Artificial intelligence on the agenda of Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon

The Web Summit returns to Lisbon with a long list of celebrities and big tech companies.

Members of the tech elite are gathering in the Portuguese capital for the launch of Europe’s biggest tech event on Monday evening.

Some 70,000 people are expected in Lisbon for the Web Summit, a four-day technology conference welcoming more than 3,000 companies and speakers.

The main theme will beartificial intelligence (AI), with several sub-themes such as regulation, sustainability and ethics.

Some of the biggest names in AI will be in attendance, including Brad Smith – president of Microsoft -, Thomas Wolf – co-founder and chief scientific officer of Hugging Face -, Cristiano Amon – CEO and president of Qualcomm – and Gabriele Mazzini – lead author of the European law on AI.

Several government representatives will also be present to discuss AI regulationnotably Robert Habeck, the German Vice-Chancellor, Luís Montenegro, the Portuguese Prime Minister, and Xavier Bettel, the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister.

Creativity and AI will also be a big theme and big celebrities will be joining the event, such as Pharrell Williams and Imogen Heap.

Peaky Blinders TV series creator Steven Knight will also be in attendance, as will Hovhannes Avoyan, founder and CEO of photo editing software Picsart.

Elections and social networks

Web Summit 2024 kicks off just a week after Donald Trump was elected president of the United Statesan event which will not fail to fuel debates between representatives of technology companies.

DeRay McKesson, civil rights activist and host of Pod Save The People, will talk about election coverage in the age of misinformation and public disillusionment with traditional media.

Social networks will also be in the spotlight during the conference. Football legend Gilberto Silva will discuss strategies to combat hate on online platforms.

Finally, the German Vice Chancellor will also analyze the role of social media in today’s polarized political climate.

United Nations Climate Conference

Sustainable development and green technology companies will also be discussed on the occasion of the United Nations climate summit COP29, which began on Monday in Baku.

Major companies include Twelve, a carbon transformation company whose CEO Etosha Cave aims to decarbonize the aviation industry, and Bolt, whose CEO will discuss the future of cars as many governments across the world are introducing measures to reduce the number of private cars on the roads.

Return of the CEO

Web Summit co-founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave will return this year to lead the conferenceafter resigning a year earlier following backlash over his comments on the war between Israel and Hamas.

Tech giants, such as Meta and Amazon, as well as famous figures, such as Gillian Anderson, withdrew from the event following the decision.