By Business & Finance 
All photographs by Andres Poveda
The seventh iteration of Dublin Tech Summit took place in the RDS on May 31st and June 1st, 2023.
The curtain has closed on Dublin Tech Summit 2023. The seventh iteration of Europe’s fastest growing tech festival took place in the RDS on May 31st and June 1st this year.
The event hosted an impressive 8,000 attendees, with 70 nationalities represented from across the globe. Across the two days, guests were treated to panels, talks and keynotes from 200 speakers, 100 start-ups and even three AI robots.
The tech conference arrived at a crucial time for the sector: The recent industry contraction, and excitement balanced with fear regarding the rapid development of AI offered much discussion.
Speakers
Among the summit’s honoured guests was Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s First AI Ambassador, and Founder and Executive Chair of Soapbox Labs, who opened proceedings on the Prism stage with a keynote on embracing AI and the opportunities and challenges ahead.
The Prism stage also played host to Dame Vivian Hunt, Chief Innovation Officer at Optum, who delivered a keynote talk on how technology can aid the advancement of healthcare, aeronautical engineers Sara Sabry and Norah Patten, who shared their experiences in the space sector, Till Haunschild, who dazzled the audience with his unique combination of magic and AI, and Cecilia Tham, Co-founder and CEO, Futurity Systems, who was accompanied by Herbie the robot, an autonomous, self-sustaining plant AI.
Dr. Ben Goertzel, CEO and founder, SingularityNET
Speaking of robots, Dr. Ben Goertzel, after discussing what can come next with Large Language Models, introduced attendees to Desdemona, a humanoid robot created by Hanson Robotics and powered by AI from the Dr. Goertzel’s own foundation, SingularityNET. Desdemona answered questions from Dr. Goertzel and Janet Adams, SingularityNET’s Chief Operating Officer.
Desdemona, the humanoid robot
‘How Smart is GPT-4 Really?’ was the eye-catching title of a panel comprising of Adam Cheyer, Co-Founder Siri & Viv Labs, Lasse Rouhiainen, speaker and best-selling author, Patricia Scanlon, Dr. Oisín Boydell, Director of Applied Research, Ireland’s center for Applied AI at University College Dublin, and moderator Eric Schurenberg, Editor-in-chief, Amplify Publishing Group.
Nat (Rajesh) Natarajan, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, G-P, spoke about ‘Harnessing Generative AI, Insights and Human Intelligence to Unlock the Everywhere Workforce,’ while on the Evolution stage, moderator Tracy Keogh, Co-founder, Grow Remote joined Mark Jordan, CSO, Skillnet on a panel on the topic ‘From Remote to AI: Charting the Future of Work in a Digital World.’
Claudia Gärd, COO and Co-founder, gofrendly spoke with Rebecca Lee, Strategic Director, ClearStory International, on founding a company with a stranger.
Yuliya Sotska, Chief Brand & Communications Officer, Viseven, Ihor Polych, CEO, Devlight, Vlad Khodzinskiy, Vice President, Sigma Software Group, Oleksandr Storokha, Country Head at Itera Ukraine & Poland, Itera, talked to moderator Mary-Ann Russon, freelance journalist and ex-BBC, on the digitalisation of businesses in times of uncertainty. This session was developed in partnership with IT Ukraine.
On the Ignite stage, DC Cahalane, Group CMO, Dogpatch Labs & NDRC, Luke Mackey, Co-founder & CEO, Yonder, Lorraine Curham, Programme Manager, NDRC Accelerator, Dr. Eimear Gleeson, Investor, Atlantic Bridge discussed ‘The Year So Far: Perspectives from Founders, Investors, Ecosystem Builders’.
‘From Moving Fast and Breaking Things to the Culture of Mending and Nurturing’ was the topic of a keynote featuring Alexandar Vassilev, CEO, WeTransfer , and moderated by Massimo Marioni, Fortune.
Pictured (L-R): Alexandar Vassilev, CEO, WeTransfer, and Massimo Marioni, Fortune.
Ciaran Stone, CEO, Square Root, guided attendees through ‘Navigating Common Pitfalls to Achieve Startup Success,’ and Eric Schurenberg, delivered a keynote on ‘The Evolution of a Startup Founder: Growing into a Successful Company Leader.’
DTS by Night
The DTS by Night saw attendees engage in informal networking sessions in Lost Lane in Dublin 2 on the last night of the event. The Jam Galaxy Band performed with Desdemona the humanoid robot on lead vocals.
DTS 2023 was powered by 80 industry partners.
For comprehensive, in-depth coverage and analysis of Dublin Tech Summit 2023, keep an eye on the Business & Finance website.
DTS24 tickets exclusively on sale now at €99, offer ends midnight 23 June
