Global AI Bootcamp: My First Public Speak

Not such a bad beginning at all

It had been my pleasure to participate in global AI bootcamp 2019. It was targeted at non-technology experts where it aims to raise the awareness about AI’s significant role in nearly every field. It aims as well to network technology experts with industry practitioners hoping for fruitful collaboration. We had Ahmed Bahaa, Microsoft’s regional director of the Middle-East, as a keynote speaker. Learn more about this great man at Microsoft’s regional directors profiles

It was a great opportunity for me to share my vision of the intersection of science and art. I talked about Netflix one-million dollars prize. The story is well-known and I see no reason to repeat it here. See IEEE’s spectrum news for more information. Anyway, My session highlighted two folds. First, how do machines’ algorithms intrude art realm where they model and compute people’s tastes. Second, How could artists delve into computer scientists realm where their aesthetic viewpoints are fruitful for interpreting data and algorithm design. I am planning to blog a survey about the intersection of AI and media/arts. Stay tuned!

Dr. Islam El-Shaarawy introduced me to A. Bahaa who in turn provided me with this opportunity. Originally, I was asked to speak about Microsoft’s azure cloud service. However, At the end we agreed upon both telling the story of Netflix and giving a brief azure demo. Literally, This is the first time I could present and do a work dervied purely by my vision, while satisfying someone else’s requirements. I always face a dilemma between what I believe and envision to achieve and what real-life constraints impose upon me. Luckily, Mass-communication faculty members attended at first seats. They were responsive and asked RD A. Bahaa for a meeting for further collaboration. Their positive feedback had been inspiring for me. It is really a great experience to spot a problem from different perspectives, and try to think in a wonderful way which no one had ever though of before. As a science/tech guy, working with artists shall certainly polish my skill of tackling problems from novel perspecitves. Probably, you know where to look now for a tech/math enthusiasit’s journey with art.