Web Summit 2014 – live blog

Thursday November 6

17.40
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Bono closed the event to a full house, the highlights of which included him telling the audience he’s “a spoiled rotten rockstar”, impersonating the Beatles, and describing his reaction to becoming “the worst person on the internet” after releasing the free U2 album: “We got a lot of people who weren’t interested in U2 to be mad at U2, and that’s an improvement in the relationship, as far as I see it.” Anyway, that’s it for this year’s Web Summit! Thanks for following the event with us. – MM

17:00
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Iconic entrepreneur Peter Thiel took to the Centre Stage with Caroline Daniel from the Financial Times, to discuss aging, AI and flying cars. According to Thiel, “Our intuitions about AI are misplaced.” He explained that we usually talk about it in economic terms, worrying about robots stealing our jobs, when really “it is more equivalent to aliens landing on our planet. The political question is important in both cases — are they like us? Can we get along? How can we work together?”. Thiel also argued against the claim that we are living in a “technological age”: “We are not actually living in a technological age, and I think those of us working in science and technology are actually the counter culture. If you want to see what the dominant culture thinks about technology, just look at the sci-fi movies coming out of Hollywood. They’re terrifying — Gravity would make you never want to go to space.” – MM

16:30
The final Guardian session took on some of the most contentious topics of the last decade. “After Snowden” focused on whistleblowing, journalistic integrity, and trust in the government in the fallout of Edward Snowden‘s leaks. Bella Sankey, director of policy for Liberty Human Rights, claimed that the British government’s information gathering techniques were archaic and ineffective: “All these resources are being put into gathering endless amounts of information. It’s not a lack of information that’s the problem – we live in an information age – it’s how law enforcement use that information. In the hackneyed needle in a haystack metaphor, you don’t need a bigger haystack.”

James Ball, journalist for the Guardian, discussed the sheer amount of private, illicit photos that had been gathered automatically by GCHQ from webcam photos. The lack of public reaction and outcry because of this disheartened Ball to the possibility of any real change occurring: “If people aren’t going to get angry about that, what will they get angry about?”

Former MI5 Intelligence Officer Annie Machon offered an intriguing perspective on the matter. After whistleblowing on the intelligence agency, she spent a year on the run followed by two years in exile. Being completely aware of just how her former colleagues would be able to observe her, and how completely without privacy she was, had a harrowing effect on her psyche. She foresees a similar level of paranoia and insecurity being experienced on a national scale, if people’s personal privacies continue to be ignored and their personal lives continue to be invaded by government agencies. She felt that countries without a history of authoritarian rule might be more succeptible to such “totalitarian” surveillance: “In Germany, they know that if you don’t have privacy you cannot mobilise, you cannot resist, you cannot have a functioning democracy.” – EM

15:10
Women are the lead adopters of technology. More and more women are becoming involved in software design and engineering. However, 56% of women working in tech drop out at the midpoint of their career. 63% of women in STEM fields report suffering sexual harassment in the workplace. Cathryn Poesy, the founder of Tech by Superwomen, discussed the difficulties faced by women working in the tech world today. Using the story of Ada Lovelace, whose groundbreaking work in computer programming in 1842 did not receive proper recognition until a century later, Poesy discussed how similar pressures and biases prevent women from getting involved in tech today. Poesy asked the audience to consider how the tech world had been limited by its exclusion of women, and how biases which hurt one group hurt everyone. Poesy’s message stressed the urgent need to work towards changing this situation: “It is up to every person in this room to use their voices to shift this. We need to disrupt this.” – EM


13.45
Fergal Murray (former Master Brewer for Guinness), Chris McClelland (developer of the app Brewbot) and Galway Hooker’s Aidan Murphy discussed how tech has changed what and how we drink with Pamela Newenham from the Irish Times. McClelland and Murphy particularly stressed the importance of localism to the craft brewing industry: “People want local products. The idea of pulling back, of having beer that’s made in your community, is a key part of where the world is going and has to go in terms of the environmental impact of shipping a bag of grain across the world. It’s important for us to utilise and take advantage of the amazing local ingredients here in Ireland.” McClelland said his app aims to “democratise brewing, and to encourage people to experiment a lot more”. Murray claimed that the biggest challenge for the future of brewing will be “innovations in marketing”, and argued, “the way we used to drink everything ten years ago is totally different from how we will socialise and enjoy a beer ten years from now”. – MM

13.00
Lauren Wirtzer (Head of Digital for Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment) and Ryan Wright (Kobalt Music) sat down with Olivier de Simone of social network Urturn to discuss fan engagement, and how technology has shifted the way artists and fans communicate. De Simone pointed out that a few years ago, the closest fans could get to interacting with their favourite artist was to maybe win a radio contest and get to shake their hand for five minutes: “Now, by the time you wake up, you can already know what they ate for breakfast.” Wright explained that this development means that now, when a fan is online, they have expectations that content will be fed to them and that artists will keep them updated on what they are doing: “Fans don’t just want to know about their favourite artist’s life, they feel entitled to know about it.” They discussed Beyoncé’s social network of choice, Instagram, and Taylor Swift’s recent #taylurking campaign, which allowed fans to get recognition from a massive artist just by being on social media. Wright mentioned that artists of different genres prioritise engagement on social media in different ways — country music artists will “do a full week of fanfare, while artists on the indie music scene might not touch social media. They think it’s gimmicky, and want to focus on putting our the record.” – MM

12:30
Spotify’s Paul Lamere gave an excellent presentation of their plans to “make music more dynamic and more interactive”, filled with music samples. He demonstrated their “remix” project, which allows you to play with different pieces of songs and swap them around to make new music, with Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, joking: “I have a theory that you can put Lady Gaga in any order and she still sounds good.” Another project, Girl Talk in a Box, also allows players to interact with their music, and Lamere showed off his version of Iggy Azalea’s Fancy. – MM

12:00
Jimmy Chamberlin, former drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins and current CEO of LiveOne, discussed with Chris Kaskie, president of Pitchfork, the business of being a band. Chamberlin recalled how he and Billy Corgan “saw so many bands in Chicago come and go, losing all their money” because they weren’t treating themselves as a business. For the Pumpkins, “the love of music begat the business, it wasn’t the other way around. Corgan and I had a deal: if we had to sit through a marketing meeting to plan a single, we would just go write a better song.” – MM

Wednesday November 5

20:00
As part of the Fringe Summit event series, Thinkhouse PR hosted an evening with Lauren Wirtzer, Head of Digital Strategy at Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment. Wirtzer handles all digital operations for Beyoncé, and led the marketing campaign for the launch of last year’s self-titled album, which shocked the music industry and fans with a surprise release. Wirtzer spoke about her beginnings in the music industry, the pressures of working on the secret album, and Beyonce’s strategic use of social media: Instagram allows her to engage with her fans “without much context, and usually even without text” — what Wirtzer calls “inaccessible accessibility”. Read our full report here. – MM

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17:15

At the close of the second day acclaimed director Neil Jordan and House of Cards producer Dana Brunetti in turn discussed the changing landscape of film and television production and distribution. Jordan mused with astonishment on how television went from being the lowest form of entertainment to the forefront of artistic expression in the digital age. Brunetti spoke about how drastic House of Cards was in its method of distribution, and how its success is a sign that what viewers want is starting to change. He spoke with particular frustration about Hollywood’s theatre-driven release process: “I wish I had some power in Hollywood over how movies are distributed.” Brunetti sees a future in which all films are released for private viewing at the same time as they come out in cinema. When asked when this might happen, he said “not soon enough”. – EM

15:00
Mike Bell, Vice President and General Manager of New Devices at Intel, spoke to Tech Crunch’s Ingrid Lunden about the future of wearables. Bell explained, “Taping a cell phone to your wrist is not interesting to me. There has to be a reason.” However, he said he hasn’t yet seen a smartwatch he likes yet, and that they’re still figuring out a way to marry the technology with a classic and stylish design: “The best smartwatch looks like a high-end Swiss-designed watch but also has smartness and connectivity.” Bell discussed MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory), Intel’s new collaboration with cult fashion label Opening Ceremony: “We think wearables are as much about fashion as they are about technology.” – MMG

14:20

While most of the summit was devoted to software designers, artists, and investors, the Machine Stage featured those on the hardware designers that nothing else would be possible without. Conor McCormack, CEO of Mcor Technologies, and Peter Weijmarshausen, co-founder of Shapeways, discussed the future of 3D Printing, an invention with extreme potential, for everyone from graphic designers to large-scale industry giants. Later, Mike Bell, VP & General Manager of New Devices – Intel, took to the stage to discuss the future of wearable tech, a growing area of hardware design. – EM

13.30

We just tried out Google’s Cardboard Virtual Reality, a kit that pairs a VR goggle setup with a smartphone. With Cardboard, Google are aiming to show that VR headsets can be just as effective when cheaply constructed. We tested the Windy Day demo, an incredibly immersive interactive short film developed by Jan Pinkava (creator of Pixar’s Ratatouille), where you can spin around a 360-degree scene to follow a little mouse who has lost his hat. – MMG

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11.35

Robert Muggah discussed the way in which the social media environment has been abused by criminal syndicates in Latin America and more positive developments through social media. Muggah presented a world which is rarely thought of in the West, one in which digital “security” means something very different, and in which digital crime is far more dangerous and sinister. With criminal organisations making the move to Facebook, and civilians using those same social media outlets to defend themselves, the role of social media in 21st century crime is undeniably significant. – EM

11:05

Child prodigy Adora Svitak discussed organising her own TED talk series while still in high school, the effect that developing technology has on young people, and the way in which the education system needs to react to this change. – EM

Tuesday November 4

17:10

After a closing interview with the inventor of Dropbox, Drew Houston, the first day of the Web Summit came to a close. Check back in on Wednesday and Thursday here and on @tn2magazine as tn2 continues to provide coverage on Europe’s largest tech summit. – EM

16:40

Matthew Prince, co-founder of security company Cloudflare, and Stewart Baker, partner in Steptoe and Johnson, had a heated debate over the importance of privacy and the role of security in the information age. Prince described the idea of individuals overlooking personal communications as “creepy”, while Baker defended the act of surveillance and monitoring in the modern age. Both agreed that the laws and regulations regarding internet security and surveillance have grown out of touch with this rapidly developing area. – EM

14:45

The food summit talks took place in a faux-butcher-shop just outside the main food tent. Inside, Eva Longoria discussed her documentary Food Chains, on the abuse and exploitation of workers in Florida’s tomato fields. Iseult Ward followed, sharing her charity food distribution software, Food Cloud. Brian Meehan, executive chairman of Blue Bottle Coffee, and Colin Harmon, founder of 3FE coffee, closed the show with a discussion on the history, economy, and cultural significance of coffee. -EM

13:10

The Web Summit is currently in full swing. Investors, software designers, hardware engineers, game developers, musicians and filmmakers are rubbing shoulders at Europe’s largest gathering for all things tech. Stay tuned for updates here and on @tn2magazine from today through Thursday. -EM

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