AGI Odyssey 2024 Symposium, London

Introduction

The exciting 2024 AGI Odyssey Symposium will be hosted on 10th October, 2024 at the stunning Royal Institute in central London. This elite event will bring together AI experts from industry and academia, where they'll discuss how AGI needs to be developed to benefit all of mankind.

The full-day gathering will be jam-packed with inspiring keynote speeches, engaging panel discussions, and exciting interactive sessions – all designed to get to the heart of how Artificial General Intelligence can be created ethically and safely for the benefit of everyone. There will also be great opportunities for attendees to network with fellow innovators and thought leaders, leading to exciting potential collaborations.

And of course there will be a selection of delicious food and drink to keep everyone energised and ready to discuss the future of AGI!

Don’t miss this chance to be part of a defining AI community event.

We have released a public promo code LIMITEDFREE, which reduces the price by 100%! The code is limited to just 30 uses, so don’t miss your chance to grab a free ticket!

Our fees are kept to a minimum, as we operate on a non-profit basis. They are only meant to cover or contribute to venue expenses. If you have financial concerns, please feel free to email [email protected] to apply for financial assistance. Our sponsor has allocated a portion of our funding specifically to support those in need.

Agenda (subject to change)

09:15 - 09:45

Registration Open

09:45 - 10:00

Welcome Remarks

Speaker: Kai Zou

Kai Zou is the CEO of AGI Odyssey. With over a decade of experience, his work spans both practical AI applications and theoretical advancements in artificial general intelligence (AGI). In addition to leading AGI Odyssey, Kai is also the Founder and CEO of the highly successful NetMind.AI, where he focuses on developing impactful and ethical AI products through decentralisation. Kai is also a well-known angel investor of various AI startups, helping to support promising new companies. His academic background includes a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Physics from Tsinghua University and a Master's in Mathematics and Statistics from Georgetown University.

10:00 - 10:40

Keynote 1 (including a 10-min Q&A)

Speaker: Prof. Yike Guo

Prof. Guo is a well-respected pioneer in technology for data-driven scientific research. He holds many prestigious positions, such as being the provost of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST) and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). In addition to these he is a Member of the Academia Europaea (MAE), Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (FHKEng), Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (FIEEE), Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS), and Fellow of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (FCAAI). His storied experience in the field make him the perfect first keynote speaker to kick off the event.

10:40 - 11:20

Keynote 2 (including a 10-min Q&A)

Speaker: `Prof. Alexandra Cristea

Professor Alexandra Cristea is a distinguished Deputy Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science at Durham University and both founded and leads the Artificial Intelligence in Human Systems research group. She is a renowned expert in web science, learning analytics, and adaptive systems, with over 300 publications and more than 5,000 citations. Her influential work on frameworks for adaptive systems is globally recognised, and she was ranked among the top 50 researchers in educational computer-based research by Microsoft Research for her significant contributions to AI and education technology.

11:20 - 11:40

Coffee & Networking

Refreshments and high-quality snacks will be provided

11:40 - 12:40

Panel Discussion 1

AI for Education: Transforming Learning Environments

Moderator: Dr. Zheng Yuan
Dr. Yuan is Assistant Professor of Natural Language Processing in the Department of Informatics at King's College London. She works on both machine learning and deep learning for natural language processing, including its real-world applications. Previously Dr. Yuan was a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, where she is still a Visiting Researcher; she also holds a PhD and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a BSc in Engineering from Queen Mary University of London.

Guest 1: Prof. Mutlu Cukurova

Prof. Cukurova is the Professor of Learning and Artificial Intelligence at UCL Institution of Education. His research explores human-AI complementarity in education, specifically on how to prepare people for a future led by AI systems. Prof. Cukurova is also a policy-maker for digital technologies in education; in addition he serves as an editor for the British Journal of Educational Technology and the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.

Guest 2: Prof. Syaamantak Das

Prof. Das is Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Program in Educational Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Information Analysis from IIT Kharagpur and has conducted research at the University of Chicago on education policy. His current research focuses on human-centred AI in education, aiming to enhance learning and problem-solving. Dr. Das is also actively involved in organising events and managing digital platforms for the Educational Technology program at IIT Bombay.

Guest 3: Dr. Mariano Felice

Dr. Felice is Senior Researcher and Data Scientist at the British Council, specialising in AI and natural language processing (NLP) for language assessment and learning. In addition, he is Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge, where he previously held the position of Research Associate as part of the Automated Language Teaching and Assessment (ATLA). Dr Felice has a PhD in computer science, has published numerous scientific papers, is a respected reviewer of workshops and journals in the industry, and has given many keynote speeches across global venues.

Guest 4: Dr. Lei Shi

Dr. Lei Shi is an Associate Professor at Open Lab, specialising in enhancing human-AI interactions by integrating Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with AI technologies. His work focuses on developing AI systems that boost creativity, productivity, and inclusivity. At Newcastle University, he also serves as Director of Haii Lab and Deputy Degree Programme Director at the School of Computing.

Guest 5: Dr. Diana Galvan Sosa

Dr. Diana Galvan Sosa is a Research Associate at Cambridge's NLIP Group & ALTA Institute, specialising in educational NLP applications, machine reading comprehension, and clinical temporal reasoning. She previously served as an Assistant Professor at Tohoku University, Japan, and managed clinical trial data in Mexico City. Diana holds a PhD and Master's in Information Science from Tohoku University and a Bachelor's in Computer Science from Monterrey Institute of Technology

12:40 - 13:45

Lunch & Networking

A range of high-quality food and refreshments will be available (including VG and GF options).

13:45 - 14:00

GAIC Math 2024 Awards Ceremony and Announcements

The Global AI Championships Board will summarize the highlights and achievements of the GAIC Math 2024 competition. Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 finishers, recognizing their outstanding performance. The theme for next year’s GAIC competition will be announced.

Presenter: Prof. Yu Cheng

Prof. Yu Cheng is an Associate Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was also previously Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research Redmond, with a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. His research focuses on deep learning, model efficiency, and large multimodal models, with contributions to Microsoft-OpenAI projects like Copilot, DALL-E-2, and GPT-4.

14:00 - 14:40

Keynote 3 (including a 10-min Q&A)

Speaker: Prof. Xiaolan Fu

Prof. Xiaolan Fu is the Founding Director of the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD) at Oxford, a Fellow of Green Templeton College, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences as well as founder of OxValue (which uses AI to evaluate technology’s financial value). Prof. Fu has served on high-level UN advisory groups and has received numerous awards, including the 2021 Falling Walls Scientific Breakthrough Award; her research itself focuses on innovation, technology, and economic development, with a particular emphasis on emerging Asian economies.

14:40 - 15:20

Keynote 4 (including a 10-min Q&A): AI for Mathematics - from Digitization to Intelligentization

Speaker: Prof. Bin Dong

Prof. Bin Dong is a tenured professor at the Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research and Deputy Director of the International Machine Learning Research Center at Peking University. He is also a researcher at the National Biomedical Imaging Science Center and Deputy Dean of the Changsha Institute of Computing and Digital Economy. His research focuses on integrating AI with traditional mathematical models like PDEs and wavelets, with significant contributions to biomedical imaging and clinical applications.

15:20 - 15:30

Coffee & Networking

Refreshments and high-quality snacks will be provided

15:30 - 16:30

Panel Discussion 2

Advances in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) with a Mathematical Focus

Moderator: Dr. Fei Xing

Dr. Fei Xing is the Director of Data Science at Mathematica. He previously developed and implemented health quality measures for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, specialising in reliability, validity testing, and risk adjustment. As Data Science Director Xing leads staff development and provides data science solutions. Before joining Mathematica, he worked on supercomputer performance analysis at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Guest 1: Prof. Fei Lu

Prof. Fei Lu is the Associate Professor of the Department of Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University and a Board Member of AGI Odyssey. His research interests cover probability, statistics, and scientific computing, with a focus on learning dynamics from data and data assimilation. Dr. Lu is affiliated with several respected academic organisations, including the Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science (IDIES) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; he also held a postdoctoral position at the latter, as well as UC Berkeley.

Guest 2: Prof. Bin Dong

(Full bio above)

Guest 3: Prof. Zitao Liu

Prof. Zitao Liu is Dean at the Guangdong Institute of Smart Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. His research focuses on machine learning, AI in education, and educational data mining; he also boasts an impressive 80+ publications in top conferences and 40+ patents and technology transfers. Before joining JNU, he served as the CTO at ThinkAcademy and TAL Education Group. He also emphasises reproducible research, providing models, datasets, and scripts on platforms like pykt.org and GitHub.

Guest 4: Dr. Meng Fang

Dr. Fang is Assistant Professor at the University of Liverpool. His research focuses on natural language processing (NLP), reinforcement learning (RL), and machine learning (ML). Dr. Fang has published over 40 papers in top AI and NLP conferences and has received numerous awards, including the Best Paper Award at LoG 2022.

16:30 - 17:00

Closing Speech

Speaker: Dr. Yuan Gao

Dr. Yuan Gao is a Board Member of AGI Odyssey and Vice President at China International Capital Corporation (CICC) UK. Gao previously worked as a Vice President in Group Asset Management at Swiss Re, focusing on liquid and illiquid interest rate products. Yuan holds a PhD and MSc in Engineering from Newcastle University, an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, and a Bachelor's degree in Automation from Tsinghua University. She is also Secretary General of the UK Tsinghua Association, a Freeman of the City of London, and a Professional Risk Management (PRM) charter holder.

17:00 - 18:00

Networking

Refreshments and high-quality snacks will be provided.

18:00

End of Event

Photography Notice: Please be aware that photography and filming may take place during the event.

About the Venue

The Royal Institution (Ri)

The Royal Institution (Ri) is a stunning jewel of a building, steeped in over 200 years of rich scientific history. Beyond this it’s also a charity with a profound commitment to making science accessible for everyone. Ever since it was founded in 1799, the Ri has been a hub for scientific discovery and education, hosting lectures by some of the world's most renowned scientists.

The noble mission of the Ri is to connect scientists with the public, enabling a shared passion for science; the institution believes in equal access to scientific knowledge and works to inspire and empower individuals from all backgrounds – particularly focusing on students and young people from disadvantaged communities. Through its programs, the Ri creates spaces where everyone can explore and engage with science, helping to nurture a future generation of scientists and informed citizens.

About the host

​We are a dynamic non-profit organisation committed to accelerating advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) , Machine Learning (ML), and Large Language Models (LLMs), forging a future where technology amplifies research capabilities globally.

​AGI Odyssey is supported by a distinguished advisory board comprising professors and industry leaders from prestigious institutions and organisations. These include renowned universities such as Oxford, King’s College, Cambridge, Johns Hopkins University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and leading AI entities like OpenAI and Google DeepMind. This collaboration highlights their commitment to advancing AI through academic and industry partnerships

​Our website: home

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​X (formerly Twitter): @AGI_Odyssey

About the sponsor

At NetMind.AI we believe that AI should be for the people and for the betterment of Humanity. We work towards developing AI products that make a positive impact on humanity in an ethical way, whilst keeping the end user's interest at heart.

​​Our website: home

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​X (formerly Twitter): @NetmindAi