Singapore Meetup: GenAI in Practice [Microsoft, Sephora]

We are thrilled to announce our second in-person Meetup in 2023! For those who attended our last Meetup in June and voted on our next topics - we heard you! This time around, we'll have leaders from Microsoft and Sephora sharing their experiences working with GenAI and LLMs! Mark your calendars for the QuantumBlack Southeast Asia Meetup, happening on Wednesday, 15 Nov 2023, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM SGT / GMT+8, at McKinsey & Company Singapore Office.

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AGENDA (SGT, GMT+8)
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Arrival and Networking
6:05 PM - 6:10 PM: Welcome & Introductions
6:10 PM – 6:30 PM: “To LangChain or not to LangChain?” by Dave Enright, Data and AI Senior Architect @ Microsoft
6:30 PM – 6:40 PM: Q&A
6:40 PM – 7:00 PM: “From Lab to Life: Lessons from Developing and Deploying Real-World LLM Applications” by Marie Stephen Leo, Head of Data @ Sephora
7:00 PM – 7:10 PM: Q&A
7:10 PM – 7:15 PM: Closing address
7:15 PM onwards: Networking with refreshment

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TOPICS:
To LangChain or not to LangChain? by Dave Enright
In this talk, we'll delve into the best patterns and practices for developing Generative AI solutions, and share lessons learned from the field.

From Lab to Life: Lessons from Developing and Deploying Real-World LLM Applications by Marie Stephen Leo
In this talk, we'll explore some complexities and nuances of taking Generative AI from a proof-of-concept stage to a fully functional customer-facing application. While building a basic LLM application can be done quickly, achieving the last mile of reliability and safety requires considerable engineering expertise. Using the case study of Sephora Beauty Bae: Sephora's Virtual Beauty Advisor powered by Generative AI, we'll share some insights and lessons learned around the challenges of real-world LLM applications.

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SPEAKERS:
Dave Enright, Data and AI Senior Architect @ Microsoft
Dave is the Data and AI lead with the Microsoft Technology Centre, and his role is a subject matter expert on digital transformation using data. He has over 20 years of technology consulting experience with Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Telstra among others.

Dave is one of the leading Microsoft subject matter experts for OpenAI in Asia Pacific, has had extensive experience with the technology dating back to 2020, and is actively helping customers in the APAC region leverage OpenAI technology to accelerate their use cases.

Marie Stephen Leo, Head of Data @ Sephora
Leo is the Head of Data at Sephora, covering SEA, Oceania, and Korean regions. With over 12 years of cross-industry experience in retail, e-commerce, public relations, and high-tech manufacturing, he has spearheaded transformative data science and engineering projects, such as real-time recommendation engines, Generative AI chatbot, and Unified Data Platforms on the cloud. Leo also regularly blogs on Medium and has achieved 'Top Writer in Artificial Intelligence' with over 900 followers.

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Sponsors:
This event is sponsored by QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey.
QuantumBlack is an advanced analytics firm operating at the intersection of strategy, technology and design to improve performance outcomes for organizations.

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