AI Austria monthly: November Update
Economics of AI event ticket giveaway, Austria as an AI hotspot, new courses, initiatives and startups & much more
November has started, and we have roughly about six weeks until Christmas - six very exciting and jam-packed weeks until some of you might be granted a well-deserved holiday break. To be or not to be - will the trilogue on the AI Act be completed in 2023? The US and UK joining the regulatory discussion and taking measures of their own whilest calling for international collaboration. Many events and meetups scheduled for November and December. Have fun and dive in, it will be a rollercoaster ride until the end of the year.
🚀 Latest Developments
🎤 Economics of AI - Event update and ticket giveaway ✨
Together with EcoAustria we will host a conference on the economic impact of AI. Join us on November 24th and listen to keynotes and panel discussions ft. international experts such as Dr. Pierre-Alexandre Balland (Utrecht University), Dr. Fabian Stephany (University of Oxford) and many more. We will stream the event on our Youtube channel as well. For those of you, who want to join us in Vienna, we still have 15 tickets for our subscribers » join the ticket giveaway
🎯 Why AI founders should consider Austria
Sifted did a feature on why Austria is a very good homebase to grow an AI startup.
A few take aways:
Austria is an attractive destination for international AI founders, thanks to its high living standards, low cost of living and top talent pool.
Austria is home to three ELLIS - European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems Units, Europe's leading AI research facilities with focus on cutting-edge AI
Austria offers a strong funding and tax ecosystem for startups, with public grants, reduced corporation tax and simplified company formation processes. Austria Wirtschaftsservice, Vienna Business Agency to name just a few.
One-of-a-kind programs such as AI for green, which kickstart AI development in critical areas
💸 FinTech Week - Join the conversation! ✨
Next week from November 13-17, 2023 the Fintech Week will take place again in Vienna, where stakeholders of the banking, finance and fintech industry come together to meet, connect and innovate. In collaboration with ARTUS Steuerberatung and the Austrian Association for Banking (Bankenverband) we are hosting a session with an all star line up to discuss the chances and opportunities of ESG and AI implementation in the banking sector. » Register here.
🤝 3rd Trustworthy AI Meetup
In the course of the AI Policy Forum 2023, AI Austria in collaboration with the AI Policy Forum and aws hosted the third meetup on trustworthy AI in the Technical Museum. Digicust kicked of the event by presenting automated and machine-driven customs processing in the international supply chain based on trustworthy AI. Andreas Windisch (AI Austria) and Benjamin Delic (aws) joined Ahmad Haj Mosa (CEO Digicust) on the stage to further dive into AI topics with the industry. Thank you to all the attendees for the great discussions and exchange. We are looking forward to more joint events and connecting the Austrian AI stakeholders and startups during more meetups in the future.
💡 AI app Totoy explains official letters from authorities in 18 languages
The Viennese AI start-up Totoy has launched an app that enables people to better understand official documents. In contrast to traditional translation apps, Totoy not only offers a language translation, but also a simplified explanation of the document content. The app also includes a chat function that allows users to ask follow-up questions about the document. Totoy is able to scan documents in 95 different languages and generate explanations in 18 languages. The company sees its mission as tackling functional illiteracy and the challenges of so-called invisible language work. »further info
📲 New AI tool from the Austrian economic chamber to assess digitization readiness
Companies can now determine their level of digitalization and exploit potential. The Digi-Index of the FV UBIT and the WKO indicates the degree of digitization of a company and identifies untapped potential and opportunities for the company.
The degree of digitalization is determined in nine dimensions and creates a profile of strengths and weaknesses. A detailed digitalization report with recommendations for action is created. This is followed by an automated matching of requirements with suitable digitalization companies. » further info
🇺🇸 US releases executive order on AI regulation
The Biden administration just released it's executive order on AI regulation. While it's still too early to gauge long-term implications, it is safe to say that US AI regulation will play an important role, as all major tech stakeholders involved are US based. Trending Topics did a first writeup and asked us for an initial assessment. » full article
🧑🏫 Excite - Introduction to artificial intelligence for managers
AI is gaining importance in every sector of industry. Do you want to explore the potential of AI for yourself? Then you're in the right place for a new online training "Excite - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Executives". No prior knowledge is required; all you need to bring is your interest in AI. The team at Fraunhofer Austria Innovationscenter KI4LIFE is looking forward to welcoming you! » further info and registration
🎭 Event recap: AI m[eats] creativity
The "AI m[eats] creativity?" event at the Linzer Tabakfabrik, hosted by Creative Region Linz & Upper Austria, sparked discussions among 150 guests on AI's role in the creative industry, featuring interactive talks by seven speakers paired with dinner courses. The gathering emphasized AI's potential as an enhancer of creativity and productivity in creative professions, advocating for its integration as a collaborative tool rather than a threat. The overall sentiment promoted the synergy of "Creativity + Technology" for the future of creative agencies and the development of skills in the field. » full event recap
🤝 Responsible annotation, made in Austria
Responsible Annotation is an Austrian non-profit NGO dedicated to establishing an inclusive job market for AI annotation and labeling. Their primary focus is on individuals from marginalized groups, including people with autism and deaf individuals, recognizing the hidden potential within these communities. To successfully address this opportunity, it is crucial to build bridges between companies and key stakeholders in the social system, including government organizations and other NGOs. To harness the full potential of inclusion and empower individuals to lead self-determined lives, the non-profit collaborates with a diverse group of professionals from various backgrounds and expertise.
If you want to support this cause get in touch via verein@annotation.at or » visit the homepage
🕳️ Mistakes & stumbling blocks on the road to AI success 📈
As part of the AI strategy Austria AIM AT 2030, an exciting event will take place at the end of November (29.11.) in which entrepreneurs will exchange their experiences and insights in the development and use of AI. » further info and registration
🇦🇹 Austria AI Landscape 2023 - call for candidates
The annual update of the Austrian AI Landscape, maintained by our own Clemens Wasner is around the corner. As in previous years the landscape is separated in 3 clusters: AI companies & startups, Early adopters and enablers & extended ecosystem. While the focus in ‘AI companies & startups’ is on startups with a scalable SaaS model, in certain cases service providers are included as well e.g. if an industry/sector prefers time & material over SaaS solutions. If you want to see your oeganization listed » head over to the self-service form
🎓 ELLIS PhD Program: Call for applications 2023
The ELLIS PhD program is a key pillar of the ELLIS initiative whose goal is to foster and educate the best talent in machine learning and related research areas by pairing outstanding students with leading academic and industrial researchers in Europe. The ELLIS PhD Program is now accepting applications. Apply via the central application portal by November 15, 2023, and join ELLIS as a PhD student » more info and application
✨ Generative AI News ✨
OpenAI's Developer Day showcased GPT-4 Turbo, which extends the context length to 128,000 tokens, and introduced an Assistants API and a GPT app store. These updates enhance the toolkit available to developers and aim to improve the efficiency and application of AI models.
Elon Musk's X.AI has launched a new chatbot named Grok, making a foray into the AI chatbot landscape. Grok is initially available to a select group of users in the US who subscribe to the highest tier of the online platform X. The release of Grok by X.AI was announced in conjunction with the aforementioned OpenAI developer conference.
The Beatles have released "Now and Then," a song using AI technology to isolate John Lennon's voice from archival recordings. The AI was developed by Peter Jackson's team, the director of the "Get Back" documentary, which featured restored and unseen footage of The Beatles. This innovation allowed the song to be completed with new contributions from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as the late George Harrison, blending past and present to create a new piece of The Beatles' legacy. Check it out on Youtube:
Midjourney has introduced the Style Tuner feature for its AI-powered art generation platform. This update allows users to apply a consistent visual style across multiple images by selecting from a range of style options. The feature, accessible via the Midjourney Discord server, streamlines the creation of themed image sets and requires a paid subscription to use, consuming users' fast hours GPU credits based on the number of styles generated1.
AI meets tourism. 3liot.ai created hyper-realistic, synthetic avatars, AI images and music for the BÖTM (Federal Association of Austrian Tourism Managers) top seminar in Gosau. These avatars present their visions for the future of the tourism industry.
📆 Upcoming Events
10.11. Policy Chat: Exploring Open Source AI
17.11. ChatGPT for Business Development at TU Vienna
15.11. FinTech Week: Green, Smart, Profitable: Is ESG + AI the new equation for banking success?
24.11. AI Governance Forum 2023
24.11. Nachhaltige Smart Services mit KI und Augmented Reality im Maschinenbau
24.11. Economics of AI
29.11. Fehler und Stolpersteine auf dem Weg zum KI-Erfolg
For more information on upcoming events head over to our community calendar.
🧑💻 Featured Jobs
Once a month we feature selected openings from our job board in this section.
IT Customer Service Manager at Onlim
Project Manager - Network for Artificial Intelligence at Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH
Machine learning engineer at PWC
Data Engineer at Sclable
Check out further listings at our Job Board