AI for Commerce at Ecobee

Join us on twitter with #AIforCommerce SCHEDULE 6:00pm – Doors | Mix & Mingle 6:30pm – Opening Remarks 6:45pm – Panel Introductions 7:00pm – Panel Q & A 7:45pm – Audience Q&A 8:15pm – 9:00pm – Networking & Closing The growth of investment in Artificial Intelligence has been astronomical with companies like IBM, Microsoft and Google spending hundreds of millions of dollars to gain an edge in the development and distribution of AI. As large companies build public software and platforms such as Watson and TensorFlow other companies take those advancements and combine them with specific use cases to build compelling businesses and products. Startups and Venture Capital are also spending hundreds of millions building chatbots, personal assistants and customer service platforms leveraging recent advances in AI, machine learning and NLP. Many of these new startups come from universities such as Waterloo, UofT, McGill and the University of Montreal. Research done at these and other institutions is at the forefront of machine learning. On June 1st, join us in discussing the practical applications of Artificial Intelligence in commerce for businesses large and small. The focus will be on the current ways Artificial Intelligence is changing the way humanity transacts, online and in person. MODERATOR: Jesse Hirsh, President Metaviews Media Management Ltd. Jesse Hirsh is an futurist, internet strategist, researcher, and artist based in Toronto, Canada. He owns and operates Metaviews Media Management Ltd., which focuses on research and consulting around new media business models, cognitive computing, big data, and the strategic use of social media. He is also a co-founder of the Academy of the Impossible a peer to peer life long learning facility. PANELISTS:  Adarsha Datta, National Startup Lead & Technical Evangelist Microsoft Canada  Adarsha Datta is the National Startup Lead & Technical Evangelist at Microsoft Canada. As his title suggests – he is passionate about (and loves talking about) startups and technology, currently focusing on the cloud, machine learning, and internet of things! As an evangelist, he enables and supports developers, students and startups with Microsoft technologies and services. He considers himself an educator, a community developer and engages through consistent involvement in events/ camps/ hackathons/ conferences and other online/social channels (@AdarshaDatta) . When he is not ‘evangelizing’ – he is either in the squash court, listening to music, or getting better at cooking! Ben Newton, Director of E-commerce Ecobee Ben Newton has focused on marketing for new ventures and corporate startups for over 16 years. In addition to managing e-commerce and digital advertising for ecobee, he's worked on internal startups at iconic Canadian companies like Loblaws (eGrocer, PC Points, PC Bank), Rogers Ventures (Zoocasa & Thoora), and held a variety of consulting roles with brands such as Just-Eat. Ben's interests in AI and machine learning centre around understanding & influencing consumer behaviour and improving sales conversion. Giri Amarakone, CEO deepPiXEL Giri is a 20 year technology and startup veteran. He has held various technical/marketing roles in large companies and startups both in Toronto and Silicon Valley. He spent the last 8 years in the Valley working for NVIDIA on key AI and machine learning projects. Last year he started an innovative AI startup in Toronto which works with medium and larger companies reduce support costs and increase their engagements. deepPiXEL is now part of the Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab at UofT, and is currently headquartered out of IBM's downtown Innovation space. Sponsors/Organizers ​ ​​