The “riality Lab”: This is the name given to the new laboratory for experimenting with AI-related uses launched by the Aix Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAMP). Inaugurated on July 8, 2021, this tool is the result of a partnership with Aix Marseille University (AMU), Sopra Steria Next and Microsoft, in addition to other partners. It will have 250m2of space, four modular areas, a network of experts and a 100% phygital organisation.
A tool for companies to accelerate their transformation
With the help of CISAM, KEDGE, Enedis, IBM, Simplon, the Bouches-du-Rhône Prefecture, the Ministerial Delegation for Artificial Intelligence (DMIA), Aix-Marseille French Tech Région Sud, as well as AMU, Sopra Steria Next and Microsoft, the CCIAMP has inaugurated its new experimentation laboratory dedicated to AI. Located on the ground floor of the Palais de la Bourse, it will feature 250m2 of space dedicated to business transformation, as Jean-Luc Chauvin, President of the CCIAMP, states:
“France is on its way to becoming the fifth global hub in terms of connectivity. We enjoy a real geostrategic position, so we needed to create a tool for transforming our companies, which would enable structures of all sizes, from VSEs to major accounts, to invent the company of tomorrow and accelerate business.”
He also specifies in his remarks the main objective of the laboratory:
“This is a tool for all companies in our territory, from the smallest to the largest groups. Our metropolitan CCI had to facilitate access and visibility of this service in terms of AI, being aware of the economic and societal challenges.”
Microsoft aims to support local leaders in their digital transition via its “Microsoft Experiences Lab @riality”, an initiative already implemented by the firm since 2019 and intended to be deployed throughout France. Gilles d’Aramon of Microsoft France talks about the launch of the riality lab and the presence of labs in several French metropolises:
“We have launched labs in Nantes, Toulouse, today in Marseille and soon in Lyon. The riality Lab will create digital innovation hubs across the territory by connecting different local players.”
Around 300 demonstrators on 12 business verticals will be made available to the lab, and the tech giant also intends to create es digital innovation hubs by connecting businesses, local authorities and associations.
An opportunity to raise awareness of artificial intelligence among citizens and companies
According to Jean-Daniel Beurnier, vice-president of the AMP Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the new laboratory will focus on three objectives: “to help companies understand AI, to support them so that they can take hold of new solutions and finally to test and create industrial prototypes. The offer that the CCIAMP wishes to propose with the riality lab will be oriented towards companies and citizens.
It will be possible to have a free one-hour discussion with one of the lab’s experts, to ask for a study carried out by these experts, to receive complete and personalized support, to access turnkey workshops, etc. The aim is to bring the AI community to life and to offer advice on how to succeed in its digital transformation.
The laboratory should also offer several events such as an event dedicated to the AI community for the fall of 2021.
Translated from La CCI Aix Marseille-Provence lance son laboratoire d’expérimentation dédié à l’intelligence artificielle
