Artificial Monday
How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform our lives and society, and how will it effect our work? What are the possibilities ahead, and how can AI be used in the newsroom?
These questions were discussed during the first event of the week – the breakfast seminar on Artificial Monday.
– The cost of being innovative is that no one will like you. Are you willing to be that person?
The question was raised by Chief of Innovation at IBM, Thomas F. Anglero, who opened the Artificial Monday with an inspirational talk about how artificial intelligence affect people, society and businesses.
Thomas F. Anglero, Chief of Innovation at IBM.
We also had the pleasure of hearing from Codruta Gamulea, leader of Product Development at Orbit, an AI technology venture by Norwegian digital studio & venture builder Bakken & Bæck. She talked about AI in the newsroom, and how AI can help solve the industry resource constraints and improve the quality of journalism.
Codruta Gamulea, Commercial Lead for Orbit.ai, Bakken & Bæck.
The Media Cluster's very own Chief Nerd, NRK's Eirik Solheim is well known for his entertaining talks on technology, and this time it was no different. He gave the audience an interesting and insightful talk on the advantages and scares of AI in the future.
Eirik Solheim, Strategic advisor in NRK
Later the same day, IBM hosted a Watson Data Platform workshop, where members of the Media Cluster got the opportunity to develop apps using bluemix, with Watson Chatbots and Internet of Things being the themes of the day.
IBM's Jone Aarre giving instructions during the Watson Data Platform workshop.
More pictures from Artificial Monday can be found here.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Hackathon
In the very first hackathon in Media City Bergen Media Lab, ten teams worked around the clock to come up with the solutions of the future. And boy did they deliver!
The teams could choose between two tasks: The Bank of the Future, or Bergen 2.0 – rebuilding the future.
– There are so many important global issues we need to solve, said Commissioner Dag Inge Ulstein, as he presented The municipality of Bergen’s task for the hackathon.
Commissioner Dag Inge Ulstein introducing Bergen 2.0 for the participants.
In the Bergen kommune 2.0 task, RAMPS 'Tjommi' app won the first prize - NOK 20.000 and the opportunity to continue working with the solution through an internship provided by Bergen kommune. The Bergen Cortex team won NOK 10.000 as they finished second. In the Sparebanken Vest's Bank of the Future task, INNOVARE came out on top, winning NOK 20.000 for their idea of an app that uses gamification to increase customer loyalty. TEAM 4 won NOK 10.000 for 'Del Din Del' - a solution that focuses heavily on corporate social responsibility.
The hackathon was made possible by invaluable support from the hackathon experts at Deloitte Digital.
We made an article on the hackathon last week – read it here
Other articles on the event:
Sparebanken Vest: Skaper morgendagens bank på 24 timer & Appen med banktjenester for livsløpet tok seieren i Hackaton 2017
Bergens Tidende: Med kunstig intelligens vil Malin lære trøndere å bli ekte bergenser (paywall)
More pictures from the hackathon: Day 1, Day 2
VR Thursday
After the 24 hour hackathon was over, we got a visit from members of VR Oslo, who brought their cutting edge VR, AR and 360 video technology for a day of breakfast seminar and expo in the Media Lab.
A participant testing out mixed reality with the Hololens, with Ali Zareiee from VR Oslo / Adapa360 and Tobias Andersen from HiOA / HiOA Makerspace.
At the breakfast meeting, participants were introduced to brain control in VR/AR, the space race and how media tech will lift humanity to Mars, and neuro science perspectives on human-computer interaction.
Tobias Andersen from HiOA / HioA Makerspace demonstrating mixed reality with the Hololens.
To conclude the session, Jürgen Scrader from the International Virtual Photography Association(IVRPA) talked about the state of today’s VR technology and how to get started, with a focus on storytelling.
Jürgen Schrader from IVRPA
Following the breakfast seminar, VR Oslo exhibited technology of the future in the Media Lab. The expo was open for all, and we had a steady flow of guests in and out of the lab all day.
CEO of Schibsted, Rolv Erik Ryssdal, trying on the Hololens, with assistance from Ali Zareiee, CEO of Adapa360.
More pictures from Virtual Thursday can be found here.
Thank God it's friday!
On the last day of the Future Week we ran no less than three events in Media City Bergen and the Media Lab.
Around 100 guests were gathered in the atrium of Media City Bergen, for the breakfast seminar on collaboration between researchers and journalists. Journalist Per Christian Magnus and historian Terje Tvedt discussed the strengths and weaknesses of such a collaboration, and also showed clips from several award winning TV documentaries. The seminar finished with a panel discussion.
Panel debate at the breakfast seminar. From left: Journalist Per Christian Magnus (UiB), historian Terje Tvedt (UiB), Associate Professor Lars Arve Røssland (UiB), Editor Odd Isungset (NRK) and moderator Hilde Sandvik (Broen.xyz)
This was followed by a research seminar on social TV, where Professor James Bennett and Dr. Niki Strange, both from Royal Holloway, University of London, presented recent findings from their research papers.
Dr. Strange talked about the process of adaptation to, and of, social media within UK TV production cultures, and explored the impact of social media on TV production practices, aestethics, business models, job roles and skills.
Dr. Niki Strange from Royal Holloway, University of London
To evidence the competing collaborative and sometimes contradictory strategies, Professor James Bennett charts the reverse phenomenon to Niki Strange's Making TV Social contribution. In this paper, he draws out the importance of video to social media platforms and consider the role of television in their strategies and production practices.
Professor James Bennett from Royal Holloway, University of London.
The last event of the week was Friday Fun and Humor for Grown Ups – an afternoon of entertainment, standup, media quiz, snacks and drinks, with special guests Christoffer Schjelderup and Kristian Bruarøy.
Comedian Christoffer Schelderup entertaining our guests at Friday Fun for Grown Ups.
More pictures from Friday's event can be found here