2024 Schedule
Monday, May 6 • Grand Rapids, MI
At Merge 2024, delve into the practical impacts and future of AI technology across industries through nine speakers, plus additional lightning talks!
7:00am
7:30am — Registration / Check-in Opens
8:00am
8:00am — Breakfast
8:45am — Introduction and Welcome with SoftwareGR
9:00am
9:00 - 10:00am - A Journey Through Coding And The Law (60 min)
G. Thomas Williams
Explore the intersection of coding and law with G-Tom, as he shares insights from his journey from hobbyist coder to legal expert. This talk covers topics from intellectual property challenges to the impact of AI on the future legal landscape. Learn More
10:00am
10:00am — 15 Minute Break
10:15 - 11:00am - Cyborgs and Centaurs: Leveraging LLMs as Professionals (45min)
Drew Colthorp, Atomic Object
Explore how LLMs boost knowledge-work productivity through human-machine collaboration, strategic frameworks, and techniques for better performance from models like GPT-4 and Claude. Learn More
10:15 - 11:00am - Building Hardware For A Local LLM (45min)
Thad Senti, City Innovations
Discover practical AI applications, including open source LLMs, chat front-ends, and common frameworks, through an exploration of the development and use of AI servers. Learn More
11:00am
11:00am — 15 Minute Break
11:15am - 12:00pm - Business Strategy In An AI-First World (45min)
Denzil Eden
Designed for executives and managers, this presentation offers a comprehensive toolkit for simplifying AI integration in your business. Gain insights into developing AI strategies that empower teams for success. Learn More
11:15am - 12:00pm - Computer Vision / AI ML / Agriculture (45min)
Ben Jacques
Explore integrating traditional computer vision with machine learning on edge devices for real-time processing. Learn from a case study on a livestock gait analysis system, emphasizing performance and scalability. Learn More
12:00pm
12:00pm — Lunch
12:30 - 1:15pm — Lightning Talks
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1:00pm
1:15pm — 15 Minute Break
1:30 - 2:15pm - From Prompt Engineering to RAG: Navigating the Gen AI Landscape for Business Success (45min)
Bindu Narayan, PhD
Learn how to maximize Gen AI in business. Explore foundational models, business applications, and techniques like prompt engineering and RAG architecture. Learn More
1:30 - 2:15pm - Engineering Generative AI for Genomics and Healthcare (45min)
Zach DeBruine, PhD
Discover how generative AI enhances precision medicine by integrating genomics into clinical decision-making, improving diagnostics and treatment assessments. Learn More
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2:00pm
2:15pm — Ice Cream & Networking in the Lounge
3:00pm
3:00pm — 15-minute Break
3:15 - 4:15pm - Embarking on the AI Journey: Unleashing Exascale Intelligence with Expertise (45min)
Tim Triche, PhD
Delve into the dynamic synergy between domain expertise and AI, exploring cutting-edge advancements like reinforcement learning and generative compression. Discover how AI is reshaping industries, from healthcare to finance, and uncover the transformative potential of synthetic biology. Learn More
3:15 - 4:15pm - Lessons learned building generative AI products (45min)
Aaron D’amico
A soup to nuts presentation on building generative AI products. Learn key takeaways to optimise your generative AI strategy. We will discuss key insights that have gotten lost in the noise of the AI news cycle. To make these lessons actionable, code examples will be provided to implement these concepts in your own generative AI projects. Learn More
