Image courtesy of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022
SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 is thrilled to announce its keynote speaker, Luc Julia! Prior to his current role as chief scientific officer of Renault overseeing the R&D (research and development) of artificial intelligence, Luc held a couple of significant leadership positions such as: CTO and senior VP of innovation for Samsung Electronics, co-creator of Apple’s Siri, chief technologist at Hewlett-Packard, and many more. From machine learning to the history and future of artificial intelligence, participants should prepare to be inspired and wowed.
SIGGRAPH Asia sat down with Luc for a chat to get to know him beyond his incredible bio.
SIGGRAPH Asia: Give us a teaser of what you will be speaking about and sharing at SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 this December in Daegu.
Luc Julia (LJ): Despite a chaotic history and the fact that the discipline has existed since the 1950s, “artificial intelligence” made a huge comeback in the last decade. But as it stands, this “artificial intelligence” brings its share of unrealistic promises worthy of the best Hollywood films, allowing a few charlatans to make us believe that the machines could one day take power and reduce us to almost nothing. But above all, to make us run the risk of abandoning all research in this field and threatening advances in disciplines such as machine learning or deep learning, while they are still in their infancy and will still bring much more to humanity.
SIGGRAPH Asia: Given your job nature, do you use or apply AI at home?
LJ: Yes, I’ve been working on a “Smart Home” since 1999. Even though I have over 200 connected objects in my house, I can’t claim they’re very “intelligent,” but they more or less do more than what they would if they weren’t connected.
SIGGRAPH Asia: What is your greatest achievement in your career?
LJ: One of the companies I worked on in the ‘00s was called Orb. Orb was an incredible, complex collection of technologies that, for instance, allowed us to be the first able to play live television on a phone (it wasn’t a “smartphone” yet). We reached a respectable user base of about 12 million, which I guess was all the geeks on the planet then. I think it would have been the same thing with another project we worked on in the ‘90s with my friend Adam Cheyer at Stanford Research. However, it was picked up 13 years later by a visionary Steve Jobs, “Siri” has made it to more than half a billion users today.
SIGGRAPH Asia: How do you think AI will further advance or bring about challenges to the computer graphics and interactive techniques industry?
LJ: A revolution is coming up, and everybody is talking about it. It’s the metaverse. Of course, it’s going to need a lot of AI to maintain some kind of realistic renderings, not only for the world itself, but also in the way players and NPCs (non-playable characters) will behave. AI also will be needed to optimize the methods being used and limit the necessary resources.
SIGGRAPH Asia: What do you hope attendees take away from your session at SIGGRAPH Asia 2022?
LJ: I hope theyrealize that AI isn’t magic and we can do a lot with it, but that’s “just” a tool that we are responsible for.
SIGGRAPH Asia: Share a fun fact about yourself that not many are aware of.
LJ: I’m a former discus thrower.
(Editor’s note: How cool is that!)
If you are curious about the advancement of artificial intelligence and what Luc will be sharing at SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, start planning your travel to South Korea! South Korea has opened its borders and welcomes all international visitors. Pre-arrival COVID-19 tests are no longer required as of 3 September. Read more about this news here. This December is the perfect time to discover and experience Daegu and the rest of Korea while you are here. From scenic nature trails, sports adventures, and cultural experiences to dazzling marketplaces, it is going to be fun!
SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 will take place in person, 6–9 December at EXCO, Daegu. Register now and join more than 6,000 CG professionals in Daegu this December! Early bird rates end 5 November. Questions? Email us! Stay updated on the latest happenings of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 by subscribing here.
