Machine Learning Toronto (MLTO) - August 2025
Agenda
6:00-6:30 PM Arrivals and Networking
6:30-7:00 PM Tech Talk #1
7:00-7:30 PM Tech Talk #2
7:30-8:30 PM Networking & Wrap-up
8:30 PM Tear-down and Departures
Talk #1 - Mario Vasilescu, Founding Partner @ ThinkingThrough.ai - The Missing First Principles of the AI Wave : How to Avoid an AI Bubble
In the recent weeks, talk of an AI bubble has significantly intensified. In this timely session Mario will dig into the first principles of AI that are largely missing in in the AI adoption wave, and how they fit into the elements of a viable AI industry. He will discuss the corresponding fundamental vulnerabilities facing the industry, which all play into a bubble environment, and also represent the main pressure points that should be addressed.
This session is intended to be a pragmatic, grounded playbook for how we can help ensure the AI wave keeps rolling in a sustainable way, instead of crashing. At the end of this session, Mario will also provide a brief preview of ThinkingThroughAI, which is an effort to address AI first principles with AI and learning leaders from Stanford, Microsoft, IBM, UNESCO, Mercer, and more.
Talk #2 - Myles Harrison, Company Principal @ PRAKTIKAI - Agents in 2025: Promises, Potential, Realities
AI agents are no longer just prototypes and pilots - they’re becoming deployed at enterprises large and small as we envision the future of work and technology. But between all the bold promises and hype, what’s actually possible today, and is it driving business value?
In this talk, we’ll start by defining what AI agents really are and unpacking the foundational concepts behind them. While the Big 5 consulting firms are publishing bold forecasts, the real story lies in how organizations can turn these ideas into practical outcomes that drive business value.
Finally, we’ll look at the state of agents right now, highlight the opportunities that matter most for businesses, and close with PRAKTIKAI’s perspective on how to approach adoption in a way that creates lasting value into 2026 and beyond.
About the Speakers
Mario Vasilescu is CEO & Co-Founder of Readocracy, an AI-driven platform that is like a Fitbit for your mind, backed by the first investors in Twitter, Medium, and HuggingFace, and Founding Partner at ThinkingThrough.AI. He is a robotics engineer turned designer, speaker, and founder around the future of technology and society. Mario is a member of XPRIZE's Learning & Society Brain Trust, an Exponential Technology Senior Fellow at World in 2050, and a Salzburg Global Fellow. Prior to entering the world of startups, he led digital innovation projects and digital literacy campaigns for national organizations in Canada and France, including one of the world’s top future-of-work think tanks.
Myles Harrison is a data scientist and consultant, and the Company Principal of PRAKTIKAI. His consulting experience in data & AI stem from a history in top-tier agencies and firms such as Publicis Sapient, PwC, and Accenture working across many disparate client verticals. From 2019 to 2023, he was the head of data science at Brainstation, where he led a global team of data scientists developing and delivering an accelerated machine learning curriculum. Myles speaks regularly at industry events, runs a the Canadian networking group Data Drinks, and is an organizer of Machine Learning Toronto.
Many thanks to our supporters and sponsors!
We'd also like to acknowledge our venue partners for generously providing their amazing space for the event, and Trajectory Labs and PRAKTIKAI for making the event happen.
Speak or Support MLTO!
We are constantly looking for new speakers and sponsors to share their knowledge and help build the AI community in the GTA! If you are interested please get in touch directly or apply via one of the links below:
Speaker Application Form: mlto.ca/speak
Sponsor Inquiry Form: mlto.ca/sponsor
Volunteer Application Form: mlto.ca/volunteer