AI Con USA 2026 - Personal & Career Development
Monday, June 8
Human in the Loop
New"We love AI and use it for everything we do!" "We hate AI and will NEVER use it for anything ever, I swear to god!" Which camp are you in? This will be a question that will come up over and over in 2026 and beyond. If you use AI for EVERYTHING and think you can be mistaken for AI…has AI not already taken your job? We all need to get INTENTIONAL about our stance in the AI-verse. Have you thought deeply about what is a good activity for AI to lead on and what should be uniquely human? We are already seeing a premium price tag on in-person, uniquely human-to-human experiences, and this will...
AI Transformation Workshop: Rethinking Change Through the Human Lens
NewArtificial Intelligence is reshaping organizations, but technology alone doesn’t deliver transformation — people do. This half-day, hands-on workshop helps leaders and teams manage the human side of AI adoption through proven frameworks and real-world application. Grounded in the change-management principles of the ACMP (Association of Change Management Professionals) and informed by coaching practices from the ICF (International Coach Federation), the session walks participants through a detailed, action-oriented playbook for guiding AI transformation while keeping trust, learning, and...
Tuesday, June 9
Vibe-Coding a Business: Using AI to Rapidly Build, Test, and Validate Real Products
NewAI has fundamentally changed how quickly new businesses can be created. With modern, high-end models, individuals and teams can now move from a raw idea to a functioning product, market narrative, sales motion, and operating loop in days rather than months. The challenge is no longer whether AI can generate assets—it’s how to use AI intentionally across the entire business lifecycle to produce outcomes that are relevant, credible, and sustainable. In this hands-on tutorial, Jason Arbon leads participants through a practical, end-to-end approach to “vibe-coding” a business using AI. The...
Wednesday, June 10
Will the Real Autonomous Agent Please Stand Up: What’s Real, What’s Not, and What You Actually SHOULD Be Investing in in the AI-Verse
If you’ve seen the news lately, the tech bros will have you believe that AI is both here to take your job and also your soul. On the other side, people are saying that we are in an AI-bubble, it’s all hype, and we don’t need to worry about it at all. Which is it? The truth is…it’s a little of BOTH. Dona will demystify what the latest buzzwords in AI (what is OpenClaw all about) and show you a roadmap for how you can AND SHOULD be using AI in your day-to-day life. You’ll learn how to set up an experiment framework for yourself, identify the workflows AI is actually good for, how to run the...
Where Are the Women in AI? Bridging the Gap for Women Technologists
Despite record investment in artificial intelligence, the gender gap in AI remains staggering. Women make up less than 22% of AI and ML professionals globally (World Economic Forum, 2024) and hold under 15% of technical leadership roles in the field. Only 3% of angel investors in regions like the Pacific Northwest are women, so the earliest capital shaping AI’s future is overwhelmingly male. This session for leaders and managers explores why this workforce imbalance matters and how it’s holding back innovation both across the tech ecosystem and within individual organizations. First, Lana...
Show Me the ROI: What Enterprise AI Actually Delivers in Year 4 - Panel
The hype cycle is over. The pilot graveyard is full. MIT research suggests that 95% of Generative AI implementations have little to no measurable impact on P&L. So what separates the 5% that actually deliver? In this no-fluff panel, practitioners from the front lines of enterprise AI — spanning automotive, cloud platforms, and the messy middle of real-world deployment — will have a candid conversation about what's working, what consistently stalls, and what it actually takes to move from experimentation to results.
The panel will discuss:
The use cases that outperform the hype...Thursday, June 11
The AI-Enabled Manager: Using GenAI to Coach, Lead, and Multiply Team Performance
PreviewManagers today are overwhelmed by an endless cycle of meetings, feedback conversations, talent development, and performance demands—while also being asked to drive AI transformation. GenAI presents an unprecedented opportunity not just to increase productivity, but to fundamentally reimagine the role of the manager from task dispatcher to growth catalyst. In this session, Angela will showcase top use cases for using GenAI to augment leadership capabilities, accelerate team performance, and drive adoption across the organization. You’ll see how AI can be used to surface unseen...
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 12
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 2026.
Commanding the Transformation: A Leadership Playbook for AI Adoption in the Modern Organization
Successful AI adoption is 10% technology and 90% organizational change—and most organizations are failing at the 90%. In this dynamic, experience-driven session, we will cut through the hype and get honest about what it actually takes to move AI from promising pilot to measurable business impact. Drawing on nearly three decades of technology leadership and his background as a U.S. Army Ranger, Shawn brings a battle-tested perspective to the modern boardroom: the same principles that forge elite units into high-performing teams are exactly what today's organizations need to win the AI...
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 Parts I, II, III, and Wrap-Up
Think Tank Discussion Part I: Problem Definitions | 11:15 AM
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...