Report from AISTATS 2026 in Morocco

Thanks to the Wallinska travel scholarship, I had the opportunity to attend the 29th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS 2026) in Morocco.

During the conference, I presented a poster entitled Iterative Feature Selection and Unsupervised Learning for High-Dimensional Complex Data. The poster session provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the methodology and results with researchers working in machine learning, statistics, and data science. The discussions were both stimulating and constructive, and the feedback I received offered several new perspectives on potential extensions of the work. Presenting my research to an international audience was a valuable experience that strengthened both my communication skills and my understanding of the broader research landscape.

One of the most striking impressions from the conference was the growing influence of generative artificial intelligence on statistical research. Large language models and diffusion models featured prominently across keynote lectures and technical sessions. What I found particularly interesting was how many recent advances rely on concepts that are deeply rooted in statistics, including probabilistic modeling, stochastic processes, and inference. The conference demonstrated that modern AI development and statistical methodology are becoming increasingly interconnected, creating exciting opportunities for future research.

In addition to the scientific program, AISTATS offered numerous opportunities for networking and intellectual exchange. Conversations with fellow PhD students, academic researchers, and industry practitioners exposed me to new research directions and methodological ideas. These interactions broadened my perspective on current challenges in the field and helped me establish professional contacts that may lead to future collaborations.

Overall, attending AISTATS 2026 was an exceptionally rewarding experience. Presenting my own research, learning about the latest developments in artificial intelligence and statistics, and engaging with the international research community all contributed significantly to my professional development. I am sincerely grateful to Svenska statistikfrämjandet and the Wallinska travel scholarship for making this participation possible. I hope to bring some of the ideas and insights gained at the conference back to the Swedish statistical community and to my future research activities.

Chen Ma