We were invited to attend the World Summit AI. I truly wonder why creative events have no creativity when it comes to the actual event part?

So this week we were invited to attend the World Summit AI event in Montreal. In my mind, such an event that charges over 1000$ per ticket should have some sort of WOW factor. Perhaps I have been spoiled by attending events such as the first couple years of C2-MTL, E3 in LA and several shows like the CES in Las Vegas but I feel that lots of times when it comes to corporate events, conferences and trade shows the event part is just not a priority. When this happens in my city which is renowned for it's creativity festivals and events it makes me sad to see international attendees leave Montreal disappointed or simply unimpressed by the experience.

Montreal is home to some of the world's most creative events specialists and companies such as Cavalia, Cirque du Soleil, Moment Factory, Diner en Blanc and many other smaller ones that are as talented yet not as renowned internationally. So why do the majority of these massive events and conferences that come to Montreal choose not to leverage that creative potential and talent to make their event stand out?

Sure I understand that a tech conference like the World Summit AI is primarily judged on its merits from a content and guest speaker perspective but why not also make it a touch more interactive or entertaining? The majority of attendees are data scientists, software engineers, VC's, and other such profiles that are not known for their social skills. Why not take the time and set up the event in a way that provokes and favors networking, exchange of ideas, and creation of new connections and opportunities?

I got to give the event its dues and sure the speakers were good and there was lots of pertinent information available but accessing it was not easy or ergonomic. The website was not user friendly and the event's content was hard to access and understand. The program was confusing and not ergonomic at all.

When we got to the venue the doors were locked and there were police all around blocking all access points. There were no indications on how to enter the building and we had to run around to finally figure out that we could cross the street and use an underground tunnel to access the actual venue. No indications, staff, or even posters were set up to show how to get the actual event space. You only have one chance to make a good first impression and this was definitely not a great start to the day.

The welcome desks were understaffed and there was an angry mob of protestors making a ruckus right next to the event entrance so not only was it long to get the badges and access but it was also absolutely impossible to get any kind of additional information and no floor plan, program or any information was given. Here is your badge now go and figure it out by yourself.

We finally made it inside just around lunchtime and were greeted by a plastic box with a dry sandwich a tiny salad and a can of soda. Not what I would expect from a city with an incredible variety of chefs and restaurants. Why not make an effort and offer people a bit of a local gastronomic experience? Perhaps service local soda options and educate the attendees on local products. Make it fresh, make it fun, make it different.

Now the positive parts: There was a great team atelier organised by a Quebec-based company called Zetane. They hosted teams of 6-8 people who had to collaborate in order to solve a puzzle as a team effort, This type of activity was absolutely brilliant in my opinion as it forces people who might not be very social to actually collaborate towards a common objective. In my experience, it's the best way to get genius introverts to participate and share in a group setting. I was seated between two absolutely amasing software engineers and was very happy to meet both of them as well as the rest of our group so this activity was the highlight of my day.

There were of course tons of incredible speakers and great subject matter but the format of the event itself was sub pare and I think Montreal deserves better.

I have just received the newsletter from World Summit AI, where they say and I quote: The sixth edition of World Summit AI Americas - the only AI summit in the world in that matters - didn't disappoint.

Well, I guess that says it all, if their aim was not to impress or do great, but simply not to disappoint perhaps they sort of achieved their objective. We all had that friend in college who just wanted to get by not be the best but barely pass... I am surprised that an international caliber event would aim to simply not disappoint but hey to each his own I guess.

The majority of feedback I heard from attendees who attended several editions did majoritarely sound somewhat disappointed by this 6th edition.

Perhaps for their 7th edition, they will decide to hire some of Montreal's top event organizers and help them "impress" their attendees. I think that would be a much better goal to set than not disappoint.

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