Speakers from the Vatican and NASA to headline at Data Summit
Author: Isha Jain
Speakers from the Vatican and NASA are amongst a line-up confirmed for The Data Lab’s flagship event, Data Summit 2023.
Data Summit is part of Scotland’s data and AI event, DataFest, a festival of innovation dedicated to showcasing the world’s foremost voices in data and AI. The 2023 event has been titled, ‘The AI Renaissance: how is it shaping the human experience?’, and in a time where artificial intelligence is at the forefront of public discourse, it will explore how the technology is impacting all areas of our lives – from culture to net zero, privacy to disinformation, and religion to space travel.
Taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) on 2 and 3 November, Data Summit is set to bring together some of the leading data scientists, thought leaders, journalists and artists from across industry, public sector, and academia to share their advanced knowledge on the new age of data and AI innovation.
Among a distinguished list of delegates, it will welcome Paolo Benanti, AI Advisor to the Vatican, and Katherine Rahill, Senior Scientist of NASA’s Human Research Division at Johnson Space Centre, to headline keynotes at the two-day conference.
Other confirmed speakers for the event include:
- CEO and Co-Founder of Code First Girls, Anna Brailsford, who will be taking part in a fireside chat with Chief Commercial Officer of Strathclyde University, Gillian Docherty.
- Astrodynamicist and Space Environmentalist, Moriba Jah, who, alongside his work laying the foundation for a safe, prosperous and sustainable near-Earth space environment, is also a MacArthur Fellow, National Geographic Explorer, TED Fellow, Global Space Evangelist, Professor and Spacecraft Navigator.
- Colin Jarvis, applied AI solutions architect for EMEA at leading AI company, OpenAI will keynote.
- Professor in the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo, Yuko Itatsu, who also serves as a Director for the B’AI Global Forum.
- Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI and author of the highly acclaimed economist book, ‘Privacy is Power’, Carissa Véliz.
- Tim Gregory, Nuclear Chemist for the National Nuclear Laboratory, who is also a public speaker, freelance writer, educator and science advocate.
- Broadcaster and genomics expert, Vivienne Parry, who hosts medical programmes for BBC Radio 4, writes widely on health, and presents films. She is also known to facilitate high-level conferences and train young researchers.
- Journalist and disinformation researcher, Olga Tokariuk, who has written for international media titles.
DataFest will host a series of fringe events running from 24 October – 9 November, allowing industry and academic professionals to learn, network and explore some of the latest advancements in this technology. The events will take place across the UK and around the world, online and in-person, and will feature some of the world’s leading technology organisations including Meta and SENSE (Centre for Satellite Data and Environmental Science).
Gordon Johnstone, Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, says, “Innovations in data and AI are moving at an unprecedented pace and the world is undergoing a complete technological rebirth. This year’s Data Summit agenda will explore what lies ahead for data and AI through various lenses to reveal the challenges and opportunities afforded by these exciting developments. By creating a programme that highlights all the ways these ground-breaking technologies can impact our lives, we hope to demonstrate how they can change humanity for the better.”
“We pride ourselves on the unparalleled experience Data Summit has to offer, as it allows attendees to not only network with a variety of thought leaders in the field but will allow the chance to build communities with other like-minded professionals. With this year’s list of high-calibre speakers, the event is set to be the biggest, boldest Data Summit of its time as we welcome the Vatican, NASA, OpenAI, nuclear chemists, genomics experts, professors, astrodynamicists, journalists and broadcasters to inspire and drive positive change in our audience.”
Tickets for the event are available on the DataFest website.
