The UK is home to AI powerhouse Google DeepMind, a slew of exciting AI startups, and a few of the world’s best universities. It’s also where I live, together with quite just a few of my  colleagues, including our senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven. 

That’s why I’m super stoked to let you know that we’re gathering a few of the brightest minds in AI in Europe for our flagship AI conference, EmTech Digital, in London on April 16 and 17. 

Our speakers include top figures like Zoubin Ghahramani, vice chairman of research at Google DeepMind; Maja Pantic, AI scientific research lead at Meta; Dragoș Tudorache, a member of the European Parliament and certainly one of the important thing politicians behind the newly passed EU AI Act; and Victor Riparbelli, CEO of AI avatar company Synthesia. 

We’ll also hear from executives at NVIDIA, Roblox, Faculty, and ElevenLabs, and researchers from the UK’s top universities and AI research institutes. 

They are going to share their wisdom on tips on how to harness AI and what businesses must know right away about this transformative technology. 

Listed here are some sessions I’m particularly enthusiastic about.

Generating AI’s Path Forward
Where is AI going next? Zoubin Ghahramani, vice chairman of research at Google DeepMind, will map out realistic timelines for brand new innovation, and he’ll discuss the necessity for an overall strategy for a protected and productive AI future for Europe and beyond.

Digital Assistants for AI Automation
You’ve perhaps heard of AI assistants. But on this session, David Barber, director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence at University College London, will argue that a significant transformation will include the rise of AI agents, which might complete complex sets of actions corresponding to booking travel, answering messages, and performing data entry. 

AI’s Impact on Democracy
A senior official from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre will walk us through a few of the threats posed by AI that keep him up at night. Based on our speaker prep call, I can let you know that real life really is stranger than fiction. 

The AI Act’s Impacts on Policy and Regulations
The AI Act is here, and corporations within the US and the UK may have to comply with it in the event that they wish to do business within the EU. I will likely be sitting down with Dragoș Tudorache, certainly one of the important thing politicians behind the law, to walk you thru what corporations must take note of right away. 

Venturing into AI Opportunity
The European startup scene has long played second fiddle to the US. But with the rise of open-source AI unicorn Mistral and others, hopes are rising that European startups could develop into more competitive in the worldwide AI marketplace. Paul Murphy, a partner at enterprise capital firm Lightspeed, certainly one of the primary funds to speculate in Mistral, will tell us all about his predictions. 

The Business of Solving Big Challenges with AI
Colin Murdoch, Google DeepMind’s chief business officer, will show us why AI is so far more than generative AI and the way it could possibly help solve society’s best challenges, from gene editing to sustainable energy and computing. 

And one of the best little bit of all: the post-conference drinks! A conference in London wouldn’t be nearly as fun without some good old-fashioned networking in a pub afterward. So join us April 16–17 in London, and get the within scoop on how AI is transforming the world. Get your tickets here. 

Before you go… We have now a freebie to present you a taster of the event. Join me and  editors Niall Firth and David Rotman for a free half-hour LinkedIn Live session today, March 26. We’ll discuss how AI is changing the best way we work. Bring your questions and tune in here  at 4pm GMT/12pm EDT/9am EDT.

Now read the remainder of The Algorithm

Deeper Learning

The tech industry can’t agree on what open-source AI means. That’s an issue.

Suddenly, “open source” is the most recent buzzword in AI circles. Meta has pledged to create open-source artificial general intelligence. And Elon Musk is suing OpenAI over its lack of open-source AI models. Meanwhile, a growing variety of tech leaders and corporations are setting themselves up as open-source champions. But there’s a fundamental problem—nobody can agree on what “open-source AI” means. 

Definitions wanted: Open-source AI guarantees a future where anyone can participate within the technology’s development. That would speed up innovation, boost transparency, and provides users greater control over systems that might soon reshape many facets of our lives. But what even is it? What makes an AI model open source, and what disqualifies it? The answers could have significant ramifications for the longer term of the technology. Read more from Edd Gent.

Bits and Bytes

Apple researchers are exploring dropping “Hey Siri” and listening with AI as a substitute
So perhaps our phones will likely be listening to us on a regular basis in any case? Recent research goals to see if AI models can determine while you’re talking to your phone while not having a trigger phrase. Additionally they show how Apple, considered a laggard in AI, is set to catch up. (MIT Technology Review)

An AI-driven “factory of medicine” claims to have hit a giant milestone
Insilico is an element of a wave of corporations betting on AI because the “next amazing revolution” in biology. The corporate claims to have created the primary “true AI drug” that’s advanced to a test of whether it could possibly cure a fatal lung condition in humans. (MIT Technology Review) 

Chinese platforms are cracking down on influencers selling AI lessons
During the last 12 months, just a few Chinese influencers have made tens of millions of dollars peddling short video lessons on AI, profiting off people’s fears in regards to the as-yet-unclear impact of the brand new technology on their livelihoods. Now the platforms they thrived on have began to turn against them. (MIT Technology Review) 

Google DeepMind’s latest AI assistant helps elite soccer coaches get even higher
The system can predict the final result of corner kicks and supply realistic and accurate tactical suggestions in matches. The system, called TacticAI, works by analyzing a dataset of seven,176 corner kicks taken by players for Liverpool FC, certainly one of the world’s biggest soccer clubs. (MIT Technology Review)

How AI taught Cassie the two-legged robot to run and jump
Researchers used an AI technique called reinforcement learning to assist a two-legged robot nicknamed Cassie run 400 meters, over various terrains, and execute standing long jumps and high jumps, without being trained explicitly on each movement. (MIT Technology Review)

France fined Google €250 million over copyright infringements 
The country’s competition watchdog says the tech company did not broker fair agreements with media outlets for publishing links to their content and plundered press articles to coach its AI technology without informing the publishers. This sets an interesting precedent for AI and copyright in Europe, and potentially beyond. (Bloomberg) 

China is educating the following generation of top AI talent
Recent research suggests that China has eclipsed america as the largest producer of AI talent. (Recent York Times) 

DeepMind’s cofounder has ditched his startup to guide Microsoft’s AI initiative
Mustafa Suleyman  has now left his conversational AI startup Inflection to guide Microsoft AI, a brand new organization focused on advancing Microsoft’s Copilot and other consumer AI products. (Microsoft)