AMLD 2024 

The Applied Machine Learning Days (AMLD) at EPFL is not just a premier event in the Swiss and European AI and machine learning space; it's a pivotal gathering that attracts a global audience of thousands from over 40 countries, spanning industry, academia, and government. Having taken place from March 23 to March 26 2024 at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, AMLD 2024 has once again firmly established itself as a beacon for the AI community in the Swiss and broader European AI communities 🌟.

With its rich agenda featuring workshops, thematic conferences, and an expansive exhibition, AMLD offers an unparalleled platform for networking, learning, and innovation showcasing 🚀. For companies, NGOs and startups ranging from bootstrapped newcomers to disruptive AI scale-ups like Mistral AI and OpenAI, AMLD presents a golden opportunity to learn about newest AI developments, to network with the AI community and to spot and attract top-tier tech talents.

AMLD EPFL program

1. Workshop Weekend (March 23-24): Through a series of hands-on sessions led by industry and research luminaries, the workshop weekend was a melting pot of practical training, coding classes, live demos, and hackathons. This was not just about skill development but a showcase of potential recruits' capabilities in applying cutting-edge AI and ML applications 🛠️.

2. Conference (March 25-26): Spanning an array of topics from technology to social sciences, the conference acted as a knowledge hub, highlighting the latest innovations in AI and ML. With keynote speakers, talks, industry symposia, startup pitches, and e-poster sessions, it provided a rich backdrop for organizations to engage with thought leaders and potential hires, promoting a vibrant learning and networking environment 🎓.

3. Exhibition (March 25-26): Featuring a broad spectrum of applications and innovations from the corporate and academic worlds to government and startups, the exhibition was the perfect venue for talent scouts to observe firsthand the inventive prowess of prospective candidates and for innovators to showcase their groundbreaking projects 🌐.

• 4-day event
• 2,500+ participants including developers, technologists, CTOs, CIOs, managers, scientists, researchers, engineers, policymakers, machine learning experts, startups & students.
• 40+ countries represented
• 31 workshop sessions
• 34 domain-specific tracks
• 22 Exhibitors
• 31 Startups
• 330 Talks
• 300+ Speakers
• 22 Event partners
  
  Souce: Website: https://appliedmldays.org/

AI in Retail Track

We from Rockstar Recruiting AG (www.rockstar.jobs) supported our friends from D ONE Solutions in hosting the AI in Retail track which was about spotlighting how AI technologies are revolutionizing the retail industry. The speakers and presentations were:

The retail industry is in the midst of a transformational shift as traditional retailers are modernizing their operations and platforms and are increasingly looking to leverage AI. The retail track at AMLD represents a unique opportunity for retailers and solution providers to discuss latest technologies in AI and ML to enhance their operations, improve the customer experience and to foster growth. 

Take-aways from the speaker presentations in the AI in Retail track were:

Freshflow uses AI forecasts to reduce food waste by 22%. They achieve this by improving the supply chain for fruits and vegetables and assessing inventory, sales, weather, event and geo-spatial location data.

Zalando uses computer vision to reduce return rates by 10% . They achieve this by allowing customers to learn their own clothing fit with the help of self-recorded images/videos which are used to generate user-specific 3D avatars.

Avolta finds the perfect assortment with the help of AI-driven optimization, helping store owners to improve shelf inventory to maximise sales revenue.

Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund uses collaborative filtering and recommender systems to promote the right products to the right customers (2 million Swiss customers).

Public Group is working on improving the customer experience by providing a hyperpersonalized experience to its customers with the help of AI.

ETH AI Center is working together with retailers and upcoming AI startups like LatticeFlow AI.

Valora Group is accelerating towards AI-driven decision making in their digital project portfolio.

Takeaways from AMLD 2024

1. AI can help retail to become sustainable: Our Take-aways from the AI in Retail track included how AI enables new innovative solutions for reducing food waste through AI-driven forecasts 🍏, leveraging computer vision to cut down return rates by improving clothing fit predictions 👗, optimizing product assortments with AI, and employing collaborative filtering for hyper-personalized customer experiences 🛍️. Esteemed contributions came from organizations like Freshflow, Zalando, Avolta, Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund, Public Group, and the ETH AI Center, emphasizing the dynamic and transformative role of AI in retail.
2. AI can improve human development: 🌍 It is motivating to see so many companies and researchers in academia, industry and startups leverage AI for the benefit of humanity and towards equality - for example by avoiding biases in medicine and media. Especially worth mentioning in this regard was Mary-Anne Hartley's keynote on Foundational Humanitarian AI.
3. European AI can compete with US AI: Timothe Lacroix from Mistral AI has outlined their breathtaking journey how Mistral AI became a lighthouse project within European AI within just a year after founding the company.
4. Tech Hiring becomes a key challenge again: While the word 'hiring freeze' was ubiquitous in 2023, the contrast to AMLD 2024 could not have been more obvious. There were hiring calls to actions and job posts visible at nearly all booths and presentations. If you are interested in making your next career step in AI or are interested in hiring tech talents with us, reach out to us.

Mark your Calendars for AMLD 2025

📢 See you in 2025: Don't miss out on next year's gathering! Mark your calendars for AMLD EPFL 2025, scheduled from February 11 to 14, 2025. Follow AMLD's website to stay tuned for more cutting-edge discussions, workshops, and exhibitions that promise to further enrich our understanding and application of AI.