On day one of SXSW London, guest speakers from the worlds of politics, entertainment, science, music and sport took to the stage, including Tony Blair, Sadiq Khan, Joe Wicks, Demis Hassabis, Alex Kendall, Deepak Chopra, Ian Wright, Nile Rogers, and Katherine Ryan.
Appearing at the inaugural South by Southwest® (SXSW®) London, during his panel discussion ‘Reimagining Government in the Age of AI: How Technology can transform public services, empower citizens, and restore faith in the state’ Tony Blair said “It’s unique to have a dialogue with people making change; so one of the things my institute tries to do, and SXSW is another attempt to do this, is to bring the changemakers and the policy makers into the same room, because it’s not people like me…who are going to invent this stuff, right? If we are to see how we can deploy it, we need the people who are inventing it, who’ve got the ideas, to be given the space in government, opening up the public sector to innovation and creativity.”
In conversation with Peter Kyle, Secretary for Science, Innovation, and Technology, and Melissa Heikkilä, AI Correspondent at the Financial Times, Tony Blair also expanded upon the new, first-ever general-purpose Gov UK app, which will be launching this month in partnership with Anthropic. The app will allow users to interact via a chatbot on all government services.
(Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images for SXSW London)
Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis said during his panel session at SXSW London today that he aims to develop AI technology that can ” help cure many diseases, if not all diseases” and create superhuman things. Alex Kendall, co-founder of Wayve, also discussed the role of AI in reshaping mobility in conversation with TechCrunch editor-at-large Mike Butcher.
“I think in the next five to ten years, these AI tools are going to superpower, supercharge technically savvy people who are at the forefront of using these technologies, but combining it with creativity and other skills. I think they’re going to be able to create sort of superhuman things.” – Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind Technologies.
Deepak Chopra, Consciousness Explorer, spoke of the convergence of science and spirituality to shape a healthier, more conscious future, offering unique insights on the mind-body connection and human potential at the SXSW London main stage. Meanwhile, Nile Rodgers spoke with Afrodeutsche and Jemella Ukaegbu at Colours Hoxton as part of Abbey Road: Studio Four, while Katherine Ryan explored ‘Ageing and Biohacking’ on stage alongside Nichola Conlon and Lucie Cave.
Fitness coach Joe Wicks discussed ‘Why movement is the Missing Link in the Modern Workplace’ at Stage 2 of the Truman Brewery with Amy Voce. Meanwhile, former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright delved into how football fandom becomes identity and how brands can collaborate with creators and communities in authentic and enduring ways.
(Photo by Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images for SXSW London)
On the eve of the inaugural SXSW London, global superstar Katherine Jenkins sang a version of Nessun Dorma from a rooftop overlooking Shoreditch, heralding the forthcoming SXSW festival. Nessun Dorma is an aria from an opera written by Puccini called Turandot, but over the years it has often been used to herald big events and moments in culture, from the World Cup to the Olympics. The video features Katherine Jenkins singing and then being remixed by composer and arranger Gabriel Prokofiev, who holds a unique position at the crossroads between classical and electronic music and is performing as part of the SXSW London Music Festival.
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