Day 3 of Web Summit 2022: Blockchain, Privacy, and AI

November 4th marked the end of Web Summit 2022. As mentioned in previous articles covering the event’s first and second days, the number of attendees was astounding. 

The event attracted more than 71,033 people from 160 countries, among them philosophers, journalists, politicians, and artists. Several notable speakers were present, including Olena Zelenska, Noam Chomsky, and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. It was amazing to see the world’s leading figures come together in one place, as CryptoDaily special correspondent Mike Ermolaev, PR rep at Kikimora Labs, shares. 

There’s no bright future without protecting users’ data

Signal’s president, Meredith Whittaker, discussed the surveillance economy and privacy. An encrypted messaging app, Signal competes with mainstream apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Non-profit ownership allows its team to focus on social and technological missions without becoming distracted by profit concerns.

Companies usually provide metadata for inclusion in data pools. It is Signal’s goal, however, to maintain the privacy and secrecy of this data. Unlike other messengers, it encrypts not only messages but also metadata.

 “I do not think that we have much of a chance for a livable future if we don’t have truly private means to communicate with each other. A world without privacy is a world where power structures that exist now are cemented in concrete,” Whittaker explained. 

In response to the controversy over the surveillance nature of technology, she said, “That’s how most tech is funded, how tech is overwritten. And to exist outside of that is both strange and, well, pretty difficult. The dominant paradigm is that we have an interface on the front end, the happy little app that puts cat ears on your face and everyone loves it; but in the meanwhile, the backend is collecting your face data to build facial recognition technologies that are later being sent to the military”. 

With an eye toward the future, Signal’s president said the app will be updated with new fun features, emphasizing that it still needs to be enjoyable to use. 

AI cannot distinguish between real and imaginary environments

Noam Chomsky, an architect of modern linguistics and renowned intellectual, discussed current challenges associated with artificial intelligence.

“It is not strong enough, fails to do certain things. At the same time it is too strong, and does the things it shouldn’t do. The first problem, in principle, can be fixed. You just need to add another trillion parameters. But when the system is too strong, it is unfixable,” he said.  

Existing systems, scientists believe, overinterpret the real world too much: they cannot distinguish between it and the fictitious worlds created by neural networks. The problem is AI structures the data by ignoring the basic rules of language and meaning. 

“The systems that exist at the moment don’t understand the order of words and the underlying meanings,” psychologist, author, and entrepreneur Gary Marcus said.

The two scientists agreed artificial intelligence is not yet able to mimic natural communication and language.

Impressions

Pavel Kalchenko, JavaScript developer at NearPay, commented,

”It was intended that this Web Summit would cover a variety of topics. One of the most important topics, though, was cryptocurrency, which is already a huge part of the economy, and which, according to speakers, has a bright future.”

“There was a lot of discussion about the relationship between the crypto industry and banks. A speaker noted that banking systems aren’t available everywhere, but cryptocurrency works anywhere, even without banks. Asked about cryptocurrencies’ role in dirty money, he joked that money launderers already have cash for that. In spite of some critical points, the discussions were primarily focused on ways to make existing financial systems more secure and successful when combined with cryptocurrencies,” Pavel summarized. 

Likewise, Near UA’s COO Yuliia Skofenko shared her impressions:

“Overall, I had a positive experience at Web Summit. We partnered with the Ukrainian booth, organized a side event, and displayed some of our products. Aside from that, we hosted a series of masterclasses and pitches. In the end, we met our objectives – finding investors, and putting contracts in place with them. We also tried to raise community awareness about blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3. The open-mindedness and interest in this field have definitely increased.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.