AI conferences are a great place for knowledge sharing about machine learning, big data, natural language processing, chatbot development, and more. In this article, we’ll share our strategies for choosing the right AI conference to attend, and then making the most out of your experience at that conference. But first, let’s take a look at a list of the best AI conferences in 2020.
Please note: Due to the spread of COVID-19, many of these events have been cancelled or postponed. Please visit the event’s website to verify details.
Upcoming AI Conferences in 2020−2021
With many AI conferences now moving online and free online resources releasing regularly, there has never been a better time to think about attending a conference, workshop, or seminar. Register now to these upcoming AI conferences, join the growing community, and meet like-minded data scientists. Lionbridge members are also planning to attend some of these conferences, so we’d love to meet you there!
Here are the best AI and machine learning conferences in 2020:
| Conference | Description | Location | Date | Submission Deadline |
| ICASSP is the world’s largest and most comprehensive technical conference focused on signal processing and its applications. The 2020 conference will feature presentations by internationally renowned speakers, cutting-edge session topics, and provide a valuable opportunity to network with like-minded professionals. | Barcelona, Spain | May 4~9, 2020 | Oct. 21, 2019 | |
| AAMAS brings together researchers and practitioners in all areas of agent technology and provides an international forum for research in the theory and practice of autonomous agents and multiagent systems. | Auckland, New Zealand | May 9~13, 2020 | Nov. 16, 2019 | |
| Organized by REWORK, the AI Virtual Summit looks at real-life AI applications, case studies, and business insights & results from leading companies using AI to solve problems in enterprise. | Online | May 21, 2020 | ||
| The International Conference of Robotics and AI is considered by many the largest robotics meeting in the world. The event focuses on the presentation and discussion of the main scientific issues in the field with leading researchers and innovative companies. | Online | June 1, 2020 | ||
AIBC Asia DIGITAL is designed to deliver the expert insights you expected from this year’s AIBC Manila event, which was postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. | Online | June 10, 2020 | ||
| The premier annual conference for computer vision research and development, this event runs workshops and short courses alongside its main conference presentations. | Online | June 14~19, 2020 | ||
| This popular conference brings together researchers of machine learning along with those looking utilize it in their business. | Munich, Germany | June 18~19, 2020 | ||
| ACL is the premier conference about computational linguistics, covering a broad spectrum of diverse research areas that are concerned with computational approaches to natural language. | Seattle, WA, USA | July 6~11, 2020 | ||
| The annual Conference on Learning Theory is a popular conference for submitting and presenting research papers, and meeting AI experts. | Online | July 9~12, 2020 | ||
| This conference is considered the premier gathering of professionals dedicated to the advancement of machine learning through presentations, workshops, and more. | Online | July 12~18, 2020 | ||
| The Ai4 conference brings together business leaders and data experts to discuss industry applications of AI technology for enterprises. | Las Vegas, USA | September 1~2, 2020 | ||
| The main focus of the AI summit is addressing the research, development, and implementation of AI technology in business. | London, United Kingdom | September 2~3, 2020 | ||
| This conference is designed to bridge the gap between the latest technological research advancements and real world applications in business and society. | Online | September 17, 2020 | ||
| The AIBC Summit is one of the world’s largest platforms for companies and researchers to exhibit, network and engage in debate. The conference brings together thought leaders on Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Technology, Big Data, and IoT. | Malta | November 18~19, 2020 | ||
| ACCV is a biennial conference that provides a forum for researchers, engineers, and practitioners interested in the theory and applications in the areas of agents and artificial intelligence. | Kyoto, Japan | Nov. 30~Dec. 4, 2020 | ||
| The Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems is a hugely popular event for fostering the exchange of research on neural information processing systems in a wide variety of fields. The conference includes talks, panel discussions, demos, and workshops. | Vancouver, Canada | December 5~12, 2020 | May 27, 2020 | |
| The AIBC Summit brings together thousands of investors and innovators in Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Technology, Big Data and the Internet of Things. | Manila, Phillippines | May 27~28, 2021 | ||
| ICCV is now expected to take place in 2021. This conference is comprised of a main conference with workshops and tutorials in nearby locations. | Montreal, Canada | October 11~17, 2021 | ||
How to choose which AI conference to attend
When deciding which of the AI conference to attend in 2020, you should think about your main goal for attending a conference. If you think about what you want to get out of attending an AI conference, that should help to narrow down your choices.
a.) You want to meet other data scientists.
If you’re interested in debating and discussing machine learning trends with other data scientists, you might consider attending an intimate conference with round-table discussions. On the other hand, if you’re looking to network with as many other data scientists as possible, you should attend a large global summit with thousands of attendees.
b.) You’re interested in a particular subfield of AI.
AI is an extremely broad topic, and there are plenty of conferences that focus on a subfield, such as the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) or the IEEE International Conference on Image Processing. You can delve into the conference program and presentation abstracts to make sure that the content is right for your level and interests.
c.) You’re looking for job opportunities, or want to recruit new data scientists for your team.
If you’re attending an AI conference in 2020 to seek job opportunities, we’d recommend choosing a subject-focused event, where you might have a better chance of finding an employer who is looking for someone with your skill set. The same goes for if you’re on the other side, looking to recruit new data scientists for your team.
Tips for attending an AI conference on a budget
AI conferences can be expensive, but here are some tips to cut costs without sacrificing the experience.
To start, there are some free conferences that are definitely worth attending, like the AWS Global Summit Program events and Microsoft events.
If the conference that you’d like to attend isn’t free, you can still be picky about what type of ticket to buy. Some AI conferences offer discounted tickets for startups, or for anyone who registers early. Other conferences have different pricing plans depending on the type of ticket that you purchase. For example, a standard ticket that gets you into the presentation and booth area would be cheaper than a premium ticket that also lets you participate in workshops.
Keep in mind also that you could also apply for travel assistance for some conferences. Google provides travel and conference grants for traditionally underrepresented groups in tech. “Underrepresented group” tends to have a broad meaning in the tech industry, so it might be worth applying even if you’re not sure whether you’d qualify. You can also look into diversity scholarships for underrepresented groups. Diversity Tickets and all the tech things are aggregate sites for diversity scholarships.
There are also hackathons and competitions, where conference tickets are offered as prizes for the winners. Google hosts an annual coding competition called Code Jam to I/O for Women, and awards the top 150 on the scoreboard a ticket and reimbursement to offset travel expenses to Google I/O.
Finally, you could volunteer or apply to speak at a conference, but doing so would cut into your time at the conference.
How to prepare for AI conferences in 2020
Once you’ve registered for an AI conference, you’ll need to start preparing for it. Figure out who you’d like to meet from the speaker and attendees lists. Then, conduct your research on the people that you’re interested in meeting. Check whether they’ve written any papers, or have an active blog or social media account. Take notes about what you’d like to ask or discuss with them in person. If possible, contact them before the event and let them know that you’d be interested in meeting. If you’re going to be attending a big conference with thousands of attendees, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to meet someone.
One thing that is often overlooked when preparing for an AI conference, is your existing relationships. When you look through the speaker and attendees lists, also check if people you’ve networked with in the past are attending again. You can post a simple call-out on Twitter or LinkedIn to see who from your network will also be attending, and reinvigorate old conversations and spark ideas for new collaborations.
On the day of the conference, aim to arrive early. Don’t forget to bring a pen, business cards, laptop and charger for taking notes during the presentations, and copies of your resume if you’re job searching.
Our list for AI conferences in 2020 will be constantly updated with new conferences and events. To receive alerts when new conferences are added, please subscribe to our newsletter.
