Upcoming AI Conferences 2019−2020

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.

How to choose which AI conference to attend

When deciding which AI conference to attend, 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 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 an AI conference 

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. 

Upcoming AI Conferences in 2019−2020

Register now to these upcoming AI conferences, and 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!