On
March 22-25, the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest) will hold their Annual Meeting in Mendoza, Argentina.
On
e of the speakers at the summit’s Demand Solutions event is GeneXus CEO Nicolás Jodal, who will discuss the human side of Artificial Intelligence.

How far will Artificial Intelligence go in our lives? This question is currently being asked by the academia, governments, and society at large. Many times, this question brings uncertainty (you can read this post about the future of work), and all those feelings make sense when we are aware that: “We are not only living in an era of changes but rather in a change of era,” as I’ve heard Mr. Jodal say.

The future looks brighter if, when talking about new technologies, the focus is placed on sustainable urban mobility, design, and planning to counter the effects of climate change or to promote inclusion, for example. These topics will be addressed at Demand Solutions Mendoza, the IDB flagship event on innovation that brings together some of the world’s most creative minds to share disruptive solutions to development challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Demand Solutions will focus on how to solve urban challenges in sustainable and inclusive ways. In this context, the following topics will be covered:

1. Sustainable mobility as the new imperative of cities. Sustainable mobility is a concept born out of the concern for environmental and social problems caused during the second half of the twentieth century by a widespread urban transport model based on the private car. The drawbacks of this model, most notably air pollution, excessive energy consumption, harmful effects on public health or the congestion of roads, has given rise to a collective will to find alternatives to help mitigate the negative effects of this model and devise a new sustainable city model.
2. Urban resilience to face climate change in an innovative way. Urban resilience is the ability of a city exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its basic structures and functions.
3. The future of work in relation to artificial intelligence, automation, and the challenges of demographic growth in urban areas.
4. How to create creative districts by tapping into people’s heritage and talent to revitalize our cities.

Speakers include:

• DAVID ROSENBERG, founder of AeroFarms, will talk about the future of agriculture using urban vertical farming.
• RAISA BANFIELD, Deputy Mayor of Panama City, works to transform cities through more trees and less concrete.
• NICOLÁS JODAL, CEO, GeneXus, will share his vision about the impact of Artificial Intelligence.
• CHARLES LANDRY, authority on creative cities worldwide, will invite us to reflect on the role of cities, their resources, and the future of urban planning.
• ERIN BAUMGARTNER will tell us how the MIT SENSEable City Lab uses digital technology and data to change the way we think about and design our cities.
• JUAN CAMPANELLA, Oscar-winning screenwriter and film director from Argentina, will tell us how the audiovisual industry contributes to a country’s economy.

We’re evolving towards a new world where machines will grow increasingly closer to us. Even though in the past they were an extension of our strength, due to the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence, in the near future machines will probably perform not only heavy duty, automated work but also many other tasks.  In Nicolás Jodal’s opinion, this shouldn’t be feared but rather looked upon as a development that will make us more human.

“We are not only living in an era of changes but rather in a change of era.”

Nicolás Jodal

For more information about the Annual Meeting of Governors of the IDB and BID Invest #BIDenMendoza #DemandSolutions on March 22-25, click here.