Audiovisual innovation in Geneva

GVA2 was pleased to invite Anais Emery, director of the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF), Caecilia Charbonnier, co-founder, president and director of research of Artanim, a center specialized in motion capture technologies and co-founder and director of innovation of Dreamscape Immersive, Javier Bello co-founder and CEO of the startup Imverse as well as Dr. Marcello Ienca, researcher at the Faculty of Humanities at EPFL, where he heads the research unit on the ethics of intelligent systems.

Our speakers made us aware of the vitality of the audiovisual field in Geneva and more specifically that of virtual reality, its opportunities, the innovations that are taking place but also the ethical considerations related to these technological developments.

Here is a brief summary of our discussions highlights:

• We are still at the beginning of this adventure; the developments and opportunities are countless. The technological evolution in the audiovisual field is extremely dynamic, so much so that it will durably affect other areas of our lives than just entertainment: health, education, jobs, media and society as a whole, and this, in the relatively near future.
• Geneva is clearly a major player in this ecosystem; the speakers present embody entities with a worldwide influence, whether it be :
  • the GIFF with its precursory positioning and the integration of films, series, interactive installations and works in virtual reality in its programming;
  • the Artanim Foundation and its research and development activities in the medical, cultural, educational and entertainment fields which led to the creation of its commercial spin-off :
  • Dreamscape and the successes that we know, notably through its Hollywood adventure and the opening in Geneva of the first immersive virtual reality center;
  • Imverse, which works with very large companies to enable, among other things, communication in 3D and in real time between their employees wherever they are.
• Very large companies are trying to set the rules and capture a very large share of these markets. Smaller players, who are sometimes more innovative, have everything to gain by joining forces to diversify the offer and avoid monopoly situations.
• Regulation is necessary. We now benefit from the experience of the Internet and can therefore anticipate some of the societal changes that this revolution will bring about, but not all of its consequences. Geneva, where the World Wide Web was invented and where the Internet Society is based, has a place to take in terms of regulation and governance on this subject.

What everyone can do at their own level is to support the installation of the regulator of these new technologies in Geneva, to share the Dreamscape experience with your friends and family and to participate in the next edition of the GIFF.