future

By way of setting the tone for this International Workshop, figures were cited showing that, in 2014, 350 million PCs and 320 million tablets were sold, and that, in the next five years, there will be some 200 billion web-connected devices. The latest devices – it was observed – are able to learn our needs and preferences, enabling increasingly personalized feedback, with artificial intelligence continuing to make great leaps forward. It was stressed, however, that it is not just machines that are learning from people – humans too have ended up being shaped by their devices.