The 2nd Workshop on Future of Machine Learning in Geotechnics and the 5th Machine Learning in Geotechnics Dialogue (2FOMLIG & 5MLIGD) was held in Chengdu from October 11 to 13.

The Workshop was hosted by Southwest Jiaotong University in collaboration with Chengdu University of Technology, and organized by the School of Smart City and Transportation and the School of Urban Rail Transportation. President Yan Xuedong attended the opening ceremony and delivered a welcome speech. Attendees included CAE Academician Zhu Hehua, He Chuan, CAE Academician and Vice President of SWJTU, and Kok-Kwang Phoon, member of both the Singapore National Academy of Engineering and the Singapore National Academy of Sciences, and President of Singapore University of Technology and Design. Vice President Wang Ping presided over the opening ceremony.

The Workshop attracted nearly 300 experts, scholars, researchers, and industry practitioners from around the globe to delve into the prospects of deep integration between machine learning and engineering fields such as geotechnical and geological engineering in the digital era.

Eight renowned experts from home and abroad delivered keynote speeches at the Workshop, engaging the participants in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge topics including digital twins for underground spaces, intelligent tunnel construction, AI-enabled landslide risk assessment, and smart construction of large airports in complex and challenging mountainous regions.

During the event, the international journal Geodata and AI by Elsevier was officially launched, and an initiative was announced for the establishment of the FOMLIG Council, the International Forum on Machine Learning in Geotechnical Engineering. Professor Kok-Kwang Phoon will serve as the Council's Chairman, while Professor Cao Zijun from the university will act as Vice Chairman.

A series of distinctive academic activities related to machine learning in geotechnical engineering were held in the Workshop, encompassing Machine Learning in Geotechnics Dialogue (MLIGD), the ISSMGE TC304/TC309 Student Contest on Data Analysis in Geotechnical Engineering, the inaugural "Hackathon" in Geotechnical Engineering focusing on the application potential of Large Language Models (LLM), the Youth Forum on MLIGD, a short course on reliability in geotechnical engineering, and 12 specialized sub-forums.

The 2nd FOMLIG & 5th MLIGD provided invaluable opportunities of exchange for experts and scholars worldwide dedicated to machine learning in geotechnical, geological and tunnel engineering, fostering interdisciplinary academic communication and leading the frontier and forward-thinking innovative research in machine learning for geotechnical engineering.