Samsung Electronics Opens Samsung AI Forum 2023, Showcasing Key Advancements in AI and Computer Engineering

Event serves as a platform to share research achievements that will result in enhancements to Samsung’s advanced semiconductor technology

Samsung Electronics today opened the Samsung AI Forum, at which it shared the latest research achievements in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer engineering (CE), contributing to enhancing the company’s next-generation semiconductor technology.

With over 1,000 attendees — including leading academics, industry experts, researchers and students — day 1 of the seventh iteration of the Samsung AI Forum took place at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, under the theme of “large-scale AI for a better tomorrow.” A two-day forum, the first day was hosted by the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), and day 2 will be hosted on November 8 by Samsung Research at the Samsung R&D campus in Seoul, Korea.

Kye Hyun Kyung, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions (DS) Division, said in his opening remarks, “The spotlight has recently shifted toward Generative AI technology, as it provides us the potential to unlock new solutions and address long-standing challenges. But the need for in-depth research on the safety, trustworthiness and sustainability of AI is increasing at the same time.” About the event, Kyung added, “We expect this forum — where top global experts have gathered — will be a platform to discuss ways to create a brighter future through AI and semiconductor technologies.”

Safe Direction for AI Research Suggested; Future of LLM-Based Semiconductors Shared

▲ SAIF 2023 keynote speakers: (from left) Yoshua Bengio, professor at University of Montreal, Kye Hyun Kyung President and CEO of Samsung Electronics, Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent

Yoshua Bengio, expert in deep learning technology and professor at the University of Montreal, shared his latest research in a keynote presentation titled, “Towards a Safe AI Scientist System.” He introduced a safe AI machine learning algorithm that can prevent large language models (LLMs) from developing in directions not intended by developers.

Jim Keller, CEO of AI semiconductor startup Tenstorrent, introduced the open instruction set architecture (ISA) RISC-V during his session titled, “Own Your Silicon,” and emphasized that RISC-V will create new possibilities in next-generation AI through innovation in hardware structure design.

Overall, day 1 of Samsung AI Forum 2023 addressed two key topics: LLMs and the Transformation of AI for Industry, and Large-scale Computing for LLMs and Simulation. The topics covered AI and CE, respectively.

With SAIT serving as the company’s R&D hub and incubator for cutting-edge technologies, SAIT researchers shared their visions on how the future of semiconductor development and manufacturing will change by integrating AI into all areas of semiconductors, and explored the possibilities of future computing in semiconductor processing, including large simulation accelerated by machine learning.

Accolades Presented to Exceptional Researchers and Students

During the forum, Samsung also hosted a ceremony to announce the winners of the Samsung AI Researcher Award and the Samsung AI/CE Challenge. The intent of these accolades is to honor up-and-coming researchers, university students and graduates who are excelling domestically.

Samsung AI Researcher of the Year awards were presented to five AI researchers: Professor Connor Coley at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Jason Lee at Princeton University, Professor Emma Pierson at Cornell University, Professor Xiang Ren at University of Southern California, Professor Virginia Smith at Carnegie Mellon University.

Among the honorees Professor Lee is focusing on theoretical and applied research including deep learning, reinforcement learning and optimization. In particular, his work was highly praised for its contribution to the development of AI research around the world through the publication of several outstanding papers on optimization.

The honor of winning the Samsung AI/CE Challenge, with submissions from 1,481 students comprising 410 teams, went to 16 teams.

Ph.D. student Keondo Park from the Seoul National University Graduate School of Data Science, a member of the grand-prize winning team, said, “In the course of implementing our AI project directly, we were able to explore deeply about possible problems. The AI/CE challenge was a good opportunity to broaden our horizons on research.”

Furthermore, SAIT presented a poster of leading research papers as well as exhibitions of research projects in AI and CE. It also prepared networking programs for attendees to engage in the vital AI and CE ecosystems.

The official video for Samsung AI Forum 2023 will be available on the Samsung Electronics YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Samsung) from November 16th.