Come gather around people wherever you roam
On Wednesday, April 19, 2017 the very first Artificial Intelligence Meetup Frankfurt will be held in Skydeck of DB Systel the internal ICT partner of Deutsche Bahn.
René Büst Director Market Research & Technology Evangelism at Arago will report on the Status Quo of Artificial Intelligence & Chatbots, Rüdiger Kurz will present how AI is being researched and utilized in DB Systel, Olivia Klose will illustrate the Evolution of AI, Marc Reichelt from GDG Rhein-Main will let us know how to become a Self-Driving Car Engineer and last but certainly not least Marie-Luise Sessler & Jelena Senic from Women Techmakers will lead a multidisciplinary discussion on the intersection of computer science and philosophy.
And admit that the waters around you have grown
A lot has been happening in Frankfurt RheinMain in the recent years. In preparation for my weekly overview of Tech and Startup Events I am now following over 200 Meetups on meetup alone, there are well more events presaged on eventbrite, facebook, wikis and yes plain old homepages.
DB Systel has also evolved in the recent years. SkyDeck inspired by a great team including Darren Cooper is now an award winning creative powerhouse for Deutsche Bahn pushing digitalization by holding events, workshops and providing access to new technologies. Based on my previous relationship with skydeck I shall happily testify they will be a terrific host.
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone
A design driven creative approach to product development such as the one skydeck offers has become accepted as a major sustainable winning strategy in the 21st century and any company whether a small fintech startup or a large enterprise such as Deutsche Bahn, any company refusing to adapt to this radical transformation will likely drown.
So the case for digital transformation in a connected social, mobile and cloud world has been sealed and delivered, but what is this new fuss around AI all about?
I asked Tobias Zander CTO and Co-Founder of Savedroid about his motives for starting the AI Meetup:
Why an AI Meetup Tobias?
I myself find the topic AI incredibly exciting and not only because I’m professionally involved with it. In my private time I read the latest articles eagerly or watch various Talks. In addition to the tech part, I’m also interested in the big view: Where is the journey going, what will be possible in the next few years? Are there any dangers? How should we compare artificial intelligence to the intelligence of a human being?
What is unique about the AI Meetup?
The question comes up especially in comparison to FFM Analytics Meetup. I’ve been to the FFM Analytics Meetup several times. At the beginning of each event Eldar emphasizes that the meetup is heavily tech-oriented, which is clearly reflected in the talks. As a CTO I find the content extremely interesting, but for an audience without the technical background I believe FFM Analytics might sometimes be challenging to follow. Do not get me wrong, the Analytics Meetup is great, yet I see them serving a different target group than we do. I already have talked to Eldar about the AI Meetup and we agree in viewing both Meetups as complementary. We are already planning some exchange of the talks so that both target groups will be able to get a chance to know and understand each other better. ;)
And if your breath to you is worth saving then you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
Some Background
Tobias is also running the Mobile Usergroup Frankfurt aka #mobiledevffm, a Meetup about software development for mobile devices, which I used to organize with Jochen Bachmann. So in february Tobias cautiously asked on twitter if there were enough interest for an AI meetup in Frankfurt:
By the time I offered Tobias my support, Jochen and Darren were already involved in pitching the project at Skydeck and Marc Reichelt was literally ready to give a talk. So I got in touch with René, who not only kindly accepted to be part of the team but apparently was able to persuade his CEO at Arago with ease who posted the following a day after the event was announced:
While Chris Boos is a champ and I am so glad he and his company Arago will be supporting the event, the biggest surprise came from the community herself:
Only a week after the announcement, the first AI Meetup was booked out with 160 participants.
Initially I was supposed to write about the AI kickoff event as part of a campaign to promote the event and emphasize the importance of artificial intelligence and attract enough audience to fill the skydeck.
Well, you screwed that for me Frankfurt! Now I will have to spare you from a long read on “Thoughts on AI” and how this is more about humanity and less about technology, because you obviously don’t need “me” for that, do you Frankfurt? Seriously, tsss!
For the times they are a-changing
Still, I encourage anyone interested in getting an engaging community around AI up and going to join our meetup and put your name on the list. There is always a chance someone might not be able to make it and you will be the first to find out when our next event will be open for registration.
Talking about our second event in May, we are looking for a suitable location in Frankfurt. So if you happen to be a host with a visionary sense of changing times, or you know one willing to invite at least 50–100 optimally, 150–200 AI enthusiasts, we would be very glad hearing from you.