Top AI Keynotes & Sessions at SXSW 2024
Experts on artificial intelligence, technology, and innovation share their insights in Austin
Many technology leaders will be presenting at this year’s SXSW conference. Their expertise will offer crucial guidance for founders and entrepreneurs aiming to launch, grow, and scale their startups within the current dynamic and tech-driven environment.
Top AI & Tech Sessions
Be sure to check out our ongoing coverage of SXSW content. We’ve included links to our session recaps in the list below.
- 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024
- Amy Webb Launches 2024 Emerging Tech Trend Report
READ OUR RECAP - Mind-Machine Merge: Seven Future Trends in a Post-AI World of Work
- Featured Speaker: Ray Kurzweil
- The Trust Paradox: Industry Leaders Discuss Authenticity In The Digital Revolution
- AI and Humanity’s Co-evolution with OpenAI’s Head of ChatGPT
- Keynote: Lisa Su in Conversation with Ryan Patel
- Artificial General Intelligence: Possibility & Responsibility
- Why the Future of AI Should be Open
- Inside the AI Revolution: How AI is Empowering the World to Achieve More
- Amazon on the Future of Artificial General Intelligence
- Keynote: A Conversation with Dr. Joy Buolamwini
- Featured Session: What Does an AI Utopia Look Like?
*** Following is more information about each session.
Conference organizers have made audio recordings of many sessions available on the SXSW schedule website. We expect recordings of sessions marked with an asterisks* to be available on the SXSW YouTube channel.
Featured Session: 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024 *
8 March 2024 | 11:30am — 12:30pm CT
Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, the Publisher and CEO of MIT Technology Review will share the publication’s list of ten breakthrough technologies with the SXSW audience, explaining each one and how it will impact the way we live and work.
Featured Session: Amy Webb Launches 2024 Emerging Tech Trend Report *
Saturday 9 March | 10:00am — 11:00am CT
In this mind-bending session, futurist Amy Webb, CEO of the Future Today Institute and professor at NYU Stern School of Business, will provide a data-driven analysis for the emerging tech trends that need to be on your radar this year…
Featured Session: Mind-Machine Merge: Seven Future Trends in a Post-AI World of Work *
Sunday 10 March | 11:30am — 12:30pm CT
Join Sandy Carter for a glimpse into the future of work through seven transformative trends arising from the bleeding edge of technology — where human brains and tech collide in brilliantly bizarre ways.
Featured Speaker: Ray Kurzweil *
Sunday 10 March | 2:30pm — 3:30pm CT
Ray Kurzweil is a leading inventor, thinker, and futurist, with a thirty-five-year track record of accurate predictions. He invented the first print to speech reading machine for the blind and the first synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and orchestral instruments.
The Trust Paradox: Industry Leaders Discuss Authenticity In The Digital Revolution
Monday 11 March |11:30am — 12:30pm CT
We’ll explore the role the human element still plays in innovation, and its implications on diversity and culture-forward initiatives. In this session we will give strategies on keeping the human touch at the intersection of tech and culture. Learn about the future of partnerships, innovation, and value creation.
Featuring:
- Baron Davis, Sports Lifestyle In Culture
- Alexandra Dumas, Google
- Kati Fernandez, ESPN Films
- Chris Lyons, Andreessen Horowitz
Featured Session: AI and Humanity’s Co-evolution with OpenAI’s Head of ChatGPT *
Monday 11 March | 11:30am — 12:30pm CT
In this provocative talk with OpenAI’s VP of consumer product and head of ChatGPT Peter Deng, we’ll explore the role of humans in the age of AI. What are AI’s practical and philosophical implications? How will it change our perception of ourselves? And are we all destined to become prompt engineers or happily unemployed artists?
Keynote: Lisa Su in Conversation with Ryan Patel *
Monday 11 March | 1:00pm — 2:00pm CT
Dr. Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of AMD, will join host Ryan Patel to discuss the future of AI, how millions of people use AMD-powered services everyday, and AMD’s vision to solve the world’s toughest challenges with leading-edge high-performance and adaptive computing.
Artificial General Intelligence: Possibility & Responsibility
Monday 11 March | 2:30pm — 3:30pm CT
In this talk, Reed Albergotti, technology editor at Semafor, sits down with Shane Legg, Co-founder and Chief AGI Scientist at Google DeepMind, to discuss the transition that lies ahead towards more advanced machine intelligence.
Why the Future of AI Should be Open
Monday 11 March | 4:00pm — 5:00pm CT
Join this panel to explore how we can advance a new era of AI built on radically open forms of AI collaboration and information sharing to ultimately cultivate greater levels of innovation and inclusivity.
Featuring:
- Rebecca Finlay, Partnership on AI
- Dr. Dario Gil, IBM
- Joseph Spisak, Meta
- Ion Stoica, Anyscale
Inside the AI Revolution: How AI is Empowering the World to Achieve More
Wednesday 13 March | 10:00am — 11:00am CT
Join Simi Olabisi, Director & AI Specialist at Microsoft and embark on a fascinating journey where we delve into groundbreaking AI initiatives in this era of AI evolution. This session is meticulously crafted to provide business leaders with a strategic advantage, guiding you to adapt, innovate, and excel in the AI-centric landscape.
Featured Session: Amazon on the Future of Artificial General Intelligence *
Wednesday 13 March | 11:30am — 12:30pm CT
Axios’ Ryan Heath and Amazon’s AGI VP, Vishal Sharma will discuss what today’s AI may imply for the future, the progress of LLMs towards the quest for AGI, and its’ potential to benefit society at large.
Keynote: A Conversation with Dr. Joy Buolamwini *
Wednesday 13 March | 1:00pm — 2:00pm CT
Dr. Joy Buolamwini is the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, an AI bias expert, and an artist… She is a Rhodes Scholar and Fulbright fellow who has been named to notable lists including Forbes 30 under 30, Bloomberg 50, the Time 100 AI Inaugural list, and MIT Tech Review 35 under 35.
Featured Session: What Does an AI Utopia Look Like? *
Thursday 14 March | 4:00pm — 5:00pm CT
Vinod Khosla starts with a 30,000 foot view of this critical point in history, and how it differs from previous technological phase changes. With his 40-year history sponsoring technological disruption, he will discuss the origins of change and innovation, and lay out his predictions for how AI will upend every sector of GDP, and how these predictions can create a utopian society if executed correctly.
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