What is the value of the AI Guild?

Be a community member or a founding member

The AI Guild brings together expert, senior, and junior practitioners in Europe and worldwide in pursuit of accelerated AI adoption by focusing on productionizing AI in relevant use and business cases. We value diversity and also the gender balance we achieve in our community activities. If this sounds interesting to you, then please read on about the members, the value the AI Guild creates, and how to become a community or founding member.

Productionizing relevant use and business cases has the following implications:

1. Establishing for any use case if the deployment of e.g. Data Science or Deep Learning is relevant, and then working in cross-functional teams (including user, tech, and business perspectives) when building a new product or supercharging an existing one.
2. Creating standards for deployment of AI and establishing best practices in industry and startups, and notably also for freelance contracts.
3. Leveraging the joint expertise and experience for co-creating an environment conducive to accelerated AI adoption and its ethical implementation across industries and governments.

Members of the AI Guild

As of October 2019, the 200+ members of the AI Guild typically are

• Data Scientists, Data Engineers, Machine Learning engineers, and Deep Learning engineers — working in startups and industry or freelancing.
• AI researchers at universities, hospitals, and in international research organizations.
• Practitioners working on the use and business case of AI in roles such as product, business, marketing, and so on.
• Startup co-founders and business executives.

theguild.ai

The AI Guild is set up to create the following benefits for key member groups such as experts and seniors, entrepreneurs and freelancers, and also for new talent.

AI experts

AI experts typically have a track record of five or more years in industry and startups, and have shipped products. Often experts are in the role of a technical lead or team lead, and possibly also in management or executive role. If you are an expert, then some of the things you can achieve with the AI Guild include

1. Launch new products faster — Tap into the combined expertise of the AI Guild to cut down technical development time while nailing the use case
2. Build better teams — If you can show the use and business case, you can draw on the AI Guild member network to build a better team for delivery
3. Have more impact — Get recognition across companies and industry for your leadership

Entrepreneurs and business executives

Startup cofounders or practitioners hired by companies to lead on AI products and services typically have an executive role, balancing the requirements of business and technology. If this is who you are, then you may look to the AI Guild for some of the following

1. Iterate new products competently — Get the support of the AI Guild on technical and business issues for a more rapid market launch
2. Productionize, maintain, repeat — Draw on the AI Guild to ensure customer traction
3. Scale your business case rapidly — Benefit from AI Guild experience and exchanges for competitive advantage

Freelancers

Freelancers typically are senior or expert AI practitioners. Some have prior experience in industry and startups. Yet, they typically work independently on a contractual basis for one or more clients. If you freelance, you may expect from the AI Guild the following

1. Better visibility with clients — The AI Guild and its network effects enhance your visibility with industry and startups, and you find new and more clients via the AI Guild
2. Benefit from the talent pool and resources to enhance projects — Benefit from the shared pool of experiences, and draw on AI Guild members for reinforcing your team, especially at peak times
3. Faster delivery — The technical and business exchange networks of the AI Guild support you with best practice and speed

Senior data scientist, data engineer, machine learner, and deep learner

A senior will typically have 3 or more years of experience, which may include experience gained in academia by deploying AI in pursuit of a PhD thesis. Also, some specialization will typically have occurred, both by role (e.g. data engineering or data science) and by domain (e.g. health or mobility). If this is you, then the AI Guild gives you the following:

1. Broaden your business expertise — Work with AI experts and executives in use-case led production and deployment scenarios
2. Become a technical leader — Take masterclasses, give masterclasses, and mentor junior talents with a focus on product building
3. Accelerate your career planning — Benefit from career coaching and community connections to get ahead

New talent

New talent typically is at the start of a career. In the field of AI much great talent is self-taught or may be graduating from bootcamps, including people switching careers to AI. Some universities and PhD programs now also help talents find their way as a practitioner. If you are a talent, then the AI Guild provides you at least with the following to support you on your path.

1. Accelerate your path to becoming an AI expert — Find a great team to launch your career via the AI Guild and get the best support from the career coaching
2. Enjoy cutting-edge training for productionizing AI — Join the AI Guild masterclasses and work with peers and mentors for a more visible contribution with impact
3. Build a sustainable practitioner network — Membership in the go-to community

Joining the AI Guild

If you would like to become a member and enjoy the benefits outlined above, then you can join as a community member, and also as a founding member. Community membership is free. Founding members invest in the AI Guild organization and have shareholding rights (a limited liability company under German law — the GmbH). Please find here a summary description of the options for joining.

Community member

All community members of the AI Guild are listed on the website with their name, role, and current affiliation. No contact details are made available via the website.

As a community members you enjoy the following:

• Professional recognition: On LinkedIn you may list the AI Guild among your professional experiences as a ‘Community Member’.
• Professional promotion: You are entitled to utilize the logo of the AI Guild and the website links in your professional work, and the AI Guild will promote your professional publications and presentations on Medium and LinkedIn.
• Members-only benefits: Exclusive networking with professional opportunities in employment, consulting, and freelance shared through closed Slack and LinkedIn communication channels.
• Members-only offerings: You have exclusive access to AI Guild events such as the community dinners, freelance gatherings, and the coaching and mentoring provided, as well as preferential access to any training (e.g. masterclass) provided by the AI Guild.

Founding member

All community members also have the opportunity to be a Founding Member of the AI Guild, starting from an investment of €500 minimum in the GmbH. You enjoy all the benefits of being a community member, and the following additional risks and opportunities associated with being a shareholder:

• On LinkedIn you may list the AI Guild among your professional experiences as a ‘Founding Member’, and you are entitled to a personal email address @theguild.ai
• Entrepreneurship: As you are investing in the company, you may choose* to contribute to e.g. exploring product-market fit, building customer relations, and iterating on the business model.
• Risk and return on investment: As you are an investor you understand that there are risks associated, e.g. if the company has to file for insolvency; and there is a possible return on investment in the form of e.g. dividends or the possibility to sell shares.

If you like to join the practitioners driving forward accelerated AI adoption, and driving it forward on their own initiative, then please join the AI Guild as a community member or a founding member here.

• N.B. ”You may choose to contribute” means that there are at least three options for those investing, i.e. a) a ‘silent’ shareholder who is investing only; b) an ‘active’ investor supporting the company, e.g. in referring customers, talent, and so on; c) an investor that works for the company, for example in the sense of being a co-founder or an early key employee.

Feedback and comment on this published version was provided especially by Dânia Meira, Sébastien Foucaud, and Marcel Ackermann.