The history of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be seen as a sequence of increasing expectations and of frustrating disappointments.

Technology is changing how we think, talk and act. How do we decide what is right and wrong in an age of connected people and machines? How do we hold powerful companies and governments to account? How should technology be developed and deployed in areas where the law seems to be silent or disputed? In other words, what is ethics in the digital age?

August in Brussels is often a rather quiet affair as the EU bubble floats temporarily away from the European capital.

But this is no normal summer for the EDPS. In precisely two months’ time, from 22 to 26 October, the 2018 International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners will start right here in the heart of the EU, and my staff and I are hard at work to host a data protection conversation like no other.

On 24-25 October this year, Brussels will be the venue for a unique international gathering. The atmosphere may perhaps be more cordial than the summit hosted by Europe’s capital earlier this week, with certainly much less disruption to traffic.