Oct. 10 – 13: PISA INTERNET FESTIVAL 2024. Pisa, numerous locations.
The longest-running event dedicated to technology and the digital world takes place in Pisa. Organizers of the festival provide hundreds of events, including meetings with many international guests. It will be spread across numerous central locations: Logge dei Banchi, Ponte di Mezzo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and more. This year’s key word is #Generation, because it unites experts specializing in the virtual world and the artificial intelligence.
The highlight of this year’s edition is a presentation of ‘robot boy’ named Abel, who has human-like features. He can respond to questions and show some emotions, while interacting with people.. Additionally, scientist Alessandra Sciutti will discuss human-robot relationships, specifically with robots trained to recognize human emotions.
Scientists will explore the darker sides of the internet, including ghosting, phubbing (a habit of disregarding a physical person in favor of a cell phone), and loot boxes. In this case they can help people to avoid risks on the web. This ties into laws concerning technology and how they operate. The topics addressed will include not only data governance, cybersecurity, and copyright, but also social media regulations (involving recent cases of brands and media figures). For those interested in the environmental issues, the organizers of the festival have prepared talks about unsustainability of the internet, food of the future (like cultivated meat), and the role of digital technology in global peace and wars, especially the cyberwar.
Additionally, the visitors can engage with a variety of music genres, including jazz, electronic and experimental sounds. Equally, cinema enthusiasts will be able to enjoy many events and screenings of iconic movies, like ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.’ (Paulina Juzak)
For the complete program, visit: https://www.internetfestival.it/
