Paris, France, October 28 & 29, 2019

2019 Executive Summit: Utopia for beginners

Download the presentations

Overview

When: Monday, October 28, 2019 - Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Where: Hôtel Westin Vendôme Paris, France

Digital transformation is an organization’s response, not merely to changing technologies, but more importantly to changing behaviors. You need to be on top of your customer’s expectations and preferences, while at the same time able to integrate advanced technologies with existing business processes. Leading these endeavors of course requires strong delivery skills and change management.

But, because of the unpredictability of people, it is strong discovery skills that are going to make the decisive difference. In that sense, digital transformation is, first and foremost, a journey of exploration, discovering uncharted new territories and understanding its inhabitants. This year’s Executive Summit ‘Utopia for Beginners’ on October 28-29 in Paris, will delve deeper into this journey

A wake-up call for discovery skills

When you were young, you had dreams. Perhaps you still do. But once you've become a digital chief, it is so much harder to dream and explore the amazing world around you. For now, it is primarily your job to deliver on the digital transformation. Part of the success however comes from igniting the chief exploration officer in you. This year’s Executive Summit is therefore a wake-up call, an opportunity to revitalize your discovery skills. The point on the horizon is your Utopia: a highly desirable, almost perfect place that doesn’t (yet) exist.

New technologies spiking up fantasy

There are important questions to consider. Is your Utopia aligned with the latest technology and what would be the impact? Are you for instance looking at the so-called Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) technology, the next trend in AI? It is said that it will make technology truly creative. Imagine AI creating new products, new designs, new ideas. Is it too far-fetched to believe that GANs will be the co-producers of this new Utopia: spiking up fantasy and creativity?

A new generation is rising

For some, Utopia is no longer a destination; they have already arrived. Here we’re talking about the new generation: the post-millennials. They're ‘on-life’, moving seamlessly between on- and off-line and they are one step ahead of your future. Based on the latest insights from our recent research, ‘The Synthetic Generation’, we suggest another question. How do you not only align with the technical side of their behavior, but also deliver on their new ethical standards, their trust, and their craving for authenticity?

There's a lot to explore, but in the end, we're all beginners. Technology is in its infancy, and there is a new generation, your peers, and you. And then - as always - there's legacy, risk averseness, unwillingness to change, short-sightedness and resistance to overcome. At this year's Executive Summit, we want to start creating the future. Based on your expertise, the inspiration from keynote speakers, the joint effort of the attendees, and the 24 hours we have available, we're going to build a new Utopia!

Questions that we will address at this year’s Sogeti Executive Summit are:

  • How can a Utopian mindset strengthen digital transformation?
  • How do you align your organization with the demands of the synthetic generation?
  • What are the creative capabilities of what’s next in AI and how will it impact your organization?
  • What are the quick fixes required to start your expedition towards a Utopia for your customers and employees?

But, because of the unpredictability of people, it is strong discovery skills that are going to make the decisive difference. In that sense, digital transformation is, first and foremost, a journey of exploration, discovering uncharted new territories and understanding its inhabitants. This year’s Executive Summit ‘Utopia for Beginners’ on October 28-29 in Paris, will delve deeper into this journey

Download the presentations

Agenda

October 28

10:20 - 10:45 State of the Art

Kick off

10:45 - 11:25 State of the Art

Round One

11:25 - 12:00 State of the Art

Round Two

12:00 - 13:00 Lunch

Lunch

13:00 - 14:55 Utopia for Beginners – Towards a Synthetic Future

Speakers: Michiel Boreel, Menno van Doorn, Pierre Hessler
Setting the stage

Speaker: Menno van Doorn
The Future is already here and it is Synthetic:
  • A new ‘Synthetic’ generation is coming of age
  • Their ‘abnormality’ is the new normal

Speaker: Carlota Perez, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, Tallinn University of Technology
Our digital future – A new Golden Age of Opportunity:
  • Techno-Economic Paradigm Shifts and the theory of great surges
  • Making the right choices for Social Sustainability

Speaker: Stine Jensen, Philosopher, author and yoga teacher
Notes on the Synthetic:
  • In search of a new vocabulary
  • The 'born' and the 'made' are fusing
  • The Easternization of the West

14:55 - 15:10 Break

Short break

15:10 - 16:45 AI for Happiness

Speaker: Nell Watson, Engineer, Tech Philosopher, Lector Singularity University
Augmenting the human heart & soul:
  • Humanizing Machines
  • The emergence of the AI-bermensch

Speaker: Shravan Thaploo, Neuroscientist Harvard Medical School
Augmenting our Brains:
  • Breakthroughs in Neuro Science
  • Our Brain as a new source of (neural) data
  • Rewriting the rules of marketing

Speaker: Sander Duivestein
Synthetic Data as the Holy Grail of AI:
  • Developments in AI & Deep Learning
  • Solving ‘unsolvable’ problems and societal impact

16:45 - 17:00 Break

Short break

17:00 - 18:20 How to Fix the Future?

Speaker: Carl Miller, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos; King’s College London
Dealing with 'Surveillance Capitalism':
  • The changing form & shape of power
  • The rise of the 'Digital Citizen'
  • The rebirth of the Fourth Estate

Forum discussion
Your Digital Utopia – The CIO’s view
Speaker: Andrew Keen, entrepreneur and author
Utopia for Beginners:
  • The Future is Broken
  • Five ‘easy’ fixes towards a ‘Happy’ future

19:30 - 20:00 Drinks

Drinks

20:00 - Close Dinner

Dinner

October 29

08.30 - 08:50 Welcome back

Michiel Boreel

08:50 - 10:40 Having Confidence in the New Generation

Speaker: Peter Leyden, Reinvent, former managing editor Wired, author
What to expect from the Synthetic Generation?
  • Generations & Societal shifts
  • The world needs a new narrative for Utopia - ‘The Long Boom’ revisited

Speaker: Koen Schobbers, Education of Gaming & eSports, Consulting
Tales from the Unexpected - eSports:
  • How the next generation is spending their time
  • Opportunities in the New Normal

Speaker: Baptiste Vasse, CEO Oplon
The business value of eSports
Speaker: John Meulemans, Managing Director 3sixtyfive
The inevitability of Influencer Marketing:
  • Influencing as the new summer job
  • Risk & Rewards of ratings and reputation
  • Influencing in B2B markets

10:40 - 11:00 Break

Short break

11:00 - 13:00 Your Role in the Utopian Digital Society

Speaker: Mikko-Pekka Hanski, Co-founder Idean
Designing a Revolution:
  • The emergence of Direct Consumer Branding
  • Design for the next generation

Speaker: Anjali Lai, Senior Analyst Forrester Research
Reaching for the Unreachables:
  • Understanding the Synthetic Generation through Forrester’s Consumer Energy Index
  • Facebook: The Myth of the Monopoly
  • The Art of Storytelling in the Purpose Economy

Speaker: Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information, Oxford Internet Institute
Onlife - Being Human in a Hyperconnected Era:
  • Digital Society under construction
  • Discontent as the father of progress

Speaker: Pierre Hessler, Capgemini Fellow
Closing Remarks

13:00 Lunch

Lunch

Speakers
Meet our expert speakers

Luciano Floridi

Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information & Director of Digital Ethics Lab, OII, University of Oxford

view profile

Andrew Keen

Chief Unhappiness Officer, Sogeti

view profile

Anjali Lai

Senior Analyst at Forrester Research

view profile

Peter Leyden

Founder of Reinvent / Media Entrepreneur / Public Speaker on Tech & Future Trends / Author & Writer

view profile

John Meulemans

Managing Director at 3sixtyfive, Award Winning Influencer Agency

view profile

Carl Miller

Author and researcher

view profile

Carlota Perez

Researcher, lecturer and international consultant

view profile

Nell Watson

Engineer, educator and tech philosopher

view profile

Stine Jensen

Philosopher, author and yoga teacher

view profile

Mikko-Pekka Hanski

Head of Studio, Idean Finland at Idean

view profile

Koen Schobbers

Education of gaming & esports | Public Speaker | Consulting (global) brands | Host

view profile

Shravan Thaploo

Researcher at ARCND - Harvard Medical School

view profile

State of the Art Sessions

Just before the start of the summit, there is an opportunity to catch up with some of the trends in the industry, discussed by our global technology leaders.
These intimate sessions will offer an opportunity to explore and discuss trending topics from the latest developments in the industry.

Plenary Kickoff: How to accelerate with AI
Leading AI companies develop technology that improves parts of the AI creation or deployment process itself. By bringing AI building blocks, Sogeti helps clients achieve this. We help with automated AI Creation environments so that AI Experts at clients can concentrate their focus elsewhere. With specific AI for certain domains (for example Chatbots, NLP and Image) Sogeti transforms business specific use cases.

AI, Cyberfraud and how to secure yourself

Fraud co-evolves with technology, exposing organizations to more sophisticated and new types of attack. Technology provides tools for preventing and defending against them. Identifying suspicious operations takes time, labor and no small number of mistakes, all of which can be reduced with machine learning algorithms. Picking the right algorithm, properly preparing the input and the approach to training leads to a greater detection of anomalies and fewer false alarms. Join us to understand how pre-configured building blocks are really making a difference.

AI and Native apps, the next big thing in Cloud

Cognitive services and chatbots are the next big thing in cloud native development, providing intelligent experiences with digital ‘friends’. Consumers are moving from classic digital channels to these more conversational channels, this shift resulting in a more natural and seamless user experience, like interacting with a friend or family. We will explain the huge benefits of this shift for both consumers and organizations, how to create a digital friend and how organizations will benefit most from it. With OneDeliver cloud expertise, Sogeti can help with the humanification of your digital channels - start your voice strategy today!

The Strength of AI image recognition and Artificial Data Amplification

Innovations in analytics, AI and data sciences allow organizations to remove areas of inefficiencies before they impact business. They provide insight to business processes and approaches, allowing improvements that were not previously possible. AI-image recognition is one widely adopted technology, helping improve quality of service, internal processes and decision making. The AI accelerator we will discuss is helping automate and contextualize any physical or digital piece of text across an organization. We will also discuss synthetic data; across all industries, companies are finding it difficult to overcome data related challenges that hinder them from unlocking revolutionary AI solutions. A synthetic data generating solution using advanced deep learning helps.

Cognitive Quality Assurance and Automation

Predicting the unpredictable is one of the key principles that the Sogeti Cognitive QA approach has been designed around. Quality validation, end-to-end customer experience validation and testing of applications across a myriad of devices and platforms makes for a complex challenge for organizations today. Join us to discuss how we challenge the established approach with one that finds the unexpected and removes the irrational, leveraging AI and Data Analytics for faster and higher quality software assurance.

If you have any questions, please contact info@sogeti.com