Catalonia’s AI community came together on 19 September for #sAIllingCatalonia, a meeting organised by the Autonomous University of Barcelona’s Computer Vision Center (CVC) to spark conversations and new connections linked to technology and the various sectoral stakeholders within the framework of the America’s Cup.

The goal of the event was to highlight AI initiatives that contribute to Catalonia’s competitiveness. It also offered a unique opportunity to foster dialogue between all stakeholders in Catalonia’s AI ecosystem and strengthen ties with the business network.

The event was opened by Anna Bröll, head of Barcelona City Council’s Department for Science and Innovation. After that it was the turn of the secretary for Digital Policies – ICT Catalonia, Maria Galindo Garcia-Delgado, who emphasised the promotion of AI as one of the main areas of work for the Government of Catalonia to make Catalonia a leading global hub. Following a presentation on Catalonia’s AI ecosystem, the first round-table discussion on the social and economic impact of AI took place, moderated by Josep M. Ganyet, CEO of Mortensen and associate professor at the UPF. The speakers were Xavier Sala i Martín, economist and full professor of economics at Columbia University; Àurea Rodrígez, director of EIT Culture and Creativity South West, and Karma Peiró, technology journalist and executive director of the Visualization for Transparency Foundation.

The event continued with a networking lunch and the discussion “Scientific backstage of AI”, involving Nicu Sebe, professor at the University of Trento’s Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science; Maria J Marti, founder and CEO of ZeroError.ai and Joan Serrà, senior research scientist at Sony AI. The session was moderated by Dimosthenis Karatzas, deputy director of the CVC and co-director of the ELLIS Unit Barcelona.