Yerevan/Mediamax/. The three-day Global Innovation Forum organized by Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) and Armenian Scientific Diaspora Association (ASDA) has kicked off today at the National Gallery of Armenia in Yerevan.

Engineering the Evolution

The attendees of the Global Innovation Forum are leading experts in AI, robotics, biology and sociology, entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators from 20 countries. Local experts and scientists have joined the forum as well.

The event focuses on four topics: Frontiers of Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Future of Intelligence, Robotics.

Armen Orujyan: We can’t keep pace with technologies

FAST CEO Armen Orujyan believes that the evolutionary changes that happened during centuries could now happen in months or even days.

Armen Orujyan

Photo: FAST

“Technology gets faster and faster. Eventually the pace will become so quick that it would be impossible to follow it,” he said.

Noubar Afeyan: We will try to understand the evolutionary systems

FAST cofounder Noubar Afeyan has noted that the forum offers a good opportunity to solve issues of engineering the evolution.

“We will use scientific tools to study the issues and find solutions. We are going to try and figure out how we can be of use to each other. Understanding evolution helps to understand also the systems behind it. I urge everyone in Armenia and the world to unite efforts for this study,” said Noubar Afeyan.

Noubar Afeyan

Photo: FAST

Ruben Vardanyan: People trusted us

FAST cofounder Ruben Vardanyan told the attendees how two immigrants of Armenian descent met in Boston in 2001.

“I was one of them and Noubar Afeyan was the other. Our education and occupation was not the same, but we both were concerned with the future of Armenia. It was 17 years ago. We just suggested building Armenia’s future together and we found people who joined us. They trust us and followed our vision for the development of Armenia,” said Vardanyan.