2020 AI and ML Conferences That Have Moved Online

The global COVID-19 pandemic means that many of this year's artificial intelligence and machine learning conferences won’t happen in person as planned.

However, several have already announced that instead of canceling their conferences, they are making them virtual, and it’s expected that many others will make a similar move in the coming months. This mirrors decisions being made in other tech communities, as people find ways to discuss research and share recent developments even if they can’t do it in person.

Continuing these conferences is of particular importance for AI and ML companies and researchers, for a few reasons.

For one, there is motivation to continue the rapid growth of the field in the enterprise space, where companies have devoted increasing amounts of energy (and money) to artificial intelligence solutions. Taking six months or a year off from the conference circuit could hamper innovation and slow progress.

Many organizations are using automation to continue their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is increased interest in robotics, for example, or in solutions like chatbots and software robots. With so many real-world examples of the value of AI and ML to point to, it’s important to share what is and is not working — even if that sharing can’t be in person.

Here is a list of upcoming AI and ML conferences that will be held online in 2020. Prices are in American dollars unless otherwise noted.

Applied AI Virtual Summit | May 21 (Cost: $199)

This daylong Re-Work event includes 20 speakers sharing real-world AI applications and case studies, with a specific focus on the use of artificial intelligence in the enterprise.

Intelligent Health Inspired | May 25-27 (Cost: $94.99)

Billed as the world’s largest global online summit dedicated to AI in medicine, Intelligent Health Inspired is placing a particular focus this year on COVID-19.

ICRA 2020 | May 31-Aug. 31 | (Cost: €100 for IEEE members, €150 for non-members)

Extended over a three-month period and held virtually, this robotics conference will make sessions available both live and on demand. Every afternoon from June 1-15, plenaries and keynotes will be held and followed by Q&A sessions.

2020 ACM SIGMOD/PODS | June 14-19 (Cost: Free for participants, $100+ for authors)

With a focus on databases, this online forum originally planned for Portland includes several associated workshops and a student research competition.

CVPR 2020 | June 14-19 (Cost: $325 for IEEE/CVF members, $500 for non-members)

This annual computer vision event includes workshops and short courses, and is popular with students and academics. The fireside chat with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and Charlie Bell, a senior vice president at Amazon Web Services, should be a draw.

Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks | June 18-19 (Cost: from $249)

Originally set for Dubai, the eighth edition of this annual global summit will be held online. This year’s focus is on the recent research progress in AI and includes a keynote from Dr. Oualid Ali of The-Mind.ai.

World Machine Learning and Deep Learning Congress | June 18-19 (Cost: from $250)

Also originally planned for Dubai, Dr. Ali will speak at this concurrent conference, which has tracks focused on machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks, healthcare and medical sciences, robotic process automation, affective computing, VR and gaming, computer vision and big data analytics.

Collision From Home | June 23-25 (Cost: $99 until May 28)

Planned for Toronto before moving online, Collision is not strictly an AI/ML conference. However, with a wide range of speakers and sessions, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be well-represented this year.

ACL 2020 | July 5-10 (Cost: TBA)

Talks at this conference focused on computer linguistics will be pre-recorded, but several live events are planned, including Q&A sessions, mentorship and job fairs. Registration is expected to open by mid-May.

ICML 2020 | July 12-18 (Cost: TBA)

An international machine learning conference, ICML will include tutorials on July 13 and a weekend of workshops. Registration information for virtual attendees has not yet been announced.

Big Data Analysis and Data Mining | July 17-18 (Cost: from $299)

In addition to moving online, this data conference has pivoted its focus to the current pandemic, with a theme of “Knowledge discovery in databases: Step towards recovering economy after the pandemic: COVID-19.”

CLNLP 2020 | July 20-22 (Cost: from $260)

Focused on computational linguistics and natural language processing, this conference, originally planned to take place in Seoul, South Korea, includes researchers presenting their latest studies in the field. Further details will be announced soon.

CFAIS 2020 | July 20-22 (Cost: from $260)

Co-located with CLNLP 2020, CFAIS was also planned for Seoul and will now be held virtually. Focused on artificial intelligence and statistics, the reimagined conference will include speakers, presentations and networking opportunities.

CogSci 2020 | July 29-Aug. 1 (Cost: TBA)

Although the meeting has moved online, all planned keynote talks and invited speakers are still set to participate in this year’s meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, which will be streamed in real time. Registration is expected to open soon.

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence | Aug. 10-11 (Cost: from $349)

Focused this year on the improvement of robots via AI, early bird registration for this virtual conference is now available. Areas of focus include industrial applications of robotics, artificial intelligence and neural networks.

IDEAS 2020 | Aug. 12-18 (Cost: TBA)

Planned to be held online via video conferencing, this conference is focused on data engineering and covers topics including big data applications, data analytics and business applications.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data | Aug. 17-18 (Cost: from $99)

In just its third year, this conference with a wide focus has moved online for 2020. There are 25 tracks covered, including natural language processing, intelligent automation and robots in industry.

EMNLP 2020 | Nov. 16-20 (Cost: TBA)

Focused on the growing field of natural language processing, this conference has officially moved fully online but further details have not been released yet.

The list of 2020 machine learning and artificial intelligence conferences moving online will be updated as more announcements are made.