AI and the Brain

Deep Learning in the Brain28 February 2019
Organiser [ Cape Town Intelligent Systems Meetup ]
Computational Neuroscience: The Brain-Computer Science Interface27 August 2018
Invited speaker [ Maties Machine Learning ]
Computational neuroscience: Thinking about thinking04 December 2017
Invited speaker during AI and Data Science [ AIMS ]

Artificial Assistants

The art of artificial assistants: Bots for business and conversations10 September 2018
Invited speaker during Innovation Track [ AI Expo Africa ]
Artificial Assistants: How can I help you?06 April 2018
Organiser and speaker during NLP Track [ Deep Learning Indaba𝕏 South Africa ]
A conversation about (modern) chatbots22 September 2017
Invited speaker, panellist, and trainer during Executive Machine Learning [conference]
Conversational systems: Beyond the interface17 September 2017
Invited speaker during Deep Learning and its Applications [ MIIA ]
AI-Based Approaches To Building Chatbots and Virtual Assistants16 August 2017
Invited speaker during Data Science Applications to help businesses thrive in the Smart Technology Era [ MIIA ]

Computer Vision

Improving computer vision algorithms using neuroscience principles06 September 2019
Invited speaker (50 min) during Innovation Track [ AI Expo Africa ]
Brain – Computer Vision Interface: I see what you did there28 February 2019
Invited speaker [Aerobotics Computer Vision Journal Club]

Ethics of Intelligence

Africa in AI: opening panel discussion15 April 2019
Keynote panel moderator [ Deep Learning Indaba𝕏 South Africa ]
Augmented Intelligence: challenges and opportunities for AI in the workplace19 November 2018
Organiser [ Cape Town Intelligent Systems Meetup ]
Understanding a black box30 August 2018
Organiser and speaker during Data Quality [ Cape Town Intelligent Systems Meetup ]
AI: Implications and impact27 March 2018
Organiser and panel moderator [Cape Town City.AI]
Technological limits in AI and the brain23 August 2017
Organiser and speaker during The Limits of Intelligence [ Cape Town Intelligent Systems Meetup ]

More AI

The ABCs of AI - defining artificial intelligence05 March 2019
Panellist [ Africa Tech Week ]

Neuroscience

Depolarising inhibition underpins a network model of status epilepticus30 September 2020
Poster presentation during [Bernstein Conference]
Investigating chloride dynamics in neurological processing and epilepsy using computational methods05 August 2019
Invited speaker [Neuroscience Education and Research Discussions]
Executive Neuroscience: Leadership for the Brain11 July 2018
Invited speaker [Golden Key Leadership Summit]
Chloride dynamics alter the input-output properties of neurons 02 March 2018
Poster presentation [ COSYNE ]
Computational neuroscience: The brain on AI11 September 2017
Poster presentation [ Deep Learning Indaba ]
Computational Neuroscience in 6 minutes01 July 2017
Flash talk during Public science forum [Pecha Kucha]
Why computational neuroscience?28 May 2017
Organiser & speaker during Computational Neuroscience: What is it and why should I care? [ Cortex Club ]
Vinpocetine’s effects on memory in early ethanol exposed Sprague-Dawley rats27 March 2015
Poster presentation [Society of Neuroscientists of Africa]

Event Organiser

I have hosted, organised, and facilitated events through Cape Town Intelligent Systems meetup group, Cape Town City.AI, Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa, University of Cape Town, and others.

Speaker Rider

Before I'll agree to speaking at a conference, meetup, or event, I research to make sure that it aligns with my goals of inclusion and diversity in the tech community.

I love speaking at events, and am so grateful to organisers who ask me to participate! I feel so privileged to be considered, and want to use that privilege to help the tech community be as inclusive as possible, where everyone can feel represented.

If I say no to your event (even if you do all of the below), please don't take it personally! Because I speak often, it's likely because I have a conflict, or I need to back off because I speak too much.

Anyway, onwards:

Hosting accommodations

Speaker honorarium

  • I ask for a speaker fee because I value my time (and hope you do too), I often have to take time off of work or projects to travel and attend, and because I want to normalize people getting paid for their work (especially underrepresented groups).
  • For non-profit events, I may choose to waive this based on ticket pricing, scholarship programs, etc.
  • I'm not putting a number here because it varies depending on the event. Please don't make it awkward and be like "uh, we don't normally pay speakers, but you get exposure," because I can't pay my bills with exposure. I understand that some events don't have budget to pay speakers, and I'll address this on a case-by-case basis (but also, you should have budget to pay your speakers).

Travel

  • I ask that travel to and from the event is provided (assuming it is not local, I'm currently based in Vienna).
  • I ask that if I'm booking my own travel/lodging, that I be reimbursed quickly. I've had poor experiences with this in the past, and this also provides a more inclusive model for those who can't front the cost of travel.

Lodging

  • I ask that lodging is provided for the full length of the event, unless the event is local!
  • For events outside of Europe, I ask for at least one full day of lodging before the event since I'll likely be flying in a day or two before.
  • Same blurb as above, if I'm booking my own lodging!

Ticket

  • I ask for a ticket to the full conference as a speaker. I love participating in conferences, engaging with other attendees, and attending talks!

Logistics

Code of Conduct

  • Long story short, you gotta have one of these. And please don't make it be something like "don't be a jerk," and that's it!
  • Here's a couple great CoC examples: JSConfEu and Rust Community

No white-majority, all-men lineups

  • I feel like this is obvious, but including all voices is crucial.
  • Also, underrepresented minorities shouldn't be exclusively invited to speak about their experiences as a minority.

Recordings/Intellectual Property

  • I'm cool with being recorded, just let me know ahead of time.
  • I guarantee that everything I do is rated "PG" with no swearing or inappropriate/explicit remarks.
  • I regularly post my slides here

Virtual events

  • I personally prefer live talks rather than pre-recording videos. Pre-recording involves a lot of editing time because of the nature of the medium. If you highly prefer pre-recording, please consider the time commitment with speaker honorariums, or have an editor on your team who can do those edits.

Bonus points I would love to see

  • Live captioning is incredibly beneficial to those who are hard of hearing, struggle with focus, or prefer to process written information.
  • Gender pronoun identification provided by some method for attendees to self-identify if they so choose is awesome.
  • A scholarship program for those who can't otherwise afford to attend is huge!
  • The ability to use my own computer/setup is preferred.

Final thoughts

Thank you so much for reading through all of this! I hope none of it is particularly surprising, and that it's reasonable for you. I want to speak at events that are inclusive, diverse, and accessible to everyone, and hope to contribute to the community surrounding them. If you disagree with parts of this, or want to discuss terms more, I am all ears and would love to speak further.

I hope this was helpful, and I hope you'll keep me updated on what you think of my talk!

forked from https://github.com/cassidoo/talks/blob/master/speaker-rider.md

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