Looking back at the moments that shaped the first six months of C4AI

Cohere For AI launched in June of this year as a non-profit research lab and community dedicated to contributing fundamental research in machine learning. The vision for the lab was simple but ambitious: change how, where, and by whom research is done. Since that launch, the C4AI team has been hard at work publishing and promoting fundamental ML research, growing our community, and creating programs designed to provide more entry points into ML research. Now that it's the end of the year, we think it's a good time to pause and reflect on everything we've done so far. Here's a look back at the highlights from the first six months at Cohere For AI!

Exploring the Unknown, Together

The field of machine learning moves fast, and the research published by Cohere For AI and Cohere technical staff is contributing to that momentum. Led by the work of Sara Hooker, Head of Cohere For AI, our lab has published a range of cutting-edge ML research papers, including metadata archeology, NLP efficiencies, and compression on multilingual models. This research is the result of collaborations across 20+ institutions and organizations, including the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, University College London, Cambridge University, and Google Research, to name a few!

2022 also saw Cohere For AI join Cohere’s technical staff in presenting research at several major ML conferences, including NAACL, ICML, Deep Learning Indaba, RIIAA, NeurIPS, and EMNLP. Presenting keynote addresses at Deep Learning Indaba and RIIAA and organizing the Broadening Research Collaborations workshop at NeurIPS were particularly special moments to share the values of expanding research access and inclusion at the heart of our lab. We’re proud to have contributed fundamental research that advances the field of machine learning and fosters the collaborations vital to ensuring responsible innovation.

A key part of Cohere For AI’s commitment to solving complex machine learning problems is providing more entry points for talented people to participate in research. We launched the Cohere For AI Scholars Program this September to help close the gap between research experience and opportunity. The Scholars Program is designed to provide an open and supportive research environment that doesn’t insist on a particular degree or publication history to participate. We were humbled and excited by our Scholars Program applicants and can’t wait to welcome our first cohort in January!

Growing a Global Community

The C4AI Community launched alongside Cohere For AI as a space for anyone interested in machine learning—from lifelong learners to seasoned engineers and all points in between—to connect and collaborate. In the span of six short months, the C4AI Community has grown to include over 800 members from 90+ countries around the world. Even more impressive than the numbers is the spirit of generosity, creativity, and collaboration that animates our community. From reading groups to mentorship to lightning talks, community members constantly share their skills to elevate and empower their fellow members.

C4AI Community members at our first Community Social in Toronto

Sparking Conversation and Collaboration

To cap off our first six months, Cohere For AI invited some of the best ML researchers to share their experiences with our community. We were honoured to host Samy Bengio and Pablo Samuel Castro to launch our Fireside Chats series and hear more about their inspiring research journeys. To keep the sparks flying, we also hosted a series of technical talks designed to spread the word about the latest advancements in ML research and practice. We have even more exciting events planned for 2023, so sign up for our mailing list and don’t miss a moment!

What’s Next?!

We are grateful for all of your support over the last six months. Thank you for sharing our work, packing our events, stopping by our conference booths to say hello, and joining us as we explore the unknown, together. Apply to join our community and follow our journey on Twitter and LinkedIn today.

Onwards to 2023 with more collaboration, more creativity, more events, and more innovation!

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