Expo Guadalajara, that most promiscuous of event spaces, is set to host yet another outsize happening, the gargantuan Mexican tech convention known as Talent Land, Tuesday, April 2 to Friday, April 6.
The event organizers’ choice of location is being hailed by political stakeholders like Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval as yet another electronic feather in Guadalajara and Jalisco’s digital cap. Part jobs fairs and part techie razzle dazzle, The Talent Land organizers are sparing no expense on high profile PR events, which includes the involvement of the Guinness Book and a celebrity robot.
Over 30,000 people are expected to show up for convention, which mixes career opportunities with industry giants such as Google, Adobe, Cisco, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft with spectacles like Robotmath Challenge, which integrates mathematics with robot combat. The piece de resistance of Robotmath will be the construction of a robot which it’s hoped will break the Guinness Record for size.
“In Jalisco, land of technology, we have a stake in innovation, from here to the rest of Mexico and the world,” said Sandoval. “This is a huge opportunity to empower our citizens. We believe in our youth!”
Another highlight of Talent Land will be an appearance by Sophia, a realistic-ish robot equipped with over 62 distinct facial expressions which was the focus of a controversy during an appearance in Saudi Arabia. In that Middle Eastern country, where she had been granted citizenship, it was pointed out that “she” enjoyed more rights than the country’s flesh-and-blood women.
Sophia, who looks a little like Natalie Portman after a few too many facelifts, chemical peels and botox applications, is programmed to be able to engage in interviews and Q & A’s. One of her more memorable statements came after she was asked by her creator, David Hanson of Hanson Robotics, whether or not she wanted to destroy humans. She responded, “Ok. I will destroy humans.”
For full information on all that Talent Land has to offer, see 2018.talent-land.mx.