A.I. everywhere: How digital assistants will transform our lives

Leading researchers, developers and thought leaders of artificial intelligence shared insights on how AI and digital assistants will transform our lives at a conference at the Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon.

Digital assistants have the potential to be the bridge between smart homes, smart cars, smartphones, PCs, wearables and other devices that we use in our personal and professional lives. They could make our lives better organised, and our devices and services much easier to use. What are the promises and challenges of this brave new world of intelligence augmentation?

Swiss Re, the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI), and IBM Research which are at the forefront of artificial intelligence research, development and prediction, have joined forces to approach the topic from different points of view at this conference on digital assistants:

Business
Swiss Re illustrates the potential impact of digital assistants on the financial services sector.

Society
GDI, one of Switzerland’s leading think tanks for economics, society and consumption maps future concepts and ideas for uses of digital assistants.

Technology and innovation
As a pioneer in advancing artificial intelligence for business use, IBM Research explains the principles behind the technology and shows how domains such as the supply chain, Internet of Things and healthcare are poised for dramatic change.

The conference connected networks of artificial intelligence research and practice with thought leaders and decision makers from society, business and government.

Conference attendees will have the chance to visit the following five market stands between 8:00 and 17:15 when the conference is not in session:

CYBATHLON's BrainRunners – Brain-Computer Interface Race: Control your avatar with the power of your own mind

The CYBATHLON is a unique championship for people with disabilities competing in six disciplines, using advanced assistive devices including robotic technologies to solve everyday tasks.

On 8th October 2016, the CYBATHLON was carried out for the first time in the SWISS Arena in Kloten near Zurich. The event impressively demonstrated how assistive technologies can help people with disabilities to tackle the challenges of everyday life and that there still is a huge potential. That’s why the gates will be opened for the continuation of the CYBATHLON at the SWISS Arena in Kloten near Zurich from 2–3 May 2020. Prepare yourself for an arena charged with passion and an emotion-filled audience that is inspired by the exciting races and challenging tasks.

You will have the chance to experience one of the six CYBATHLON disciplines: In the BrainRunners computer game you have the chance to test the power of your thoughts. Using a brain-computer interface (BCI) you control your avatar with your thoughts alone.

CYBATHLON’s BrainRunners was developed through a joint collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Do you have the mental focus to will your avatar to the finish line? Stop by and play the game to see how well technology can in effect, read your mind.

Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering

What visitors can expect:

Reveal hidden neurotechnology in a bionic body by scanning augmented reality markers with a specialised app. Find out more about the implantable neurotech being developed to help people with nervous system disorders.

Take a fantastic voyage through the brain with an immersive VR experience. This demo is a new way of visualizing very high resolution microscopy images. The Wyss Center’s lightsheet microscope was used to create the high res brain images.

Put on VR goggles and build you own flexible electrodes in the virtual Campus Biotech cleanroom. As visitors are rarely allowed into the Campus Biotech cleanroom, this demo was developed to allow people to not only ‘visit’ the cleanroom but also to build their own flexible brain probes. (The VR needs 2m high mounting points for two cameras).

Pick up and touch real implantable devices. We will bring a selection of both prototype and existing devices from our collection.

Swissquote's Robo Advisor

A true frontrunner in terms of new technologies, Swissquote was created in 1996 and rapidly became the No. 1 financial and online trading services provider in Switzerland. The group works with over 300,000 private investors and institutional clients.

In 2010 Swissquote launched its digital wealth management platform ePrivate Banking. In the past, the only options for people looking to grow their wealth were to entrust their money to a fund manager or to opt for direct trading. The Robo Advisory solution provides an innovative alternative to traditional wealth management. You define your risk profile and preferred investment universe. The Robo Advisor then proposes an optimal investment strategy that is perfectly adapted to the risk profile defined and your preferences. As no emotions are involved, this wealth manager ensures compliance with the risk profile and investment preferences, and makes any necessary reallocations in order to maintain the optimal direction of your portfolio.

Embark on the digital revolution and try out our Robo Advisory demo at our booth.

Swiss Re

ContactOne, SwissRe's internal customer service, is moving towards the digital age of the customer by optimising and digitising opportunities how services such as IT, HR, Logistics, etc. are offered and supported for our employees.

Last year we introduced a cognitive assistant based on IBM Watson technology for our service desk agents so they can better serve our customers in a three step approach:

1. Understanding the customer context with all relevant customer information
2. Finding the best solution to a customer inquiry or issue across a variety of knowledge sources
3. Efficiently documenting and classifying tickets based on suggestions provided with machine learning capabilities

This year we are piloting a chatbot for ContactOne: a virtual agent, which enables better, easier and more effective self-service for Swiss Re employees.

Join us to experience our agent assistant as well as our chatbot and learn about our experiences, successes and lessons learned along the way!

IBM's digital assistants everywhere: in everyday business and everyday life, from down-to-earth to high-in-the-sky

IBM Research is presenting a gallery of examples that show how digital assistants are being used across various industries and for a broad spectrum of tasks, as well as the technologies that power them. Come meet Alvi, CIMON, Connie, EVA, Gwyn, IVIE, Josie, Lucy, MERA, Rachel, Rocky, Olli, Sepp, Sophie and see what they can do.

IBM Research

The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute