After the success of the Women and Cinema event, the Roca Village Talks held a new edition to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the famous shopping center. If five filmmakers participated in the first talk and analyzed the female role in the film industry, the second talked about something that is also current: Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The event was moderated a few days ago by journalist Bibiana Ballbè and featured Ramón Arteman, founder of the visual effects studio Metropolitana; Montse Guardia, member of the Advisory Council of the AI ??Ethics Observatory of Catalonia; Verónica Platas, specialist in the application of new technologies in Human Resources; Pere Pèries, musician and author of the first opera written with Artificial Intelligence; and Ariadna Arnés, an artist who has integrated AI into her working method.
Another participant in the talk was Elena Foguet, Business Director of Value Retail Spain.
Some of the guests work with AI as a creative tool and see clearly the difference between creation carried out by humans and machines. This is the case of Ariadna Arnés, who defined Artificial Intelligence as “the ability of machines to behave like humans, but we have emotions and they don’t”, and asks to differentiate and create a new space for creations with AI. For his part, Pere Pèries said that “we have to understand that AI does not have access to the collective subconscious that people have.”
Another testimony, Ramón Arteman, one of the creators of the famous Cruzcampo advertisement that recreated the image of Lola Flores with AI, explained that “in the field of advertising and retouching, AI is fully integrated with other techniques.” “Lola Flores’ spot triumphs because of the technique and because of a speech, because of an idea and because of a positive message,” he stressed, a message that became clearer with the addition of Pèries himself; “an artist with AI will make art, but AI will not make anyone an artist.”
One of the big questions of the event was whether the use of Artificial Intelligence is something positive or harmful for humanity. Montse Guardia sees it as an opportunity, but she remembered that not everyone can access it. “If you want to do useful things, you have to pay, and this is where inequalities begin,” she reflected. For her part, Verónica Platas is clear that AI will transform “the world of work and everyday life”, so its impact will be positive, “but it will also have its shadows.”
Another example of the integration of AI into our lives are some platforms. “When they are selling you things that they already know you are going to buy because of the algorithm or because of the use you give to your networks, this is Artificial Intelligence,” explained Montse Guardia. In parallel, Ramón Arteman added: “There is a part of AI that we don’t even see, that is integrated into search engines and we live with it.”
Now about the impact that AI is having on companies, Verónica Platas was astonished with the news that Amazon had fired its Artificial Intelligence for applying gender bias. “AI is programmed by people, and people come with cognitive biases,” she explained. “Today it helps us automate and process big data, and here we enter the shadows, because it selects middle or lower management and managers are still selected by humans,” she said.
One of the questions that Bibiana Ballbè also raised was where the limit is when it comes to creating. Ramón Arteman confessed that “the feeling is that we have no limit,” so we have to be the ones to set it. For his part, Pere Pèries reflected that “AI has fallen like a meteorite and enormous chaos has been generated, and ethics has to guide and lead the process.” “But it’s difficult because doing AI is not in everyone’s hands,” he added. “The ball is in our court, now is when we have to be more humane,” he concluded.
And how should future generations prepare for it? Ramón Arteman answered that the most important thing is common sense and a critical spirit, allowing ourselves to influence each other. Meanwhile, Verónica Platas recalled that Google is a technology company that hires many philosophers: “There is a whole part of knowledge that links with critical thinking, which is what will make us citizens with full awareness, and we must work on that knowledge to train AI.”
The one who was hopeful about the future was Ariadna Arnés, as she stated that “the humanities will be valued more, moving us away a little from the technological areas that come as standard, and bringing us closer to artisanal work.”
A good summary of everything that this event at the Roca Village Talks gave is that Artificial Intelligence is setting a trend in the social, creative and business spheres. And while it offers a variety of possibilities, it also raises critical questions about its ethics and authenticity. A new edition of the event will be held soon that will focus on New References.
