Development of the AI industry is unstoppable and the implications on our daily life are inevitable . For this reason, there is a great interest for business, academic and public communities to engage in time in a new social, business and technological revolution. Despite the complexity of the field, all stake holders, including governments, industry and users, should have a role to play to determine  the best  governance approaches to AI. From market-based approaches to regulation, all stakeholders  should engage in the coming years to engage the technology’s economic and social impact. Furthermore, the social impact of AI cannot be fully mitigated by governing the  technology, but will  require efforts to govern the impact of the technology. Industry investments in AI are rapidly increasing, Forrester, one of the word‘s most renowned  consulting companies, predicts that investments in AI are set to grow by 300% in 2017 alone. Leading  global companies (IBM, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook …) invest heavily in the development  of this area, wanting to take strategic positions in the industry that constantly changes business and the way we live. AI2Future is a platform that brings together a community that works in, uses, or wants to join  the AI area. Through annual meetings and meetups we will first discuss the economic but also  the social implications that AI has in Croatia and also in the region.

We usually do a roundtable or two on the Conference – and if you think or prefer this type of activity, please let us know. Due to their format, they are organized in a different way, so we have a different communication with the speakers on the panel. Usually, we have a joint call where we introduce to each other, then we discuss the topic, and how we could contribute to the panel. We also exchange questions few days before the panel, and we have panelist feedback.

At this Conference we communicate a lot BEFORE the Conference happens. It is very important to us that we keep the quality of the Conference high, so we will make sure that your presentations are top ones. We also need to make sure that all of you (presenters) are lined up in a logical flow, that you have an unique content and that you do not overlap with other presenters. We are usually organizing a Skype Conf Calls, but we can use any other available communication technology.

Our presentation slots are usually 30 minutes. For you, that means that your presentation, even if you are experienced speaker, should not exceed 7-10 slides. We never develop specialized template for the Conference, so we are giving you a liberty to reuse or use whatever you have and want, as long as it supports the main topic of the presentation. Stay away from the marketing slides, do not spend too much on the intro, and never forget to close presentation with some call for action.

Our conferences are always International (speakers) and Regional (Atendees). We communicate everything using English language, but from time to time, you can find some content on the social networks and maybe here on Croatian language (which is undersandable for most of the countries in the region). If you are a foreign speaker, we do expect that you will have a presentation in English language, and that your slides will also be in English. If you are one of our regional guys, it is totally OK to speak in your own language (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian) but we preffer to have a slides in English, so that everyone, including our speakers and guests, can follow at least a little bit. We do not provide simultaneous translation for anyone, but we are utilizing some advanced Cloud Technologies to do a close captioning (CC) using Microsoft Powerpoint Translator (still in beta, but it usually works).

OK, people, let us repeat this one more time: Powerpoint. I know that you are very special and you have this and that and special whatever but our experience is… Powerpoint Works. We will make sure that presenter laptops are loaded with latest version. And you will send us last version of the presentation at least a week before the Conference, so that we can try out everything. Sometimes you can export to PDF, that is also OK. But please no Keynote, Macs, “need to plug in my own laptop”, type of requests. We love you, but it makes our life miserable. Additional note: if you need to do a demo, run a video, sing during the Conference, whatever, please consult us on time, so that we can prepare the best possible experience for you, and for the participants.

If you are selected as a speaker or panelist for the Conference, we are trying to cover all reasonable costs for the Conference (hotel and travel costs). All costs need to be agreed with the Organizer upfront, since we will try to find best possible cost/value ration with the hotels and also make sure that you have good time with us in Zagreb. As for travel cost, it usually means covering your flight expenses, but same applies here for the tickets – please consult the Organizer first. If you have someone to bring to the Conference (like, someone special or just your colleagues from your company), please send us a note, we can always re-organize something so that we help you with the whole experience.