Panel discussion: Our Future with AI

AI is everywhere!

From ChatGPT to generative AI to autonomous vehicles, Artificial Intelligence is changing the IT industry as it's revolutionizing the world around us. But how do we prepare for the coming wave of AI-enabled automation? Let's ask the experts!

In this discussion panel, we'll talk with several experts about AI and it's impact on you, your career, and our world. You'll learn what you should be doing today to prepare for the future of AI automation. In addition, you'll get the opportunity to ask your own questions to our guest panelists as well.

Topics will include:
- How should we prepare our careers for AI?
- How should we educate ourselves about AI?
- How can we use AI to solve real-world problems?
- How do we use AI responsibly and ethically?
- What will the future of AI look like?

Join us today to be a part of the most important conversation of our lifetime!

The idea behind this discussion panel is to get all of the AI/ML experts in one room and ask them everything we want to know about how AI will impact us, our careers, and our world. As an AI expert myself, I will line up the panelists and host the discussion panel.

If this talk is selected, then once the speakers are announced, I will reach out to the various AI/ML experts speaking at the conference and invite them to participate in this discussion panel.

I will host the panel and ask a pre-determined set of questions and take additional questions from the audience. However, if someone else would prefer to host, I'd be happy to join as a panelist instead and leave the hosting to someone else.

I've done similar discussion panels like this both as a host and as a participant. So I'm well versed in both the questions to ask and appropriate answers to these types of questions.

Over my career, I've taught over 400,000 software developers and IT professionals.

I've delivered over 100 keynotes, presentations, and workshops on every continent in the world (including Antarctica).

I've spoken at Microsoft Ignite, NDC, Devoxx, CodeMash, Techorama, DevSum, KCDC, VS Live, IT/Dev Connections, and more.

I'm also the president of Serenze Global, a co-organizer of AntarctiConf, and a member of the speaker-selection committee for KCDC.

For my full public-speaking credentials and speaker-demo reel, please visit my website:
https://matthewrenze.com/speaking/

The Ethics of AI

Artificial intelligence is a powerful technology that is revolutionizing our lives, our work, and our world. However, with great power comes great responsibility. Unfortunately, most of us are not yet prepared to use our new AI superpowers ethically.

In this session, we will explore the ethical implications of AI in a three-part journey through AI technologies of today, tomorrow, and the future. Along the way, we'll discuss potential problems and solutions to these new AI-created ethical dilemmas.

We'll begin with the ethical issues we face with today's AI, such as bias, lack of transparency, and surveillance capitalism. Next, we'll discuss the challenges of the next decade, including AI's impact on our labor economy, synthetic media, and human autonomy. Finally, we'll explore possibilities for the next century of AI, including artificial super intelligence, the value alignment problem, and the future of humanity.

Join us as we delve into the ethics of artificial intelligence and explore the potential challenges and benefits of this rapidly evolving technology. If you're a software developer, IT professional, or just curious about AI, you won't want to miss this thought-provoking exploration of the ethics of AI!

I'm an AI researcher, consultant, and author.

Over my career, I've taught over 500,000 software developers and IT professionals.

I've delivered over 100 keynotes, presentations, and workshops on every continent in the world (including Antarctica).

I've spoken at Microsoft Ignite, NDC, Devoxx, CodeMash, Techorama, DevSum, KCDC, VS Live, IT/Dev Connections, and more.

I'm also the president of Serenze Global, a co-organizer of AntarctiConf, and a member of the speaker-selection committee for KCDC.

For my full public-speaking credentials and speaker-demo reel, please visit my website:
https://matthewrenze.com/speaking/

Artificial General Intelligence: The Road to Human-level AI

Many experts predict that we will achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by 2030 -- or possibly much sooner. However, we as individuals, organizations, and a society are not prepared for the significant changes that AGI will entail.

In this presentation, we’ll take a journey on the road to AGI. We’ll begin with the problems of AGI we’ve already solved, like perception, learning, and attention. Then, we’ll learn about the AGI problems currently being solved today, like reasoning, multimodality, and embodiment. Finally, we’ll go beyond AGI to discuss future problems we will likely need to solve, like recursive self-improvement, artificial consciousness, and value alignment.

Along the way, we’ll explore the three biggest problems that AGI will create for our world: disinformation, unemployment, and misalignment. More importantly, we’ll discuss potential solutions to each of these three problems.

By the end of this session, you will understand what AGI is and why it’s important. You’ll know where we are today, where we’re going in the next decade, and how it will impact you, your career, and our world.

I'm an AI researcher, consultant, and author.

Over my career, I've taught over 500,000 software developers and IT professionals.

I've delivered over 100 keynotes, presentations, and workshops on every continent in the world (including Antarctica).

I've spoken at Microsoft Ignite, NDC, Devoxx, CodeMash, Techorama, DevSum, KCDC, VS Live, IT/Dev Connections, and more.

I'm also the president of Serenze Global, a co-organizer of AntarctiConf, and a member of the speaker-selection committee for KCDC.

For my full public-speaking credentials and speaker-demo reel, please visit my website:
https://matthewrenze.com/speaking/

Best Practices for AI Agents

AI agents have moved beyond being useful tools to becoming real collaboration partners. However, most of us are still learning how to work with agents through a slow process of trial and error -- rediscovering practices that others have already mastered.

In this session, we'll learn best practices for every layer of an agentic system. First, we'll start inside the agent with its model, context, memories, and skills. Then, we'll work our way out to the agent's harness, workspace, tools, and artifacts. Finally, we'll step outside the agent to cover human-agent collaboration, verification, and alignment.

By the end of this presentation, you'll have a practical set of best practices for AI agents -- and a simple mental model you can apply to any agentic system.

AI Agents: The Big Picture

AI agents are rapidly evolving from simple chatbots into multi-agent systems capable of completing entire projects on our behalf. However, most of us have not yet developed the skills necessary to work effectively with these increasingly capable agents.

In this session, we’ll learn about AI agents from a high-level perspective. First, we’ll start with a quick intro to the five types of AI agents. Then, we’ll work through five stages of skill development for working effectively with AI agents — from beginner to expert. Finally, we’ll end with a discussion about the future of agents, the future of work, and how to prepare for it today.

By the end of this presentation, you’ll understand what AI agents are, how to work with them effectively, and how to prepare for what comes next in AI.

Outline:
1. Introduction
2. Intro to Agents
- What are agents?
- How agents work
- The five types of agents
3. The Five Stages
- Communicate in steps with an AI assistant
- Collaborate on tasks with an AI co-agent
- Supervise processes with agentic workflows
- Manage projects with an autonomous agent
- Lead a mission with an autonomous agency
4. The Future
- The future of agents
- The future of work
- Getting started
5. Conclusion