Mako AI Days 2024 is a resounding success

It was standing room only at Mako AI Days, which took place at MakoLab’s HQ in Łódź, Poland. Our CTO, Piotr Ignaczak, inaugurated the event with a speech on the current state of AI and its growing role in business. Outlining MakoLab’s contribution to technological progress that serves business development while delivering social benefits, he set the tone for subsequent sessions and accentuated the view that artificial intelligence should go hand in hand with human expertise.

The programme for the first day of the event was filled with expert-led sessions and live demonstrations, including our presentations of the strategies MakoLab has developed for specific industries. It also afforded the participants plenty of opportunities to dig into a spectrum of AI-related topics.

Once our CTO had opened the conference, MakoLab project manager Sebastian Urbański took to the floor with a live presentation entitled “Me, myself and AI for process optimisation”. His show demonstrated how AI-based solutions can streamline complex business processes and take efficiency to a whole new level, enhancing large businesses’ money-saving capabilities.

The next highlight of the day was a case study presentation on the potential of generative AI in marketing. Given by MakoLab AI team leader Maciej Stanisławski and project manager Natalia Siwakowska, it showed how AI solutions can be created to meet consumer needs in a more engaging way through the use of an AI-powered culinary chatbot that personalises recipe suggestions while remaining within the manufacturer’s and portal owner’s brand universe.

One of the most thought-provoking segments was the panel entitled “Responsible AI”, which featured a distinguished group of ethicists, entrepreneurs and academics. Chaired by AI ethics expert and Vice-Rector for Internationalisation at the University of Łódź Professor Katarzyna De Lazari-Radek, it featured Professor Ashwin Ittoo from the University of Liège, Mirek Sopek PhD., our founder, Professor Krzysztof Pancerz, PhD, hab., a member of the AI team at MakoLab, and Professor Artur Modliński, PhD, hab., Head of the Centre for Research on Artificial Intelligence and Cybercommunication at the University of Łódź. Their animated discussion not only tackled the ethical and legal complexities of AI, noting that its development must be as responsible and transparent as it is innovative, but also shed light on critical issues that included data privacy and social responsibility.

The panel was followed by a talk from Dariusz Czuchaj, Managing Partner at Synthetic Law, who contributed to the topic of ethics and touched on legal matters relating to artificial intelligence, addressing issues of legal regulations and data privacy.

 Next up was Jhonathan Romero Fontalvo, co-founder of AQI, who made the case for using AI in real-time decision-making in motorsports, showing how artificial intelligence can improve strategy through data analysis and predictive modelling.

We were careful to create an environment of collaboration and knowledge that would give our guests plenty of opportunities for networking and discussions throughout the event. We also offered them a trip back in time with our MakoMuseum, where they could trace the company’s history through all kinds of historical objects, including marketing materials, not to mention the Macintosh computer that handled the company’s first projects.

The culmination of the first day was a dinner relished in the stunning Łódź ZOO Orientarium Aquatic Observation Tunnel, which offered a relaxed setting for our guests to continue their discussions and reflections on the day’s topics against a background of live jazz. Before the meal began, MakoLab founder Mirek Sopek thanked everyone for coming and for their lively participation in the discussions, going on to make it clear that MakoLab will continue to embrace artificial intelligence technology in its solutions, just as it has been doing for almost two decades now.

The programme for Day 2 continued to explore the intersection of AI and business strategy. MakoLab business analyst Cezary Truszczyński opened the proceedings by showcasing a customised repository chatbot integrated with a dedicated workspace for MakoLabbers. His demo showed how the chatbot can process both structured and unstructured data, allowing users to use natural language for smooth data retrieval.

Piotr Ignaczak then took to the stage again, this time to discuss future directions for AI development. His presentation on artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its implications for businesses provided a forward-looking perspective on the evolving landscape of AI technology. He emphasised that, while AGI represents a new frontier, companies should focus on structured AI strategies that align with their business objectives.

Our CTO was followed by MakoLab Consulting CEO Robert Sendacki, who addressed an often overlooked reality, namely, the high failure rate of AI projects, with success evading 80% of them as a result of a lack of infrastructure, misunderstandings and data gaps. His talk underscored how crucial a solid foundation comprising data readiness, strategic planning and technical support is to ensuring that AI projects succeed and deliver a return on investment.

There was another dimension to the event. As an exploration of advanced AI technologies, it demonstrated MakoLab’s commitment to innovation and industry advancement. This part of the programme ran over the entire two days and it covered technologies including LLMs, graph databases, genetic algorithms in logistics and practical uses of vector databases, to name but a few. 

MakoLab’s transformative impact across the automotive, finance and insurance sectors was showcased, as well. Here, we were accentuating some of our innovative digital tools, including Vehicle Lifecycle Management, Lead Management Tools and AI-powered claim management. Like all our solutions, they reflect the company’s hallmark enhancement of customer experiences, streamlining of operations and secure DevOps approach, ensuring seamless deployment.

And still there was more! Our guests also had the opportunity of exploring MakoLab’s digital transformation expertise, which underpins its smooth guidance, agile practices and secure strategies as it takes clients through every step of their journey, from the initial consultation to deployment and ongoing support.

Mako AI Days 2024 was a true testament to our company’s AI-driven technology and ability to implement it, transforming industries, driving ethical practices and optimising business performance. The collaborative spirit of the event meant that our departing guests were not only inspired by the wealth of knowledge presented to them, but also equipped with the insights and connections to integrate the innovations they had encountered into their work and drive change, leveraging the current potential of AI and shaping the future in their fields.

Translated from the Polish by Caryl Swift