AI Con USA 2025 - AI Transformation
Monday, June 9
Leveraging Generative AI for Software Productivity
Executive leaders across the globe have been asking a relatively simple yet profound question: Can we leverage generative AI to transform our business, enterprise, or industry? For software-based companies, focus has either been on differentiating their product and service offerings using this new technology. But how about leveraging generative AI to improve team productivity and efficiency? This may be possible but how do you measure its success? What are some of the key use cases within business analysis, development, and testing that software teams can use? Are there any pitfalls...
AI Code Generation Lifecycle
NewThis workshop explores the transformative potential of generative AI across the software development lifecycle, providing practitioners with hands-on insights into leveraging AI technologies for enhanced productivity. Participants will learn strategic approaches to translating requirements into code using large language models, demonstrating techniques for generating contextually accurate implementations with minimal manual intervention. The session will showcase a case study of an AI-assisted application that intelligently generates both backend services and user-facing displays. Further...
Tuesday, June 10
This Is Our Agent, We Make the Call
NewAgents! Finally, a term that might be even more over-hyped than AI! But what exactly are Agents, and more importantly, how do you use them? Where do Agents fit within the overall AI toolkit? What capabilities do they add, and what tasks can they help us perform? Dona and Jeremiah will help you gain a solid understanding of Agents and the fundamental components of an Agent-based AI system. You’ll learn key design principles for Agents, as well as when to leverage them and scenarios where they may not be the best choice. We'll cover how to identify business problems that are well-suited for...
AI Deep Dive: Exploring AWS Using Real-World Scenarios
Deepen your AI and machine learning expertise using AWS in an Immersive, hands-on workshop. You’ll use real-world AI challenges while leveraging AWS services like Amazon SageMaker, Bedrock, and Lambda to build and optimize AI-driven solutions. As the session unfolds, new constraints and data anomalies will emerge, mirroring the complexities of real-world AI/ML implementation. Gain insight into how AI solutions perform under evolving conditions, learning to adapt, optimize, and troubleshoot unexpected challenges. Learn the importance of collaboration, strategic thinking, problem-solving,...
Wednesday, June 11
Best Practices for Using AI for Structured Data Extraction
Structured data extraction, or data tagging, is one of the easiest and impactful applications of modern AI. Before the wide availability of pre-trained AI models, the process of “understanding” unstructured data either required constructing complex heuristic logic or investing in a machine learning team who could train models in-house. Now, cheap and powerful tagging machines are an API call away, redefining what is possible for how we can understand our data. In this talk, I'll share how we’ve used AI at Yahoo News to improve our content understanding pipelines. Yahoo was a pioneer in...
The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity
Generative AI tools hold promise to increase human productivity. In the world of software development, GitHub Copilot was one of the first practical applications of the use of generative AI to support developer productivity. However, measuring software productivity is non-trivial. For example, developer productivity gains is more than just producing code faster. If these artifacts don’t meet quality standards or themselves bring cost efficiency challenges then there may not be much overall improvement. To truly understand the benefits and challenges of AI-powered copilots requires real-...
Using GenAI to Advance Azure AIOps
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, maintaining high service quality is crucial. To achieve this, Microsoft is leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance service reliability and developer productivity. LLMs excel at understanding and reasoning over large volumes of data. They can generalize across diverse tasks and domains, making them invaluable for generating models, insights, and automating intricate tasks. By integrating LLMs and Generative AI into the complex domains of incident response and root cause analysis,...
Unlocking Agentic AI Superpowers in the Quantum Multiverse
Step into the future of AI with an immersive dive into the cutting-edge world of AI-Augmented GenAI and how it intercepts with Quantum technologies. This session explores the intersection of multi-threaded AI workflows and the powerful anomaly detection capabilities made possible by Quantum-inspired computing. Discover the latest trends in ModelOps, where agile deployment strategies for domain-specific generative AI models are accelerating innovation in industries ranging from healthcare to defense. Jonathon will uncover how GraphRAG (Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation) is...
Navigating AI Governance: Building Trust in a Regulated Future
As artificial intelligence systems increasingly influence critical decisions across industries, ensuring compliance with evolving governance and regulatory standards is both a challenge and a necessity. This presentation will explore the complexities of AI governance, focusing on balancing innovation with compliance in a rapidly changing regulatory environment. Vijay Panwar will examine real-world challenges such as bias mitigation, data privacy adherence, and ethical transparency, providing actionable strategies to design AI systems that comply with global standards like GDPR and emerging...
Operationalizing Disruptive Technologies: A Strategic Framework for Harnessing the Power of GenAI
The advent of disruptive technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence, has ushered in a new era of possibilities and challenges. This talk proposes a comprehensive framework for operationalizing disruptive technologies, specifically focusing on the transformative potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). As organizations grapple with integrating GenAI into their operations, there is a pressing need for a structured approach that addresses technical, ethical, and organizational considerations. Mary will delve into a strategic framework designed to guide businesses in...
AI for Real People—Panel
We have heard a LOT of hype about AI and AGI and ASI and all of the nonsense. But in year 3 of Generative AI, people are actually moving beyond talking and finding real value in AI. Come and hear from REAL AI implementers about how AI is having an impact on businesses across the board including small businesses, non-profits, big companies, and more.
Thursday, June 12
AI at Scale: Balancing innovation, governance, and risk in large organizations
As AI reshapes industries, large organizations must scale innovation while upholding governance, security, and ethical responsibility. Deploying AI at scale isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a strategic balancing act between agility and compliance, risk and reward. Andreas Bohman, CIO at the University of Washington, will discuss strategies to drive AI-powered innovation without compromising regulatory obligations, operational effectiveness, or public trust. He will share governance strategies that enable innovation rather than restrict it. He’ll also talk about addressing critical...
The AI-Powered Leader: Creating Alignment and Redefining Leadership in an Autonomous Era
Traditional leadership has relied on intuition, manual processes, and fragmented feedback loops. But what if AI could fundamentally reshape how we lead—creating inherent alignment, removing hierarchical bottlenecks, and enabling decentralized decision-making? Imagine an autonomous AI companion that analyzes patterns, prioritizes coaching needs, and adapts in real time to foster self-organization, continuous learning, and leadership at every level. In this session, we’ll explore how AI-driven leadership models can replace rigid hierarchies with dynamic, data-informed decision-making,...
Mastering Quality Engineering in the Age of AI
PreviewAI is transforming the software quality engineering industry by automating routine tasks and enabling smarter testing approaches. Its integration into software development has profoundly reshaped the field of Quality Engineering (QE). This presentation explores the evolving role of QE in the AI era, addressing the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for achieving excellence in AI-driven environments. By examining the intersection of AI and QE, it provides valuable insights into best practices for maintaining high-quality software and equips QE professionals with the knowledge...
Continuous Testing for AI Applications
In the era of artificial intelligence, software testing has evolved from a finite phase in development to an ongoing, dynamic process of monitoring. Unlike traditional deterministic systems, AI-driven applications operate probabilistically, introducing variability and uncertainty in outputs even with consistent inputs. This paradigm shift requires a rethinking of testing strategies, moving towards continuous monitoring to ensure performance, fairness, and reliability in production environments. This session will explore how QA teams can integrate AI-specific methods, anomaly detection, and...
Brewing Better Technology: How Human Insights Enhance AI Capabilities
PreviewStriking the right balance between the efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) and the nuanced insight of human interaction is crucial. The motivation behind integrating AI in development and testing is to enhance decision-making and productivity through automation. However, solely relying on AI can overlook critical elements that only human testers can provide, such as emotional intelligence and contextual understanding. To illustrate this dynamic, Emma Pyne will use the analogy of AI as coffee brewing machines and human testers as skilled baristas in Seattle's coffee shops. AI...
Amazing Ways Retailers Are Using Generative AI
Generative AI is transforming the retail industry by enabling innovative approaches to customer engagement, personalization, and operational efficiency. Retailers are leveraging AI-driven tools to create personalized shopping experiences, from generating tailored product recommendations to crafting dynamic marketing content. In e-commerce, generative AI enhances virtual try-ons and product design, allowing for more interactive and immersive customer journeys. Additionally, retailers use AI for predictive inventory management, automating supply chain decisions, and optimizing logistics....
Reception and Summit Kickoff: As a Leader, What Is Keeping You Up at Night?
Kickoff the AI Leadership Summit with a reception and some networking.
Friday, June 13
Summit Welcome - Opening Remarks
After enjoying the Summit breakfast starting at 8:00 AM, join your moderator Jeff Payne as we kick off the AI Con USA AI Leadership Summit for 2025.
AI Leadership Unplugged: Balancing Innovation and Execution
Leadership in AI/ML is as much about managing complexity as it is about fostering innovation. AI leaders must navigate a landscape where data science, engineering, and operational disciplines intersect. They frequently have to bridge the gap between research and production, balancing innovation with scalability, and fostering team collaboration. AI product and platform development is non-trivial and typically requires building prototypes, adapting and evolving them for production, while maintaining agility in an ever-changing field. Join Tariq King as he shares lessons learned from leading...
Leadership Secrets from the Room
While everyone has their own approach to leadership, we all have our go-to tips and tricks that can help others lead teams, organizations, and ourselves. These may be techniques for motivating staff, growing team skills, managing senior executives, or finding the right people for your organization.
During this collaborative lean coffee session, Jeffery Payne will facilitate a discussion to elicit and discuss those leadership secrets used effectively by Summit participants. Using a lean coffee meeting format, participants will choose which aspects of leadership to discuss, vote on...
Think Tank Discussion Part I: Problem Definitions
Join with your peers in an engaging and highly interactive session to discuss the issues that affect you most. Using answers to the question “As a Leader, What is Keeping You Up at Night?” posed at Thursday’s evening reception, participants will form small groups to work on finding solutions to pressing leadership & management issues. Discussions will review identified issues, barriers to change, and focus on innovative strategies and practical next steps. At the end of the think tank, all feedback will be collected and posted online to encourage further collaboration.
Think Tank Discussion Part II: Leadership Solutions
Based upon the problem definitions developed during Part I of the Think Tank, small groups will brainstorm on how to best solve these challenges, leveraging the collective wisdom of peers and Summit speakers. Each group will designate a representative to present its results and practice delivery.
Think Tank Discussion Part III: Presentation of Results & Wrap Up
Small group representatives will each be given five minutes to present their leadership solutions. Summit participants will vote on which group produced the best solutions.