The Future of AI is being built in Gaia: Secretary of State for Digitalization visits INOVAGAIA
On March 4th, INOVAGAIA hosted a visit from the Secretary of State for Digitalization, Bernardo Correia. The meeting served to reinforce the municipality’s strategic positioning in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Portugal, with a clear focus on ethics and the practical utility of technology.
AI Applied to Real-World Problems
During his time at the incubator, Bernardo Correia highlighted the importance of developing Artificial Intelligence focused on concrete, useful, and scalable use cases. For the government official, the value of technology lies in its ability to start from real problems to create solutions that transform the economy and society.
Innovation with a Human Face and Social Impact
The delegation had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the work developed by the incubator’s resident, Visual Thinking, highlighting projects such as PsyCare. Also presented was Compy, a project by Kind Tech that exemplifies how technology and AI can support social responses, particularly in a sector as vulnerable as the elderly.
The visit included key figures in the municipal strategy, namely the President of INOVAGAIA, Mário Fontemanha, who used the occasion to explore synergies and future projects for the municipality of Gaia, the City Councilor for Social Action, Elisabete Silva, and the Municipal Director of Social Policies, Veneranda Barbosa, the Municipal Director for Sport, Economy, and Tourism (responsible for Digitalization), Nuno Rodrigues, and Tânia Azevedo, representing City Councillor Fernando Machado.
Transforming the Territory Through Technology
This moment of dialogue and sharing reinforced the vision that technology can (and should) transform social policies and territories. The presence of those responsible for the municipality’s social portfolios underscored the potential impact of these technological solutions on improving citizens’ quality of life.
As demonstrated during this visit, the future of Artificial Intelligence is being built today and passes, decisively, through the innovation ecosystem of Vila Nova de Gaia.
