IT Community Styria’s Digital Future Congress Addressing “Future 2043”

pts20230516023 Technology/digitization, company/economy

Graz/Friesach (pts023/16.05.2023/11:30) –

After a break due to the pandemic, the IT Community Styria again invited to the Digital Future Congress on May 4th, 2023, this time at the modern software headquarters of SSI SCHAEFER in Friesach. In accordance with the motto “Future 2043”, the lectures addressed the question of how we will live, travel, think and interact with machines in 20 years.

The guests were welcomed and set the mood for an exciting afternoon by the IT Community Styria, represented by Markus Moser and Angelika Weber (axtesys) and ITCS Managing Director Thomas Dietinger. In the old tradition, Gerhard Greiner (ALPSLab GmbH) moderated the event. This was followed by lectures by Sarah Notter (AT&S AG, the world’s leading manufacturer of printed circuit boards), Andreas Trügler (Innovation and Research Center Know Center), Heinrich Hochegger (cooltours, cultural and language trips for young people), Thomas Possert (Energie Steiermark AG) and Wolfgang Schinagl (Styrian Chamber of Commerce). The speakers gave interesting insights into their fields of activity, impulses for questioning technological trends as well as exciting perspectives on innovations and future visions.

The presentations conveyed that Styrian companies, as well as universities and research institutions, are working intensively on the development of new products and are thus actively helping to shape our future world. The monitoring of trends and the use of research results for innovative products such as rechargeable batteries, in the field of bioelectronics, photonics or in the development and use of quantum computers contributes significantly to the success of the company.

Sustainability, especially sustainability in IT and electronics, plays an increasing role in the development of new products. Sustainability must be considered over the entire product life cycle, which ranges from resource requirements during manufacture, through energy consumption during production and use, to recycling. The topic of cyber security is also essential in connection with the design of our technological future. After all, quantum computers also have security gaps, as researchers at Graz University of Technology, among others, have been able to demonstrate.

The fact that all crises that have occurred throughout history not only pose a risk, but also always bring an opportunity, became clear to many companies during the Covid crisis. Accordingly, one of the insights gained in recent years was to take a closer look at risks such as a lack of resources, climate change, demographic change, liquidity issues and global prosperity developments – and to derive measures from this in order to be able to react more quickly to future crises.

One of the most relevant and at the same time controversially discussed developments is artificial intelligence. AI offers many potentials, including that of developing towards artificial awareness, hypothetically to AGI (artificial general intelligence). In the further development and use of AI, but also when using other technologies, it is important from the point of view of the speakers to keep the focus on the users and society, including all needs and values.

The event was concluded by the exchange and discussion with the experts of the IT community on the lighthouse topics of intelligent transport systems, process digitization, data science, cybersecurity and new work, which rounded off the successful and informative event.

About IT Community Styria (ITCS)
The IT Community Styria (ITCS) is an umbrella brand and seal of quality for Styrian companies that see software development not only as a business area and economic driver, but also as a social mission. The vision of the ITCS is that Styria is seen worldwide as the region of origin for future-oriented software and that other industries also get a regional economic upswing.

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