Discovery on Steroids: How AI will Speed up Innovation
A joint conference by Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, Swiss Re Institute and IBM Research, 5 July 2022
Discovery on Steroids: How AI Will Speed up Innovation
The pace of progress has slowed. It now takes 18 times as many researchers to double the performance of a computer chip than it did in the 1970s. And there are 20 times as many researchers in the US as in 1930, yet productivity growth has stagnated. At the same time, society is facing an increasing number of challenges, including climate change, unpredictable pandemics, biodiversity loss, increasing inequality and social division.
We need answers and we need them quickly.
Enter artificial intelligence. AI has the potential to dramatically increase the quality and quantity of innovation across all domains. Emerging AI technologies allow us to radically shorten drug development cycles, accelerate the design of new materials and predict migration flows. And yet we are currently only at the beginning of this huge development. The number and types of AI applications are increasing rapidly.
Unleashing the potential of AI for accelerated innovation requires targeted action in three areas:
- Machine learning: How do machines learn, and how can AI help us to speed up scientific discovery and innovation?
- Communities of discovery: How can we build ecosystems that allow for accelerated innovation? What economic, legal and socio-political conditions allow us to quickly turn ideas into action?
- AI, humans and societal innovation: How can AI impact progress in the private and public sectors? And how can we as individuals learn to live and thrive with AI?
Organised by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI), the Swiss Re Institute and IBM Research, the conference provides a forum to discuss these three areas with AI thought leaders and decision makers from academia, industry, government and society.
The conference will be conducted in English.
Speakers

Iyad Rahwan
Germany
Managing Director, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin. There, Rahwan founded and has been directing the Center for Humans & Machines. Until June 2020, he was an Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Alessandro Curioni
Switzerland
IBM Fellow, Vice President Europe & Africa and Director of the IBM Research Lab, Zurich. Curioni is an internationally recognized leader in the area of high-performance computing and computational science. He was a member of the winning team recognized with the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize in 2013 and 2015. His research interests include AI, Big Data and quantum computing.

Evgeny Morozov
Belarus
Founder of the Syllabus, a knowledge curation initiative, and author of, among others, "The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom". Morozov studies political and social implications of technology and has a PhD in History of Science from Harvard University. German Newspaper “Die Zeit” considered him "one of the most brilliant internet theorists of our time".

Marcus du Sautoy
Great Britain
Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford. Du Sautoy holds the prestigious Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science and is a Fellow of New College. He has received a number of awards including the Royal Society of London’s Michael Faraday Prize. He has been awarded an OBE for his services to science and was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Matthias Bethge
Germany
Professor for Computational Neuroscience and Machine Learning at the University of Tubingen and director of the Tubingen AI Center, a joint center between Tubingen University and Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, that is part of the German AI strategy. Bethge’s main research focus is on robust vision and neural decision making.

Pierre Barreau
Luxembourg
Co-founder & CEO, Aiva Technologies. Aiva is an Artificial Intelligence composing soundtracks for films, video games, TV shows and commercials. It is also the world’s first AI to have its pieces recognized by an author’s rights society. Barreau is a computer scientist, award nominated film director, and a registered composer.

Jana Eggers
USA
CEO of Nara Logics, a neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence company. Nara Logics’ AI is being used by healthcare organizations, consumer companies and manufacturers in order to better understand data from internet-of-things devices or better engage with customers. The company works closely with MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Gareth Conduit
Great Britain
CTO at Intellegens and a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Conduit has a track record of applying machine learning to solve real-world problems such as the development of new materials and drugs. At Intellegens, he is leading the development of new machine learning methodologies for industrial R&D.

Tim Llewellynn
Switzerland
President of Bonseyes AI Marketplace. Bonseyes is an open and expandable AI platform that intends to transform AI development from a cloud centric model, dominated by large internet companies, to an edge device centric model through a marketplace and an open AI platform. Llewellynn is also CEO and co-founder of Nviso, a company that provides artificial intelligence solutions.

Mirjam Eckert
Switzerland
Publishing Director, Frontiers Media SA, a publisher of peer-reviewed open access scientific journals. Eckert completed a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Dundee in Scotland, and then moved to the University of Lausanne, Switzerland as a postdoctoral fellow to work on viral immunity.

Christoph Nabholz
Switzerland
Chief Research Officer, Swiss Re Institute. Nabholz manages Swiss Re's Strategic Council to deliver executive advice and foresight on risks across a broad and rapidly evolving business landscape. His research team enhances Swiss Re's market intelligence and contributes to thought leadership on major industry topics.

Jan Bieser
Switzerland
Dr Jan Bieser is a senior researcher and speaker at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. In his research, he examines the opportunities and risks of digitalisation for society and the environment. He is also a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at University of Zurich, and a fellow of the World Economic Forum‘s Global Future Council on Cities of Tomorrow.

Lukas Jezler
Switzerland
Lukas Jezler, CEO of the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute for consumption, economic and social studies, Rüschlikon/Zurich.
Speakers Breakout Sessions
asut

Thomas Brunschwiler
Switzerland
Research Manager bei IBM Research Europe, Zürich. Brunschwilers Team nutzt physikalische Daten in Kombination mit Künstlicher Intelligenz, um quantitative Einschätzungen zu Klimarisiken und -auswirkungen zu liefern und die Szenarienplanung in Zeiten der globalen Erwärmung zu unterstützen. Er ist Autor und Mitautor von über 90 Publikationen, drei Buchkapiteln und über 65 Patenten.

Daniel Egger
Switzerland
Research Staff Member, Quantum Applications Research and Software, IBM Research, Zurich. Egger’s current research focuses on quantum information processing with superconducting circuits and quantum algorithms.

Haig A. Peter
Switzerland
Manager at Think Lab Europe, IBM Research Europe. Peter has been an invited keynote speaker at many conferences around Europe on the topics of AI, Accelerated Discovery and the IBM Research “What’s Next” which identifies significant trends and identifies high- impact disruptive technologies leading to game-changing products and services.
Swiss Re Institute

Jean-Pierre Hubaux
Switzerland
Professor, Academic Director of C4DT.org, at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (ÉPFL). Co-Founder of Tune Insight. Through his research, Hubaux contributes to the creation of foundations and the development of tools for privacy protection in today's hyper-connected world. He pioneered data protection and personalised healthcare.

Juan Ramon Troncoso
Switzerland
CEO and Co-founder of Tune Insight. Troncoso has participated and carried out the scientific coordination of several European and national projects related to information security and privacy protection. The EPFL start-up Tune Insight orchestrates collaborations between multiple organizations on sensitive data in health, cyberdefense and financial services

Ermir Qeli
Switzerland
Director, Product Area Lead – Data Platform Engineering, Swiss Re. A computer scientist by background, Qeli's interests revolve around data analytics, machine learning and data visualization. He has been bringing scalable data analytics to the core of the re/insurance industry.

Daniel Martin Eckhart
Switzerland
Advocate, Swiss Re Institute. Eckhart is a passionate storyteller, both as a novelist and a screenwriter. As an engagement expert, he is a moderator, presenter, influencer and roving reporter, advocating on behalf of Swiss Re Institute to bring together the experts from around the world for the future-driven thinking we need to make our world better, safer and more sustainable for future generations.
Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute

Marc Vontobel
Switzerland
CEO, Starmind, and member of the Forbes Technology Council. Starmind uses machine learning to create a network of knowledge within organizations. Its aim is to help employees connect with experts within their organization, to support knowledge exchange, the development and spread of ideas.

Elif Ozkirimli
Switzerland
Head of Data Science at Roche. Ozkirimli leads a global team of data scientists that focus on understanding the patient and health care professional as well as on building commercial decision support tools to achieve better patient outcomes at lower cost to society.

Jan Bieser
Switzerland
Dr Jan Bieser is a senior researcher and speaker at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. In his research, he examines the opportunities and risks of digitalisation for society and the environment. He is also a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at University of Zurich, and a fellow of the World Economic Forum‘s Global Future Council on Cities of Tomorrow.

Andy Fitze
Switzerland
Co-founder, SwissCognitive. Fitze is a digital cognitive strategist, top global AI and digital transformation advisor for start-ups and enterprise boards, and an AI influencer. He is president of the Swiss IT Leadership Forum and member of the Board of Directors of SwissICT. In 2017, he received the Swiss CIO Award for Best IT Manager in Switzerland.
Moderator

Florian Inhauser
Switzerland
Journalist and moderator. Florian Inhauser presents the main newscast at Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SRF and he is also the anchor of the foreign news magazine «#SRFglobal». With a master in history and anglistics he speaks English fluently. He has also an excellent reputation as an international correspondent, covering conflicts and crises around the globe.
Programme
08.30
Welcome coffee
09.00
Welcome by
Lukas Jezler, CEO, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Introduction
Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow, Vice President Europe & Africa and Director, IBM Research – Zurich
The Discovery Driven Enterprise: A Megatrend Emerges
Opening panel
Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow, Vice President Europe & Africa and Director, IBM Research – Zurich
Christoph Nabholz, Chief Research Officer, Swiss Re Institute
Jan Bieser, Senior Researcher, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Keynote
Iyad Rahwan, Managing Director, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
The Culture Machine: How AI Will Accelerate Human Learning
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing our ability to answer some of the hardest questions we face. What are the promises, limits and risks of this new power?
10.00
Break
10.30
MACHINE LEARNING
Gareth Conduit, Co-founder and CTO, Intellegens
New Products in Less Time: Fast Experimentation Through Machine Learning
How companies can harness sparse or noisy data to develop new materials, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Jana Eggers, CEO, Nara Logics
Inside the Black Box: Learning From How Machines "Think"
How can we trace the self-taught logic of algorithms to discover new ideas?
Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics and Fellow of New College, University of Oxford
Creativity? What Creativity?
Does AI just mimic, or can it actually create? Insights from the forefront of new technologies.
COMMUNITIES OF DISCOVERY
Matthias Bethge, Professor and Director, Tübingen AI Center
ELLIS: Building a European AI Ecosystem
How can we attract top AI talent and build cross-border communities across academia, the private and public sectors to develop AI with purpose and shape Europe's future?
Tim Llewellynn, President, Bonseyes AI Marketplace
Lowering the Entry Barrier: An Open Marketplace for AI
Enabling anyone, not just Big Tech, to become part of the upcoming “AI-as-a-Service” economy
Panel discussion on building communities of discovery
with Matthias Bethge and Tim Llewellynn
12.30
Networking Lunch
13.45
PARALLEL BREAKOUT SESSIONS
IBM Research
Solving Hard Problems With AI and Quantum Computing
Companies and societies are facing huge challenges. The need for innovative solutions has never been more pressing. Artificial Intelligence and more and more also Quantum Computing can play a crucial role in dramatically accelerating the innovation process. This session will illustrate this with cases, e.g. related to the financial industry and climate change. It will also explain IBM’s ambitious Quantum Computing roadmap.
Thomas Brunschwiler, Research Manager, Physics & AI for Climate Impact, IBM Research – Zurich
AI for Climate and Sustainability
Daniel Egger, Research Staff Member, Quantum Applications Research & Software, IBM Research –
Zurich
Quantum Computing for Accelerated Discovery
Facilitated by Haig Peter, Manager, Think Lab Europe, IBM Innovation Studio, IBM Research – Europe
Swiss Re Institute
AI, Data, and Privacy – An Uneasy Alliance
Most of the innovation in AI and Machine Learning revolves around models - algorithms and frameworks that focus mainly on the learning process. Engineering of the data underlying these models is often handcrafted, expensive and at times fragile, which inhibits innovation both in academia and industry. Important aspects such as reproducibility, maintainability and fidelity of datasets are often overlooked – together with privacy, security, and data governance they represent critical factors for deploying AI. The session will address these aspects from different angles, highlighting some of the trends in data-centric AI, privacy preserving ML illustrated with examples from the industry and academia.
Jean-Pierre Hubaux, Professor, Academic Director of C4DT.org, EPFL; Co-founder, Tune Insight
Juan Ramon Troncoso, CEO and Co-founder, Tune Insight
Ermir Qeli, Director, Product Area Lead – Data Platform Engineering, Swiss Re
Facilitated by Daniel Martin Eckhart, Advocate, Swiss Re Institute
Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Augmented Intelligence
While machines are good at identifying patterns in large amounts of data, humans possess general knowledge and judgment far superior to machines. How can we best combine the capabilities of humans and machines to come up with new ideas and discoveries?
Jan Bieser, Senior Researcher, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Creative Through AI: How AI Can Support the Development of New Ideas
Marc Vontobel, CEO, Starmind
Innovation in the New World of Work
Elif Ozkirimli, Head of Data Science, Roche
Using Natural Language Processing for Healthcare Innovation
Facilitated by
Andy Fitze, Co-founder, SwissCognitive
15.00
Break
AI, HUMANS AND SOCIETAL INNOVATION
Mirjam Eckert, Chief Publishing Officer, Frontiers Media SA
Science for All: Empowering Society With Knowledge
How artificial intelligence is transforming the dissemination of research advances
Evgeny Morozov, writer and founder, The Syllabus
Less Artificial, More Intelligent: Towards Democratically Meaningful AI
As artificial intelligence raises concerns over automated warfare, discrimination, and technological unemployment, how could we amplify the truly emancipatory promises of this technology?
Pierre Barreau, Co-founder and CEO, Aiva Technologies
Computing Symphonies. Or: The Beethoven That Never Dies
How artificial intelligence composes personalized music for any moment in life
17.00
Networking drinks
Information
Date
5 July 2022
Language
English
Changes to the programme
The programme is subject to change. If an event does not take place, fees will be refunded. Further claims are ruled out.
Cancellation
If you are unable to attend, please let us have your cancellation in writing. The fee will be reimbursed on cancellation thirty or more days before the event. After this term and until five full working days prior to the event we will charge 75% of the fee. In the event of later cancellations we will charge the full participation fee. Substitute participants are welcome.
Hotel reservation
To benefit from special rates, please use the following email adresses and refer to the following code: AI Innovation
Hotel Sedartis, Thalwil: info@sedartis.ch
Hotel Belvoir, Rüschlikon: info@hotel-belvoir.ch
Hotel Alex Lake Zürich, Thalwil: reservations@alexlakezurich.com
Transport
From Zurich Airport
You can reach the GDI and partner hotels by taxi in around 45 minutes. The cost is approximately CHF 100, depending on traffic. Alternatively, the train is a fast and easy way of reaching Zurich and Thalwil train station.
From Thalwil station
There will be a free shuttle bus service between the GDI and the Hotel Sedartis Thalwil / Thalwil train station. The bus will be waiting on the side of the station facing the lake. Our staff will welcome you on the spot.
Hotel Belvoir is within walking distance of the GDI.
Luggage
You are welcome to leave your luggage in the GDI cloakroom.
Parking
For directions please see our website Directions The car park is a five minute walk from the GDI and located on Zürcherstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon. You will receive a ticket from the GDI to exit the car park free of charge.
Venue
Fees
Participation fee: CHF 1200 (from 31 May 2022)
20 % early bird discount until 3 June 2022: CHF 960
Start-up price: CHF 500 (code on request)
The conference fee includes all food and beverages. Participants registering less than two weeks before the event can pay by credit card only.
Participants' list
Die Participants' list wird eine Woche vor Veranstaltung veröffentlicht (Passwort erforderlich).
Documentation
Please see a picture gallery of the event here.
Videos and presentations of the conference are available in the password protected area.
About the Conference
The conference, organized by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI), the Swiss Re Institute and IBM Research, will gather networks of artificial intelligence research and practice with thought leaders and decision makers from society, business and government.
Previous Conferences
Location
GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
8803 Rüschlikon
Switzerland