relAI Collab Accelerator Workshop

Events

e.g. Welcome Week, Retreat, DAAD Inauguration,…

The recent relAI Collab Accelerator Workshop brought together researchers to share their work, explore new ideas, and identify potential collaborations. Here's a brief overview of the event:

The day began with the participants pitching their research topic from 9:00 to 11:00, followed by a coffee break until 11:15. After the break, participants engaged in one-to-one sessions until 14:00, followed by lunch, discussion, and feedback.

Participants contributed diverse topics in the field of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Mohamed Amine Ketata discussed Generative AI for Graphs, Max Beier presented on Learning Operator of Dynamical Systems, Richard Schwank explored Robust Aggregation through the Geometric Median, and Yurou Liang delved into Differentiable Learning for Causal Discovery.

The workshop was fertile ground for generating new research ideas and possible collaborations. During the one-to-one discussions, participants identified several projects for cooperation, such as principled modifications of loss functions to enhance robustness against outlier data rows.

Participants gained new insights into their research during the event. For example, one participant discovered a probabilistic approach to their forecasting issue without relying on a model. Another learned about structure learning as it applies to tabular data, which provided a temporal interpretation of the data. One researcher was challenged about the convexity of their problem. Discussions highlighted intriguing applications of median aggregation techniques to abstract spaces, connecting concentration inequalities with uncertainty quantification.

The relAI Collab Accelerator Workshop was an enriching experience, offering a platform for researchers to connect, share insights, and pave the way for future collaborations. The feedback during this first iteration will help refine the format and make it even more engaging. We are looking forward to the next iteration!

relAI thanks Max Beier and Richard Schwank for their initiative and the organization of the event.

We are happy to invite you to the upcoming Munich AI Lecture featuring two distinguished researchers Prof. Holger Hoos from RWTH Aachen University and Prof. Franca Hoffmann from California Institute of Technology. The lecture is organized by the Chair of Mathematics of Information Processing with support by MCML.

In the first talk, “Dynamics of Strategic Agents and Algorithms as PDEs“, Prof. Hoffmann will speak about dynamics of interactions between algorithms and a population.

In the second talk, “Learning, reasoning and optimisation: Adversarial robustness of neural networks”, Prof. Hoos will discuss robustness of neural networks and its verification.

Event Details:

  • Speakers: Prof. Dr. Holger Hoos and Prof. Dr. Franca Hoffmann
  • Date and Time: December 17, 2024, 16:00 CET (16:00-17:00 talk by Prof. Hoffmann and 17:30-18:30 talk by Prof. Hoos – We will have a small break with coffee/tea and snacks in between)
  • Location: Senatssaal, LMU Munich, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, Munich 

Bio Franca Hoffmann

Franca Hoffmann obtained her master’s in mathematics from Imperial College London (UK) and holds a PhD from the Cambridge Centre for Analysis at University of Cambridge (UK). She held the position of von Kármán instructor at Caltech from 2017 to 2020, then joined University of Bonn (Germany) as Bonn Junior Professor and Quantum Leap Africa in Kigali, Rwanda (African Institute for Mathematical Sciences) as AIMS-Carnegie ResearchChair in Data Science, before arriving at the California Institute of Technology as Assistant Professor in 2022.

Bio Holger Hoos

Holger H. Hoos holds an Alexander von Humboldt professorship in AI at RWTH Aachen University (Germany), where he also leads the AI Center, as well as a professorship in machine learning at Universiteit Leiden (the Netherlands) and an adjunct professorship in computer science at the University of British Columbia (Canada). He is a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the European AI Association (EurAI), past president of the Canadian Association for Artificial Intelligence, former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR) and chair of the board of CLAIRE, an organization that seeks to strengthen European excellence in AI research and innovation (claire-ai.org).

relAI is a co-organiser of the Munich AI lectures. Find more info on these other upcoming events on the Munich AI lectures home page.

 

Save the date!

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming Munich AI Lecture featuring renowned researcher Prof. Dr. Helmut Bölcskei hosted by our relAI director Prof. Dr. Gitta Kutyniok, Bavarian AI Chair for Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence at LMU.

Deep neural networks have led to breakthrough results in numerous practical machine learning tasks. In the lecture “The Mathematical Universe behind Deep Neural Networks,” Prof. Dr. Bölcskei will take us on an exciting journey through the mathematical universe behind these practical successes, elucidating the theoretical underpinnings of deep neural networks in functional analysis, harmonic analysis, complex analysis, approximation theory, dynamical systems, Kolmogorov complexity, optimal transport, fractal geometry, mathematical logic, and automata theory.

Event Details:

 • Speaker: Prof. Dr. Helmut Bölcskei

• Date and Time: November 25th, 2024, 5.15 pm

• Location: Große Aula der LMU (Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, Room 120, 80539 München)

Helmut Bölcskei is a Professor of Mathematical Information Science at ETH Zurich and has been a Principal Investigator at the Lagrange Mathematics and Computing Research Center in Paris since 2021. After earning his degrees from Vienna University, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University and has held visiting researcher positions at many leading institutions. In addition to his academic achievements, he is also a successful entrepreneur. Professor Bölcskei has received numerous awards and prestigious fellowships and continues to serve as Editor-in Chief for some of the field's most distinguished journals.

Learn more about it here.

From 28 to 30 October, the second annual meeting of the three DAAD Zuse Schools of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, ELIZA (Darmstadt), SECAI (Dresden), und relAI (Munich) took place in Munich.

The meeting kicked off on the 28th with a work-meeting of the Zuse Schools directors and coordination teams, the chairman of the Zuse Schools Advisory Board, as well as representatives of BMBF and DAAD. The main event, which followed on the 29th, celebrated the three Zuse Schools’ second anniversary with a rich program featuring welcome speeches, academic and industry keynotes, talks by Zuse School students, and a stimulating panel discussion.

The celebration on the 29th was opened by inspiring welcome addresses from Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, TUM, Prof. Dr. Hans van Ess, Vice President for Research, LMU, Dr. Kai Sicks, DAAD Secretary General,  MinR’in Dr. Lisette Andreae, Head of Unit European Higher Education Area, Internationalization, BMBF and MinDir Dr. Rolf-Dieter Jungk, Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts (StMWK). relAI Fellow Prof. Björn Ommer delivered a brilliant keynote talk on the latest research on Generative AI. The industry keynote by Dr. Ahmed Sayed, Head of EMEA Emerging Technologies, AWS, provided an insightful overview of the industry applications of AI.  The four talks from students of the three Zuse Schools showcased the excellent research carried out by the schools. The program was rounded off with an engaging panel discussion about the topic “Reliability in times of generative AI”, featuring a diverse range of perspectives and voices.

The event concluded on the 30th with a Dialogue session, “My academic and professional future as a Zuse Schools graduate in Germany – chances and challenges” and the Advisory Board Meeting.

We are thankful to all the speakers and contributors who made the meeting a success, and to BMBF and DAAD for their support of the Zuse Schools.

Photo on the right side: DAAD / Siegfried Michael Wagner

On 30 October 2024, the relAI Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) met in Munich. Throughout the Meeting, SAB Members talked to relAI Directors and Fellows, Students, and the Management Team to gain insights into the relAI program from various perspectives within the relAI family. 

The SAB members shared their extensive experience from numerous international research projects. They advised relAI on the future directions of the program, suggesting strategies for optimizing internal structures and expanding our network.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all SAB members for their time, insights, and invaluable contributions to the relAI program.  

Meeting with relAI Directors and Fellows
Break time discussions and posters
Meeting with relAI Students

On 9 October, we had the pleasure of welcoming the new cohort of relAI students to our school.

The day began with a warm introduction from relAI directors, Gitta Kutyniok and Stephan Günnemann, followed by an informative session from our coordinators team, covering the key organizational aspects of relAI.

The students spent the afternoon getting to know each other in different games and engaging exchange activities, organized by the students representatives Ole Petersen and Johanna Topalis. We wrapped up the day with a delightful dinner, and insightful discussions.  Welcome to relAI, new members! We’re excited to have you on board!

We were thrilled to present relAI at the TUM Open House Research Campus Garching! It was a great opportunity to share our vision of reliable AI and to connect with students, researchers and the public.  

At our booth, we demonstrated how AI works through engaging games and simulations. Attendees explored how AI algorithms learn, trained their own neural networks, and dived into concepts like Simpson's Paradox and the mechanisms behind AI decision-making. 

A big thank you to our coordinators and students (Sameer Ambekar, Julian Balletshofer, Sarah Lumpp, Amine Ketata, Maria Matveev, Daniela Schkoda, Richard Schwank) representing relAI, and to everyone who visited our booth, engaged in thought-provoking conversations, and explored the possibilities of AI with us. ! 

Join us at the TUM Open House Research Campus Garching! 

We’re excited to invite you to our booth at the TUM Open House on October 3rd from 10 AM to 5 PM. Meet relAI students and coordinators at our booth, where you can experiment with building your own neural network or test your intuition against Simpson’s Paradox! You’ll find us in the Magistrale of the Mathematics & Informatics Building, right next to the info point.  

At 2:45 PM, relAI Director Stephan Günnemann will deliver a talk on "Wie Künstliche Intelligenz die Wissenschaft verändert" ("How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Science"). This presentation, in German, will take place in the Friedrich L. Bauer Lecture Hall within the Mathematics and Computer Science building. 

This Open House is a fantastic opportunity to explore other research institutes, labs, and take part in various hands-on activities throughout the day! 

For more details, including how to engage with other activities at the event, visit: 

https://forschungscampus-garching.de/  (in German) 
https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/events/open-day-garching (in English)  

We look forward to welcoming you! 

Mark your calendars for these interesting talks coming up in the next weeks!

The next talk, by Daniela Rus, is on July 15th, at 5pm at Lichtenbergstraße 2a, 85748 Garching, Auditorium (Ground floor) of Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), TUM and via zoom. She is the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT.

On Wednesday July 17th, Alexei A. Efros of University of California, Berkeley will discuss whether “We are (still?) not giving data enough credit”. The lecture takes place in cooperation with the ELLIS-Workshop on "Open Problems in Computer Vision & Generative Modelling" on the same day.

Sebastian Scherer, an Associate Research Professor at the Robotics Institute (RI) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) will present his approaches, progress, and results on multi-modal sensing on Monday, July 22nd, at TUM Garching Campus, FMI Building, Boltzmannstr. 3, Hörsaal 2 (00.04.011).

relAI is a co-organiser of the Munich AI lectures. Find more info on these other upcoming events on the Munich AI lectures home page.

We are thrilled to share the outcome of the recent (03 - 05.07) relAI retreat, which brought together more than 50 fellows and students in Miesbach. Over the course of three days, participants engaged in intriguing discussions, insightful keynotes, and a variety of activities focused on the various aspects of reliability in AI. 

Among the highlights of the event were inspiring keynote presentations. These spanned all four research areas of our school: Mathematical and Algorithmic Foundations, Medicine & Healthcare, Robotics & Interacting Systems and Algorithmic Decision-Making.

Mathias Drton “Causal Discovery and Inference” 
Solveig Vieluf “Insights into the Research of the AI-based Telemonitoring Working Group” 
Matthias Althoff “Provably Safe Reinforcement Learning through Online Verification” 
Stefan Feuerriegel “Causal ML for Predicting Treatment Outcomes”  

Students got to know each other better during the Speedgeeking and Lightning Talks sessions. The first one consisted of five minutes one to one discussions on questions relevant to relAI students. The Lightning Talks, one minute presentations of each student´s research topic, allowed for a fast though comprenhesive view of the research carried out throughout relAI.

Speedgeeking
Lightning talk
Lightning talk

A part of the retreat followed an unconference format, fostering engaging group discussions on various challenges of reliability of AI. These ranged from the lack of sufficiently large datasets in medicine and healthcare, to explainability of foundation models and the societal impacts of large language models.  
Some of the discussions focused on improving the relAI program, such as our relAI seminar, relAI blog and relAI safety hackathon. 

Group discussion
Group discussion
Group discussion
Presentations of a group discussion
Presentations of a group discussion
Presentations of a group discussion

Towards the end of the retreat, relAI Fellows celebrated the third relAI Fellows assembly, a successful meeting that tackled organizational and research issues of the school.

As relAI integrates into the Universities of Excellence, TUM and LMU, bringing together members who work and study across various parts of Munich, events like this retreat are invaluable. They strengthen the "relAI family," fostering collaboration, scientific exchange and community spirit. We are already looking forward to the next retreat! 

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to making this event a great success.