The WAICF in Cannes promises to be a major international event on artificial intelligence

15 décembre 2021

The World AI Cannes Festival (WAICF) will be held in February. This event is already shaping up to be one of the major events of the year and will be attended by over 120 key players in the AI market, international speakers and numerous innovative companies. Held on the Côte d’Azur, in Cannes, in person and online, from February 10 to 12, 2022, this global event will bring together the best AI players and shed light on the impact and interest of AI for both businesses and society.

The artificial intelligence ecosystem is particularly dynamic and rapidly evolving. This means staying well informed to stay ahead of future technological innovations. Understanding how AI will shape the future and how its tools can be interesting for one’s business and for society allows one to anticipate the evolution of our uses and to better understand the digital transformation.

The first edition of the World AI Cannes Festival (10-12 February 2022, Cannes) will bring together more than a hundred key players in the AI market to present their latest products and technologies. This three-day event will provide a complete overview of AI technologies, but also the opportunity to learn from the most important business and opinion leaders in order to develop one’s AI strategy and to benefit from use-case oriented conferences to efficiently develop one’s business.

The WAICF will focus on exploring AI in all its diversity, be it technological, commercial or cultural, with a special place reserved for ethical and social issues. The first two days of the festival (Thursday 10 and Friday 11) will be dedicated to professionals and the third day (Saturday 12) will be open to the general public.

The WAICF programme

Conferences and workshops

This first edition of the WAICF will bring together on stage more than 100 international speakers including researchers, entrepreneurs but also rising stars of the ecosystem around themes such as AI for society, AI strategies for business, AI today and tomorrow, AI technologies or AI applications.

Will be present among many other speakers:

Yann LE CUN, Vice President and Chief Scientist of AI, FACEBOOK AI RESEARCH
Beena AMMANATH, Executive Director, GLOBAL DELOITTE AI INSTITUTE
Hiroaki KITANO, CEO, SONY AI
Ambica RAJAGOPAL, Group Head of Artificial Intelligence, MICHELIN
Jay LEE, Board Member and Vice President, FOXCONN TECHNOLOGY GROUP
Michael SCHÖNSTEIN, Head of Strategic Foresight and Analysis, GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Joseph STIGLITZ, Co-Chair of the Expert Group on Measuring Economic Performance and Social Progress, OECD, Chief Economist, THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE

Find the conference program here, and the workshops here.

A multi-faceted exhibition

The event will host an exhibition where more than 120 major AI market leaders will present their latest products and technologies (among them: IBM, HPE, Nvidia, Microsoft, Graphcore…). This exhibition area will host nearly 10,000 professionals and personalities in the field.

A startup zone has also been planned to allow future AI nuggets to pitch their product and present it in a real innovation bubble.

Experimental and application areas

Thematic experiment and application areas have been set up to encourage contact and exchange between exhibiting companies and visitors. Each experiment will be an opportunity for participants to immerse themselves in the world of artificial intelligence to better understand its foundations and concrete applications. Unprecedented demonstrations will be organized to better understand the impact of AI in certain sectors of activity such as beauty or sports.

In the Lab area, visitors will have access to the latest innovations and research programs on AI thanks to the presence of world leaders in the sector and major universities.

Open Day and AI Week

On the third day, the WAICF will be open to the public and will be transformed into a centre for discovery, learning and reflection on AI. This is an opportunity for the public to exchange ideas and explore new perspectives around AI. This event will close the AI Week / Semaine de l’AI during which the whole Cannes area (cinemas, theatres and other cultural spaces) will propose animations on the theme of AI.

The highlights of the event

The WAICF will offer an engaging and 360-degree program with five-part conferences to address business needs and help the public understand the impact of AI on the world today and tomorrow.

AI for society

Understand the benefits of artificial intelligence for society and our planet, as well as the challenges. Examples:

Promoting sustainable development. Preserving the environment and the oceans, biodiversity, agriculture…
Spotlight on AI pioneers around the world: Use cases ranging from refugee rights to racism to harnessing human creativity.

AI today and tomorrow

Explore what AI can do today to imagine what future innovations will bring to society and organizations tomorrow. Examples:

Affective Human-Computer Interaction and Ethics
AI and the future of work
Digital transformation and worker development

AI Strategy

Gain key insights to improve your AI strategy and take your business to the next level. Examples:

Evolving AI within an organization
Transformative leadership in the AI era
The challenge for companies to create their own center of excellence for AI
Future trends in AI and what they mean for your business

AI Technology

Learn how to best use different AI technologies and shape your innovation mindset with top speakers. Examples:

How to keep up with the constant evolution of ML tools?
What is geometric deep learning?
How to move beyond traditional deep learning methods
The computational requirements for developing superhuman cognition

IT applications

Get an overview of the advancements AI can bring to organizations, with focuses on different sectors. Examples:

AI and the future of healthcare
AI in Content Moderation: Social Networks
What is trusted and ethical AI and why is it crucial for financial services?

A top-notch honorary committee

The honorary committee is made up of prominent figures from all continents and industries, considered experts or influencers in the field of AI:

Yann LE CUN, Vice President and Chief Scientist of AI, FACEBOOK AI RESEARCH
Wonki MIN, President, SUNY KOREA
Francesca ROSSI, Fellow and Global Head of AI Ethics, IBM
Roberto CINGOLANI, Italian Minister for Ecological Transition and Director of Technology and Innovation, LEONARDO COMPANY
David GURLE, President, SYMPHONY
Jean MANE, President, V. MANE FILS
Marnie BENNEY, Independent Curator of Contemporary Art
PASCALE FUNG, Director of CAiRE, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (HKUST)
Joseph STIGLITZ, Co-Chair of the Expert Group on Measuring Economic Performance and Social Progress, OECD, Chief Economist, THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE
Dr. Fatmah BAOTHMAN, Researcher in Artificial Intelligence, KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY

How to participate in the WAICF?

The WAICF is organized both in person at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, and online. Discover the different registration options here.

Transportation and accommodation partners are available to help you plan your visit. For more information, please visit: https: //worldaicannes.com/