Posted at 6:00 p.m.
This analysis of tweets published during an accident or a natural disaster is the basis of an international dataset. “Since several teams from all over the world are tackling it, it allowed our participants to compare themselves in their six-week process to find their strategy,” explains Jonathan Chodjaï, CEO of Cscience Le Lab and co-creator of the web series.
The organizers formed three teams of two who had to propose a solution based on artificial intelligence programming. “Since AI is something that can be looked at in a lot of ways, we wanted people who would provide the big picture based on their educational background and life experiences,” he says.
Competitive aspect
Among the profiles selected, we find that of Ahmed Moubtahij, who felt challenged by the competitive aspect of this technical challenge. “In a school or research context, we focus on producing a prototype or demonstrating that our idea works, but that’s where it stops,” he points out.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Ahmed Moubtahij, participant in the web series AI code
In competition, you have to make your idea effective and do everything to be one step ahead of the others.
Ahmed Moubtahij, participant in the web series AI code
Was it stressful racking your brains to stand out in front of the cameras? “I expected to have apprehensions at first, but my strategy was to focus on my interlocutor and act as if it were an ordinary conversation, forgetting the external context, says Mr. Moubtahij. It helped calm my nerves. »
Besides his work partner, he regularly spoke to competition mentor Roger Vandomme. “We had weekly meetings with him to present our game plan and our progress,” he says. He gave us advice to avoid wasting our time, to confirm good ideas and to suggest things to read, without favoring one team or another. »
For the general public
Take note that the artificial intelligence specialist is light years away from a boiling reality TV host. “Roger is an extremely competent and caring person,” says Mr. Chodjaï. Above all, we didn’t want to offer an aggressive or demeaning series. »
Supported by the NovaSciences program of the Quebec Ministry of Economy and Innovation, the producers instead imagined a web series allowing the general public to familiarize themselves with the practical issues of AI applied to everyday life.
“The show not only presents the technical side of science and the mathematical equations of programming and code, it also highlights the humans who compete: their personality, their passions and their journey, explains Ahmed Moubtahij. We hope to break down stereotypes of what a programmer or someone working in AI looks like. »