Our takeaways from the 2018 AI day by the Finnish Center of Artificial Intelligence (FCAI)
Last Wednesday (12th of December) few members of our growing AI team were able to attend AI day by the Finnish Center of Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) at Aalto University. The yearly event brings together some of the top researchers in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence & Deep Learning, companies making an impact with AI and various other students studying within the emerging topic. During the day, we were able to hear some great talks delving deep into the different aspects of AI and interact with other movers and shakers working in the field. We also couldn’t help but notice some topics that seemed to be the most popular and common themes of this year and look forward to new advancements to answer these questions and more in 2019!
Most popular themes of discussion at the 2018 AI day:
- Understandability of AI: How to improve user experience to allow more users to adopt the technology?
- Social impact of AI : How will it transition in the future?
- European and Finnish state of AI: What is going on in the world of AI in Finland and in the EU? What should happen in the future?
One of the most interesting talks we heard was one of the very first given by Ilona Lundström, the Director General within the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. She spoke about the current strategy in the EU and Finland with the prospect of AI. It was great to see Finland in the age of Artificial Intelligence, whilst focusing on the wellbeing for its citizens, growth and development opportunities for businesses. She touched lightly on the other members of the EU states that also have targeted AI strategies in place, but that Finland is really the front runner in shaping the shared European AI agenda. The latter part of her talk was related to a theme that was mentioned above. “We need to ensure that an appropriate ethical and legal framework, for citizens to trust AI and for companies to take up business opportunities.” This was an interesting quote in respect to the AI Finland report that will be released in March 2019. So keep an eye out for that, as we can only assume that it will be a great read!