CES2020: day two explores a world enabled by AI and quantum computing

9 Jan 2020 01:16 PM

Matt Evans is at CES and is based at the UK Pavilion (Eureka Park). If you would like to meet him, please email Matthew.Evans@techUK.org. 

If day one was about 5G and regulatory approaches, then day two was about the application of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum with a clear focus on how government can be an active partner with the tech sector in delivering meaningful, positive change.  

I started the day on the show floor where there is everything from the latest wearables to robots who would give Tom Hanks a run for his money on the ping pong table. Qualcomm was next up on the keynote track with its President Cristiano Amon talking about the potential of 5G with a particular focus on what this means for cloud. He came under some pressure from the moderator about what edge computing and cloud mean for the environment, something that has been more of an undercurrent than the primary theme of the show. You can read more about techUK’s work in this area here.  

Emerging technologies are transforming so many different aspects of our lives. Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation delivered a keynote and announced the publication of the AV 4.0 which aims to unify the 38 US Government components with oversight of the deployment and development of automated vehicle technologies. We heard from the USA’s CTO Michael Kratsios that this directive sits alongside wider binding AI principles for federal agency regulators which the White House published on Tuesday.  

Artificial Intelligence took the limelight across much of the programme today. During a panel discussion on global leadership, Adelina Cooke, North America AI Policy Lead at Accenture explained that businesses must focus on ‘humans plus AI’ and ensure the technology enables new ways of working for all. Interestingly, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, Andrei Iancu, mentioned in his one-on-one that they are now receiving a growing number of applications for patents for new innovations that are entirely machine-produced and there is currently a debate as to whether you can reward a patent to a non-human. 

With an eye on technologies that are a little further around the corner, Quantum was also a prominent theme. The key message was that we are approaching a Quantum decade where traditional computing, artificial neural networking, and Quantum computing converge. The result of this would be a move away from efficiency and productivity gains to true transformational shifts in some of the biggest challenges that we are facing today.  

Back on the busy UK Pavilion, we were really pleased to see Valerann win a Best of Innovation: Smart Cities award for their IoT sensor that can help make our infrastructure more intelligent, making our journeys faster, safer and support the introduction of AVs. We also saw the launch of Spyderisk’s product. Spyderisk is a spin-out from Southampton University’s Future Works start-up accelerator and specialise in automating cyber risk assessments. It was great to see them showcasing innovation from UK universities. 

See the below for more of techUK’s views on CES2020: 

CES2020: automotive is the driving force for first announcements 

CES2020: day one covering policy, innovation and purpose