Mila and TechAide to host AI Research Conference in support of Centraide
On April 23, Mila and TechAide will be joining forces to co-host the first edition of the Mila TechAide AI Conference, a one-day event that will rally professors and researchers from the Mila community to help Centraide of Greater Montreal improve the quality of life of Montrealers in need.
A total of 25 Mila researchers distributed over three parallel tracks will present the latest in AI research, their current projects, and share their field of expertise with the AI ecosystem at large, covering topics such as computer vision, natural language processing, reinforcement learning, neuroscience, medical image analysis, computer graphics, cosmology and more.
“This is what excites me the most about this edition of the conference. We have never had so many diverse AI topics on the agenda, even health and astrophysics,” exclaimed Mila’s Hugo Larochelle, Google Brain researcher and co-organizer of the conference.
Larochelle, who also serves as a TechAide Ambassador, added that this event is an important milestone for Mila: “While Mila members have often participated in past TechAide AI conferences as guest speakers, this year marks the first time Mila itself has committed to participate and, more importantly, directly support the organization of the event.”
All proceeds from the conference will go towards TechAide’s ongoing initiative to give back to Centraide to break the cycle of poverty and social exclusion. Since 2018, AI-forward TechAide events have raised over $300,000 so far. The last TechAide AI4GOOD Conference and Hackathon alone contributed $116,000 to the cause.
TechAide is a grassroots collective whose mission is to connect professionals from the tech industry with community agency leaders to raise awareness and help eradicate social inequalities. To keep this momentum going, participants are encouraged to donate whatever they can in pursuance of this worthy cause, and Larochelle has generously pledged to match all donations up to $25,000.
“In recent years, scientific and industrial advances in AI have enabled many in our community to enter professional careers that would never have been dreamed of even 10 years ago,” added Larochelle. “I am well aware that not all sectors of our society benefit from the same chances and opportunities. This event is a way to recognize this privileged situation and to share some of our success.”
The Mila TechAide AI Conference will take place on Friday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information:
To register for this event and to donate, click here.
To view the detailed conference agenda, click here.