Azure OpenAI Service Dev Day Conference in Japan

Azure OpenAI Service Development DayConferences focused on: Azure OpenAI ServiceHeld in Tokyo, the event attracted 700 attendees, starting with a keynote session in the morning and featuring two breakout sessions, sponsor booths, a Q&A area for speakers, and a networking party in the evening. It was a day full of energy for both attendees and organizers, providing an opportunity to expand your professional network while learning about the latest updates and use cases for Azure OpenAI services.

What was remarkable about this conference was that it was not a Microsoft-led event, but rather a volunteer-led community-organized event. The event was a celebration of the many technical communities leveraging the Azure OpenAI Service, and from conception to the day of operation, planning and execution were managed by Microsoft MVPs, Microsoft regional directors, and community leaders. These people usually work in their own groups, but they came together for this event. The opening session started the event off with a clear statement: “This is a technical community event.” This created a strong sense of unity among attendees, and in the process, created a new community.

Kazuyuki Miyake Microsoft Azure MVP and Microsoft Regional DirectorAs one of the founders and co-organizers of the conference, shares the inspiration behind the event: “The inspiration for this conference was a desire to take action on the generative AI movement that has been building over the past year and a half. We wanted to provide a platform to share insights into generative AI from a developer perspective. It was also important to scale the reach of our community-driven initiative from Japan to across Asia, in line with the mission of our regional leaders at Microsoft.”

The organizing team members gathered early in the morning to hold a meeting at the event venue.

The conference featured a wide range of sessions by industry experts from innovative startups in various fields in Japan to world-renowned enterprises who are leveraging Azure OpenAI services for their businesses. Kazuyuki said, “One of the highlights of the conference was the visit by a key AI figure from Microsoft headquarters to introduce the latest roadmap. There were also interesting talks by Azure AI engineers, including several Microsoft MVPs, in the breakout sessions. In addition, major Japanese automobile manufacturers and innovative startups presented their AI use cases, which added tremendous value to the event.”

Microsoft speakers, including Marco Casalaina, corporate vice president of Azure AI products at Microsoft Corporation, who flew in from the U.S., and event organizers Shingo Yoshida (third from right) and Kazuyuki Miyake (right)

(From left) Azure MVP presenters, Tatsuro ShibamuraAnd community leader speaker, Nahoko Ushirokawa

To add more diversity to the meeting Jeon Mi-jeongKorean AI Platform MVP. Kazuyuki, who wants to provide a new perspective that cannot be found in Japan, invited her as a speaker from Korea, where the government and private sector are actively collaborating on AI initiatives, including the Seoul AI Hub mentioned in a recent blog article. Microsoft AI Tour and Community Engagement in Seoul.

When preparing a presentation for an unusual audience, Mijeong took into account the interests and trends of Japanese developers. Following Kazuyuki’s suggestion, she delivered the following: Session explaining PromptyAlthough information about the topic was limited in Japan, the audience was very enthusiastic. Reflecting on her experience at the event, she shared her thoughts: “This was my first time presenting in a foreign country, so I expected it to be different from my usual presentations in Korea. However, when I arrived at the venue and met the Japanese audience, I was surprised by their deep passion for AI and their enthusiasm to integrate this technology into their work. I was delighted to see that this passion for cutting-edge technology was shared by both Japanese and Korean developers, overcoming language barriers.”

Although it was his first time presenting at an international academic conference, Mr. Mijung gave a technical explanation in front of a large audience.

Furthermore, based on interactions with attendees during the event, there was a growing recognition of the importance of having cross-country events between countries where communication is more often in the participants’ native language than in English. “A particularly salient moment was when an audience member approached me after the session to ask me more about the practical aspects of building an LLM service in Korea. The conversation delved into several key issues, including the differences in performance between English prompts and Japanese or Korean prompts when using an English-based LLM, and how token usage can vary significantly across languages. We also discussed the challenges and benefits of using models specifically developed for each language. Through these exchanges, we realized that as non-English speakers, we share many similar concerns and experiences when working with large-scale language models. This discussion highlighted the importance of cross-country events, particularly in the area of ​​language models.”

After the session, Mijung held a Q&A session with participants in the Q&A room for the speakers.

After each participant had been motivated and improved their skills in leveraging Azure OpenAI services, the evening party began. AOAI “Connect” nightwas held. The entire event space was utilized as DJs including Microsoft Regional Directors played music. Some attendees enjoyed dancing, others participated in technology talks, and still others participated in quiz contests or enjoyed presentations during the Lightning Talk sessions. Everyone enjoyed the after-event time in their own way. The organizers led all these activities and their lively energy that made the event even more exciting was very impressive.

Microsoft Regional Director Kazuyuki Miyake and Atsushi KojimaDJ at the event.

Employees who bring Lightning Talk to life (from left): Kazuyuki Sakemi, Nagase Maki — Azure MVP of the Month for August)

250 French Kruller donuts prepared with a design very similar to the OpenAI logo

Kazuyuki summarized the conference by saying, “I was surprised that there were 700 attendees even though there was only two months to prepare. It was also interesting that Microsoft introduced unannounced features despite it being a community-driven conference. The social gathering was full of fun activities such as LT sessions and DJ performances, making it a memorable experience.”

There are many events around the world centered around generative AI, but in-person events like this one that focus on Azure OpenAI services are rare. It was a truly valuable learning opportunity. Based on this experience, Kazuyuki is hopeful for the future, as he seeks to further spread his passion for Azure AI. “We plan to build an Azure AI developer community based on the team that organized this conference. We also want to expand our community activities beyond Tokyo to other parts of Japan and Asian countries. We are committed to providing a platform where Microsoft MVPs and engineers from various regions and companies can share their insights.”

As the only international MVP presenter, Mijung shared her words of encouragement for those who want to further develop their skills in the Azure OpenAI Service and related technologies: “I believe there are many people who want to develop their skills in the Azure OpenAI Service and the broader large-scale language modeling (LLM) field, and I am one of them. This is a new and rapidly emerging field, and we are all pioneers in this field. I think the best way to excel as a pioneer is to experiment with various technologies and apply them to real-world scenarios. Hands-on experience is very important, as there is still a relative lack of documentation and resources available compared to existing technologies. Language itself presents unique challenges, such as diversity, context dependency, and subtle cultural nuances. Because of this, we cannot always rely on the experience of others. Instead, we need to create our own journey. This is a crucial part of mastering this field.”

She adds, “Plus, the pace of development in language models and related technologies is incredibly fast. Given the limited time available, it’s important to focus on what’s really important for your work. Experimenting with different technologies, keeping an eye on company blogs that showcase the best ones, attending technology events, and following thought leaders’ blogs and YouTube channels will help you quickly broaden your perspective. I hope you’ll discover the best paths to mastering cutting-edge technologies, and I look forward to exploring these advances together with like-minded minds.”

Organizing team members who supported the wonderful event until the end

*Photo courtesy of Kensuke Nakai (Cover photo: Rie Moriguchi)