AI Con USA 2026 - C-Level

The era of single-turn AI prompting is over, giving way to the sophisticated "digital assembly line." This session guides technical leaders, CTOs, and AI product managers through the critical leap from isolated AI tools to coordinated, multi-agent constellations capable of autonomously executing complex enterprise workflows. Marshall will dissect the four levels of agentic evolution, focusing on today's epicenter of innovation: cross-system orchestration. Because the risk of cumulative failure multiplies with every automated handoff, he will unpack the architectural strategies required to...

Scientific discovery faces a major bottleneck: while generative AI has transformed information processing, it has not yet unlocked comparable acceleration in understanding the physical world. Traditional computational chemistry and materials modeling remain too slow, expensive, and limited to power large-scale innovation. SandboxAQ tackled this challenge by developing Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) — a new class of AI models that merge machine learning, physics-based simulation, and quantum-inspired algorithms to model molecular and material interactions at unprecedented speed and...

Advances in robot learning and affordable general-purpose hardware are changing physical work faster than any past wave of automation. Industrial robot arms transformed repetitive factory tasks, but they could only operate in tightly controlled settings. Now, new learning methods and off-the-shelf mobile robots make it possible to teach machines to perform many kinds of hands-on work in warehouses and logistics facilities. This session looks at where the technology stands today, what has changed, and what the next few years will bring. Attendees will learn how to spot real opportunities...

We are entering a defining chapter for bioscience—one where AI is no longer an accessory, but a core engine of discovery. At the Allen Institute, AI is being woven throughout the scientific process empowering research teams to analyze complex biological systems at scale. Their teams are collaborating to develop frontier AI applications like advanced computer vision to interpret high-resolution imaging data, multimodal models that integrate complex molecular, cellular, and physiological signals, as well as intelligent systems to assist researchers as they navigate and synthesize vast...

Engineering leaders are under constant pressure to deliver faster, improve quality, and reduce costs despite fixed resources. At Nelnet, this challenge was compounded by ongoing acquisitions, a complex application landscape, and competing team priorities. Brittany Wilson will discuss how they evaluated the impact of Generative AI (GenAI) on the software development lifecycle without disrupting critical delivery work and how Nelnet adopted a measured pilot approach. Over 12 weeks, a side-by-side experiment compared a GenAI-enabled team with a business-as-usual team working on similar...

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...