time in a long while, truly touched everyone in the room.
Unbabel demonstrates that AI can not only simplify everyday life but also enable profound changes in the realm of human communication. It's exciting to see how technology can assist people on such a personal level!
2 Sebastian Riedle – Accelerating Digital Transformation in the Airline Industry
Another exciting presentation that caught our attention was delivered by Sebastian Riedle, the Chief Product Officer of Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar. He primarily discussed the digital transformation in the aviation industry, and unlike other speakers, he touched on the topic of AI only briefly. The Lufthansa Group launched a new initiative with the establishment of the Digital Hangar, aiming to maximize user-friendliness for passengers and make services more customer-oriented.
As we flew to Lisbon with Lufthansa, the presentation was particularly intriguing for us. We noticed on the plane that the Lufthansa app now offers a lot more features and information than on our last flight a few years ago. Additionally, the cabin crew used digital devices to interact with passengers and provide advice on connecting flights. Interestingly, Riedle mentioned these exact improvements.
The Lufthansa Group's app is used by its subsidiary airlines - such as Austrian, Eurowings, etc. - and offers the same functionality everywhere, with the ability to customize branding. Furthermore, flight attendants receive a wealth of passenger information on their tablets, allowing them to offer a coffee, for example, if passengers may be a bit frustrated due to delays. All these features were developed in-house at the Digital Hangar to enhance the flight experience.
In the future, AI assistants will virtually accompany customers on their journeys and help them solve problems more easily. This sounds like an exciting journey into the future of flying!
3 Emil Eifrem – Solving GenAI's Hallucination Problem
One of the biggest challenges of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT is hallucinations. Sometimes, chatbots invent responses out of thin air and connect information in strange ways when they don't know the correct answer.
However, at the Web Summit, Emil Eifrem, the founder and CEO of the open-source database Neo4j, introduced an interesting solution: the so-called "Knowledge Graphs". These graphs organize and group information, making connections clear and allowing important information to be separated from the unimportant. This method also utilizes the concept of "RAG", which stands for "Retrieval Augmented Generation". Sounds complicated, but it's not. In short, RAG ensures that LLMs provide more accurate results by being fed specific data beforehand. Imagine a company feeding its own database into the chatbot. This way, the bot understands the context better and can provide more relevant answers without falling into the hallucination trap.
We find this approach very promising and are excited to see how the story of LLMs coupled with Knowledge Graphs evolves. One thing is certain: There's a lot more to come!
These presentations have truly enriched us with valuable insights and inspirations.
Conclusion
We've experienced four wonderful and inspiring days, full of captivating discussions that expanded our horizons and opened up new perspectives. It was an unforgettable time during which we created many memories.
All in all, it was a fantastic experience to participate in a conference of this scale. The presentations were impressive, the location simply magnificent, and the evening events impeccably organized - it truly left a lasting impression on us. One could feel how the entire city was involved in the event.
However, if asked whether it's worth traveling to the Web Summit in Lisbon again, our thoughts are somewhat mixed. The multitude of presentations meant that no talk lasted longer than half an hour, resulting in many topics only being superficially addressed. Additionally, many presentations seemed heavily focused on online marketing, while technical details often fell short - somewhat disappointing for developers like us.
Nevertheless, we're grateful for the opportunity to participate in this significant event and broaden our perspective. It was an experience we wouldn't want to miss!
Aline & Cem
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Martin Brösamle
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