One of Quim Monzó's great successes was El porqué de las cosas (1994). It is normal for journalists to often ask ourselves about the why of what happens and what is news. But it is also good that, in another order of things, we question the usefulness of what social, political, business or institutional actors promote. A few years ago, in a distant Barcelona City Council, the decision was made to turn the Catalan capital into a smart city, and many joked. They didn't see the point, the usefulness.
Everything needs a maturation process. People, a decade ago, did not understand why technology should permeate the whole of a city. We needed to see its necessity, its objective. Then, Pilar Conesa, founder and CEO of Anteverti, was largely preaching in the desert. But now, when according to Francesc Fajula, CEO of MWCapital, we are already living the third technological revolution, for some time now a majority of citizens (and their representatives) have incorporated technology into their lives, and are aware that it must be at the service of people and at the service of sustainability.
We spoke with them this week, in a new meeting of the The New Barcelona – Moments Estel·lars cycle, this time dedicated to offering keys to define Barcelona's digital future. A new injection of optimism and self-esteem.
Because both guests agreed that, at a technological level, Barcelona's data is very good. Moreover, Fajula assures that "we are living an exceptional moment." Barcelona is an innovation hub in Europe and in the world. According to Conesa, the city is starting to work very effectively to prepare future leaders in leading business schools. And many put it on the map, positively, for happy realities such as the synchrotron or the Mobile World Congress.
We have come this far, work is being done to enhance this reality with public-private collaboration, and now the challenge, according to experts, is to start visualizing the usefulness of these things. Like 5G, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence... How exciting. And it's no joke.
I leave you here the links to be able to recover the conversation on Spotify or Youtube.
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