AI Con returns to look at the future of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, Fintech and creative industries

Home · Insights · AI Con returns to look at the future of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, Fintech and creative industries
Date posted
5 November 2020
Reading time
6 Minutes

Northern Ireland's leading conference on artificial intelligence, AI Con, is set to take place on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 December. AI Con brings together world leaders from AI companies such as Kainos and Datactics together with the AI community in Northern Ireland, to discuss advances in AI and what it means for companies, government and the world in which we live. This year's conference will also look at how AI is working to transform key public services such as health care, in the wake of the pandemic. Speakers at AI Con include:

  • Dr Joanne Bryson, Professor of Ethics and Technology, Hertie School, Berlin
  • Marten Kaevats, National Digital Advisor, The Government Office of Estonia
  • Dame Wendy Hall Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton
  • Dr Marieke Navin, Head of Programming, Cheltenham Science Festival.

In a new initiative, AI Con has also partnered with Northern Ireland Screen and Future Screens to launch a competitive funding call aimed for filmmakers to create a three-minute film or animation to capture the AI Revolution on Screen. The conference will be led by Tom Gray, Chief Technology Officer of Kainos and is sponsored by Matrix, Allstate NI, Liberty IT and Digital Catapult.

Speaking at the launch of AI Con, Tom Gray, Chief Technology Officer at Kainos said:

'The success of the first AI Con last year proved that Artificial Intelligence activities in Northern Ireland are growing significantly AI is becoming part of every sector and Northern Ireland is focused on leading in the application of AI to business.

'AI is a rapid growth area with a huge amount of work being done locally by very exciting tech companies. The importance of AI as a tool for improving how we do business is still emerging, and as we look to rebuild our economy, the conference will provide an opportunity to showcase new developments in AI that can support economic recovery.

'This year, we will examine how the use of AI can support improvements in our public sector and other significant sectors within the Northern Ireland economy such as Finance, Agri-food and the Screen Industry. Across these areas, the application of AI will allow both increased efficiency and productivity, and the creation of completely new products and services 'With Belfast being recognised as one of the Top 10 cities for Fintech growth, and with more and more businesses choosing Northern Ireland as a UK base, AI Con provides the perfect platform to bring debate, discussion and the sharing of new ideas to a bigger audience.

David Anderson, Director of Technology at Liberty IT said:

'We are thrilled to support AI Con this year on the back of a hugely successful first conference in 2019. It was clear to see the appetite that exists for knowledge sharing and networking between tech companies and business leaders in this area of technology.

'AI is changing all of our lives and the conference showcases how Northern Irish companies are bringing their expertise to the world stage and making our region a highly competitive one in the technology arena.

'These important conversations between technology and business are needed now more than ever as our thoughts turn to the economic recovery of Northern Ireland post-Covid. AI can provide innovative solutions that mean companies can work more effectively and more efficiently, and it opens up new possibilities for businesses.'

AI Con brings together business leaders, chief executives and technology experts to celebrate advancements in the NI tech sector, whilst also inspiring and engaging a new generation of technology leaders.

The conference this year is free, with registration opening later this week.