
#DataSummit21
We’re so excited to be finishing our year of DataFest21 events with a bang! Scotland’s biggest and best data & AI event, Data Summit, will take place on 24th November.
This year, Data Summit will be a one-day hybrid event, taking place at the exclusive luxury hotel, The Balmoral. There will be a very limited capacity, guaranteeing you an intimate audience with some really high flying speakers in the data world.
We’re delighted to be bringing you keynotes picked from the biggest names in the data science community. Find out more about them:
Nina Schick
Nina Schick is an author and consultant working on the intersection between society, politics and technology. From misinformation and fake news to how AI is changing trust and communication, Nina explores some of the most vital issues facing governments, businesses and individuals.
Originally working in politics, political strategy and journalism, Nina’s career has included time with the BBC, CNN, Spiegel Online and The Sunday Times, covering politics and in particular issues around the EU. She was the Communications Director for the Open Europe think-tank, and held senior roles in political strategy companies focusing on the use of data and technology in campaigns. She was also an advisor to the Alliance of Democracies Foundation where she advised, amongst others, Joe Biden and former Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Nina then went on to found her own business advising clients from governments and NGOs to a range of private sector businesses on issues from cybersecurity and espionage to synthetic media, disinformation and the geopolitics of tech.
Nina’s book Deep Fakes and the Infocalypse: What You Urgently Need To Know explores a global threat that is prevalent, but all too often ignored or misunderstood. In an age where video is the primary (and most trusted) medium for many people to access news and information, the power to convincingly change footage of politicians and influential figures has massive implications. Nina looks at the growing access to and power of a form of AI that can learn how people speak, look and move, and to subtly alter video footage. The result convincingly shows subjects saying and doing almost anything the user wishes. Although it has some benign applications, the ability to make videos of public figures appearing to say or do anything has huge implications, from affecting elections to inciting violence to blackmail and censorship. Described by the FT as “an uncomfortable but gripping read, probing the way in which the internet has been flooded with disinformation and dark arts propaganda” Nina explains how this technology came about, how it’s already being used, and what can be done to stop it destroying trust and overwhelming democracies.
Dr Kevin Fong
Professor Kevin Fong is a Consultant in Anaesthesia at University College Hospital in London, part of their Emergency Response and Major Incident Planning Teams, and serves with the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. During the pandemic he was seconded to NHS England as National Clinical Advisor in Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response for Covid-19.
Kevin specialises in risk, decision-making and innovation, holds degrees in Astrophysics, Medicine and Engineering, and is also a science and medical broadcaster and writer.
In a diverse and varied career Kevin has worked as an academic and completed training rotations at the Johnson Space Center, Houston and the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral. He founded the Centre for Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment (CASE) Medicine at UCL. CASE’s membership includes physicians and scientists with expertise in mountaineering, scuba diving, space flight, human performance and remote medical care.
The group looks at the parallels that exist between critical illness and the physiology of extreme environments. The work helped inform Kevin’s first book, Extremes: Life, Death and the Limits of the Human Body which explores how the human body reacts to extremes, and the important developments in making survivable what would once have been lethal.
From space travel to emergency medical response, Kevin has combined insights into planning, human reactions and behaviours, engineering and psychology to understand risk and decision-making. As well as UCL he’s worked with NASA and the European Space Agency on the effects of extreme environments. He’s studied the history of science and medicine to provide an insight into how humans have learned to deal with extreme situations both physical and mental.
He considers how those that work every day under pressure, stress and with high risk deal with it, make the right calls, and quickly learn from mistakes. Such a broad range of interests and experiences also means Kevin can address how teams work and operate under pressure as well as broader themes of science, innovation, technology and engineering, and health and healthcare.
Kevin has presented a number of acclaimed radio and TV programmes including Channel 4’s Extreme A&E, To Boldly Go and Space Shuttle: The Final Mission for BBC2, and numerous editions of Horizon (including Back From the Dead and How to Avoid Mistakes in Surgery). He also hosted the BBC’s awardwinning international hit podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon, revealing the dramatic but often overlooked moments before the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, the people and events that made the impossible a reality.
He’s a regular on various programmes on the past, present and future of space travel and has made Radio 4 documentaries on Scott’s Legacy and split-second decision-making. He has also appeared on Channel 4’s Ascent of Mars Mountain and the BBC’s The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.
Mike Berners-Lee
Mike Berners-Lee is a leading author, academic, consultant and advisor on climate change and sustainability. As a professor at Lancaster University he focuses on carbon metrics and food systems, whilst his company Small World, which is affiliated to the university, helps businesses around the world monitor and manage the carbon impact of their supply chains.
In his book There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years, Mike examines the challenge of climate change and how individuals, business and governments can each play their own significant role in keeping the planet habitable.
Whilst in How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything he explores the hidden impact of everyday items and activities, as well as the big effects of small changes.
The Burning Question, co-written with Duncan Clark, examines the bigger questions from politics, economics and beyond that need
addressing in order to tackle climate change.
Mike considers every aspect of our world and how it affects the climate. He helps investors consider the long-term effects and viability of their investments, and how to change.
He looks at ideas of ethics and purpose in business and the role of carbon in these increasingly important concepts. And he considers the connections
between often apparently separate disciplines and activities, the threats and opportunities, and how climate bring them all together.
Get your tickets now!
Want to come along and join us in-person to see these amazing speakers? You’d best book your ticket quickly as they are very limited.
Find out more about what we’ve got planned:
https://datafest.global/data-summit/
We also have virtual tickets available, so you don’t have to miss out on hearing from these top thought leaders in the data world.