I’m at We Robot 2023! It’s a true delight to see so many old friends, but quite weird to go somewhere not just out of the house but in another city. And it’s even weirder to be in a room with so many people that is not in a hospital. I’m also one of only a handful wearing a mask.
We Robot is a workshop-style event, and many of the papers are in progress, which I find much more fun than a diet of fully baked papers where audience comments are too late to have an influence. We Robot tends more to conversation (and the audience comments/questions are usally terrific). Also, the norm is that people read papers in advance, and the authors do not present — we go straight to the discussant and then Q&A. Good times.
I am still immunocompromised, but my doctors said it was OK to go, so long as I was “careful”. So here I am. We’ll see if there are aftereffects.
We were all so happy to see you!