Between MACH and Magic: Max Welling shares his personal journey, motivation and outlook on the future of AI.

In this episode we welcome Max Welling, a heavy weight in the Machine Learning world. A rundown of Max’s career reveals a diverse path – from a Chair in Machine Learning at the University of Amsterdam to a Scientist at Microsoft Research AI4Science. He’s been a fellow at CIFAR and ELLIS, served as VP at Qualcomm Technologies, and held academic roles at UC Irvine. Contributions like being an editor at IEEE TPAMI, Neurips advisory board member, and program chair at AISTATS and ECCV earned him accolades, including the ECCV Koenderink Prize in 2010 and the ICML Test of Time award in 2021.

In our talk with Prof. Dr. Max Welling, we explored his journey from physics to AI, highlighting the power of intuition in scientific discovery. Max emphasized intuitive problem-solving, a lesson from his mentors, and discussed overcoming setbacks, like his unfulfilled dream of becoming a fighter pilot. He reflected on balancing academic freedom with impactful corporate execution, sharing insights from his experiences at Microsoft and in academia. Max also stressed AI’s potential in addressing global challenges like climate change. For more on Max’s views on AI trends and innovation, listen to the full episode.