Roundtable
Deep
learning
the second MBB
Consulting roundtable
focused on the question
of how Artificial
Intelligence could shape the future of
the exhibition industry?
Mathias Tesi Baur began by
revealing the results of a survey
he had conducted, asking event
professionals how they thought A.I.
would affect business. They agreed
that it would have a huge impact on
the industry in the coming years,
and also raised concerns about
the potential applications of the
technology.
“In some cities,” Baur told us,
“councils have installed facial
recognition tech which can learn
when citizens are behaving in
undesirable ways – such as crossing
roads at red lights, or committing
more serious crimes. Artificial
Intelligence can be used in a very
different and sometimes not positive
way, but also in a very constructive
way.
“It is up to us as an industry to
determine how we will apply this
technology.”
The point was raised that if the
conference and exhibition industries
are to take up A.I. in a meaningful
way, they will need to partner with
third party groups from outside
the industry. All venues, organisers
and third parties will need to work
in close collaboration to ensure
everyone understands why and how
the technology is used.
Baur listed some recent examples
of achievements in A.I. such as
Google’s Deepmind beating the
world’s best player of the board
game Go – chronicled in 2017
documentary AlphaGo. This was
a significant obstacle for the
technology, he says, as the number
of potential moves for any particular
turn of Go is more than the number
of atoms in the universe.
On the subject of potential
applications, Baur said: “Match-
making could be the most practical
application of A.I. at conferences and
exhibitions. Linking together two
“Match-making
could be the
most practical
application of A.I.
at an exhibition.”
like-minded people at a conference,
or matching a buyer with a seller at
an exhibition.”
He presented a case study of A.I.
being used at IBM’s World of Watson
conference, in which interactive
floor tiles were able to respond to
user questions, and guide them to
specific people or stands they wanted
to visit. The event also featured a self-
driving electric bus called Olli, which
was used to transport delegates
around the showfloor. It was able
to analyse tweets about certain
exhibitors, and lit up in various
shades of blue and red depending
on whether people were tweeting
positively or more neutrally.
We welcome any thoughts on these
topics. Email your opinion to:
[email protected]
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Issue 6 2019
21