“In light of the natural concern with which society has viewed scientific and technological advances in the past, the juries for the 35th edition of the Rei Jaume I Prizes call for the opportunities offered by the responsible use of AI to be seized, without ignoring or downplaying the risks posed by its misuse.” This is the key message contained in the 2023 Declaration, a manifesto signed each year by the hundred or so members who make up the juries of the Rei Jaume I Prizes, with the aim of drawing attention to issues of great significance to society.

As the manifesto states, in recent months there has been growing concern about the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and its potentially dangerous consequences for the transformation of people’s lives.

“However, like all previous technological revolutions, AI offers great opportunities to improve people’s lives, as has already been demonstrated by numerous Rei Jaume I Prize winners in previous years, whose scientific and technological advances would not have been possible without the use of AI”.

Furthermore, the signatories conclude that “Consequently, we must allow, trust and invest in new developments in AI that enable us to push the frontiers of knowledge at a faster pace and thus help to resolve, as soon as possible, the major problems affecting humanity”.

Start of the deliberations

Once the manifesto had been read out, the six meetings began – one for each award category – to select the winners in the categories of Basic Research, Economics, Biomedical Research, Environmental Protection, New Technologies and Entrepreneur.

At 1.30 pm at the Palau de la Generalitat, during a ceremony chaired by the acting President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, the winners of the 35th edition of the Rei Jaume I Prizes were announced.

In addition to the support of the Generalitat Valenciana, the Rei Jaume I Prizes benefit from the collaboration of various organisations and companies that make this recognition of science, research and business possible, such as the Iberdrola Spain Foundation in the Environmental Protection category,Valencia City Council in the New Technologies Prize category, Air Liquide Healthcare and CaixaBank in the Biomedical Research category, and Mercadona, Edem and AVE in the Entrepreneur Prize. The Awards are supported by organisations such as the Port Authority of Valencia, Boluda Corporación Marítima, the Council of Chambers of the Comunidad Valenciana, the Banco Santander Foundation, Pavasal, RNB, SPB, the Vectalia Group, CEV, the Provincial Council of Valencia, Logifruit, the Torrecid Foundation, the Alicante Provincial Council, BP, the Segura-Balpa Group, and Empresas del Sol.