Interview: Triin Mahlakõiv
Who are you, and what do you do?
I am the co-founder of North Star AI, an organization that aims to solve the AI talent shortage in Europe by enhancing collaboration between Machine learning and Data practitioners, and sharing the practices of applying Machine Learning to business problems. I’m also leading the marketing and communication at cybersecurity startup RangeForce.
As a business professional, I have 10 years of domain expertise across mobile & web technology startups. My career has taken me from starting business and product development as an early employee to co-founding organizations and building early-stage teams. I am deeply interested in the product-centric perspective of machine learning and data science, with its ability to personalize user experiences and allowing businesses to make smarter decisions. As a keen supporter of startups, I advise startups on customer discovery and development, fundraising, partnerships, community growth.
What will you be talking about at the conference in Canada?
In his book "AI Superpowers" technologist Kai-Fu Lee argues that “Much of the difficult but abstract work of AI research has been done, and it’s now time for entrepreneurs to roll up their sleeves and get down to the dirty work of turning algorithms into sustainable businesses.” This is exactly what Estonia plans to achieve - take the position as the leading country to apply AI technology to various business problems. I will talk about Estonia's position as one of the AI technology implementors in EU, discuss unique challenges and opportunities that AI startups have and bring some examples of Estonian AI companies that are riding on the implementation wave right now.
Why do you think Estonia is such a leader in technology?
Estonia has become a world leader in technology due to its public-private partnerships and a deep focus on digitalizing all governmental processes. Estonia has been looking for ways how to attract international talent and investments; and on the other hand, its small size with limited resources requires the public administration and government to work efficiently.
According to the mapping of Europe’s AI ecosystem four countries stand out as dominant players in driving Europe’s AI ecosystem — UK, France, Germany and Spain — and are known to have the most vibrant and mature AI landscapes in Europe. Estonia as well has excellent prerequisites for benefiting from the application of artificial intelligence and is becoming an influential AI player in Europe. Whereas EU leaders of AI applications are home to 67% of AI startups, Estonia with other Nordic and Baltic countries shows density dynamism i.e high number of startups per population size.
Compared to dominant players and other governments working on their AI strategies, Estonia sees its strength as an AI implementation leader for startups and AI applications.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in getting into this field?
I would start by understanding the different roles and jobs of data science and machine learning, what are their differences and prerequisites to excel in each of these roles. Talking to as many data professionals will help to learn more about the world of AI. Before you sign up for any long-term course, you can start learning the basics of Data Science, Machine Learning or Autonomous Cars and go deeper from there. You can familiarise yourself with the theory and get first hands-on practice from online courses on Coursera or Codeacademy.
What excites you about coming to Canada?
I am yet to visit Canada but I have heard great words about its diversity, its mix of old and new, you can experience the vibes of metropolitan city and yet be so close to the wilderness of nature. I plan to experience both, the diversity of cultures and the impressive Niagara Falls. Of course, most of all I am excited to learn what Canada has done right to earn a reputation as a global leader in the artificial intelligence community.