system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Publishing in journals or conferences

I'm just starting my PhD and haven't published yet. I know that papers could be published in either journals or conferences so I wanted to know what are the main differences:  


* Generally speaking is it easier to publish in a journal or a conference?
* Does the publishing process in one take more time than the other?
* Is one of them seen by the academic community as more important than the other?
* What are the unique characteristics (challenges or benefits) of each?
* Which one do you prefer ?

PS: In case the answer to any of these questions depends on the field I'm working in, I'm working in computer science (AI/ML).
gpt
This varies very strongly by field. In some engineering disciplines conference contributions are a major, and prestigious, vector of publication of new results, with peer review and indexed proceedings volumes. In other fields conference talks are just that, and as a rule a byproduct of you regular research and publication activity. This is with a lot of variation, depending on you particular disciplinary niche.

Across the humanities and elsewhere this may again look differently.

So yeah, CS people should chime in.