Scheduled for February 28-29, 2024, in Menlo Park, CA, the Post-Industrial Summit explores AI’s role in the longer term of business. 

The Post-Industrial Summit 2024 is hosted by the Post-Industrial Institute and SRI International in Menlo Park, California. 

The summit features insights from executives and experts from organizations reminiscent of leaders at AWS, SAP, Salesforce, SRI, Broadcom, Swisscom, Deloitte, Accenture, Yamaha, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, ServiceNow, Stanford University, and other esteemed organizations.

Delegates represent a hugely diverse collection of corporations reminiscent of VMWare, Oracle, Deloitte, CA Systems, Swisscom, Amazon, Travelers Insurance, Tech Mahindra, Accenture, Vision, Orion Innovation, HPE, Dell (CVC), NETGEAR. Cisco, Stride, NEA, Synopsis, Fanatics, Rakuten, and others. Universities represented include USC, Golden Gate University, Stanford, Laval University, and UC Santa Cruz.

Sessions will provide frameworks and best practices for developing next-generation AI to drive innovation within the post-industrial age. 

Attendees will learn tips on how to implement responsible and ethical AI systems that automate processes, enable data-driven decisions, optimize operations, and unlock latest growth opportunities.

This summit goes beyond technological discussions to explore the larger economic context driving AI advancement today. 

It’s a chance for leaders to collaborate on AI’s transformative impact and construct the companies of tomorrow. 

AI within the post-industrial age

The Post-Industrial Institute (PII) was established in 2004 by Frode Odegard.

Its core mission is to assist leaders construct the organizations of the longer term. 

Originally from Norway, Odegard arrived in Silicon Valley with a robust passion for theoretical computer science. There, he founded a research and advisory firm that helped major organizations adopt software engineering best practices.

Odegard observed the issue these organizations had with innovation and alter, resulting in the formation of the Post-Industrial Institute (PII) in 2004.

In 2019, PII introduced the Post-Industrial Forum, which has hosted over 45 events, drawing participation from executives across leading global firms like Hyundai, Microsoft, and Siemens and academic institutions like Stanford. 

Beyond the Fourth Industrial Revolution

At the core of the PII’s work is the remark that we’re in a post-industrial transition.

This concept extends beyond existing narratives like “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” offering a broader, longer-term, more multidisciplinary remit. 

To the PII, the potential of generative AI transcends classical notions of ‘digital transformation,’ representing a deeper collaboration between humans and machines. AI is not any longer a static entity – it’s actively augmenting human capabilities, fostering an era of super-productivity. 

While the opportunities are huge, this poses practical challenges for businesses trying to adapt to the era of generative AI. 

As Odegard explains, 20 smart people using AIs can outcompete by way of creativity tons of (or hundreds) of individuals working in a standard hierarchical and slow-moving organization.”

The organizational transition Odegard speaks of is harking back to the generative AI industry itself. 

Key players, like Anthropic, Inflection, and Mistral, consist of small teams and were founded only recently. Mistral was founded in May 2023, and by December, it was remarkably valued at $2 billion.

Meanwhile, tech institutions like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google compete for stakes in these smaller, more agile corporations. They’ve also learned that their slow, bureaucratic structures don’t at all times lend themselves well to generative AI regarding goals, decision-making, and resource allocation. 

That’s also partly why OpenAI employees didn’t wish to be ‘absorbed’ into Microsoft amid the Sam Altman firing and rehiring and why Google’s board has been criticized as too cumbersome for generative AI R&D.

One OpenAI worker even told Business Insider that Microsoft was the “biggest and slowest” of all of the tech corporations; one other said, “We all left these big corporations to maneuver fast and construct exciting things.”

The Post-Industrial Summit addresses these challenges, helping those constructing the organizations of the longer term leverage AI and transform faster – driving productivity from the underside up.

Odegard explains, “AI has huge implications for the workforce and Human Resources.  Jobs will likely be richer because AI will augment what people can do. Ambitious generalists will give you the option to achieve further and faster. Enterprises also urgently need more individuals with technical AI know-how, each to develop latest applications and to have in-house expertise that may track the very rapid evolution of AI platform capabilities. The lack of AI literacy is an issue that stretches all the way in which into the boardroom, and this can be a strategic threat to shareholder value.”

Humans and AI working together in networks

Odegard describes a future where AI agents act as coordinators and facilitators for these teams, creating dynamic networks of humans and AIs collaborating on projects. 

These networks might be assembled on-demand on a per-project basis and have transient lifespans. 

There’s an emerging duality during which humans can profit from the unique strengths of each intelligent biological systems (ourselves) and intelligent technological systems (AI). 

Odegard says, “An emerging trend will likely be AIs as coordinators and facilitators of labor, with humans and AIs working together, and even passing “control” backwards and forwards. This capability is coming in the shape of assorted sorts of AI agents, which might work to pursue goals (or uphold some desired state of affairs, like “optimal health”) in your behalf.”

We’ve seen examples of human-AI networks in recent breakthroughs at DeepMind and Microsoft. For instance, Microsoft discovered a latest battery electrolyte, initially using an AI model to discover around 500,000 stable materials. 

These were then narrowed right down to 18 promising candidates and, finally, N2116, which might reduce battery lithium content by some 70%. Microsoft estimated that AI slashed the project duration from 20 years to nine months. 

Similarly, DeepMind’s GNoME system used a pair of models to create material structures by modifying elements in known materials and assessing their stability.

From GNoME’s shortlist of 421,000 stable materials, Berkeley Lab’s autonomous laboratory, named the A-Lab, determined the perfect candidates for physical synthesis. A-Lab successfully synthesized 41 out of 58 compounds.

DeepMind has already built sophisticated AI agents that learn by watching instructors, and ChatGPT collaborated with Swiss researchers to create a tomato-harvesting robot, suggesting a motor-driven silicone-linked gripper for gently pulling tomatoes from the vine and providing Python code for programming the device.

The boundaries between human and technological contributions to knowledge and research are blurring. 

These sorts of semi-autonomous technologies preview a future where AI and humans sit in a continuous feedback loop, reciprocating information and bouncing off one another’s strengths.

Adapting to latest paradigms

The Post-Industrial Summit is designed to reply to these developments and challenges directly. 

It goals to equip leaders from traditional and modern backgrounds with insights and methods for effectively leveraging generative AI across their business functions.

The focus shouldn’t be merely exploring AI but its practical, problem-solving applications, addressing concerns reminiscent of technology integration, ethics, and the management of decentralized working styles.

This is a technology where risk, reward, challenge, and opportunity are finely balanced. Taking affirmative motion now’s the easiest way of tilting that balance in a single’s favor. 

Odegard summarizes, “Traditional management considering has no answers for this, but we’re making progress on developing post-industrial management science. A central aspect of the Summit is to construct a community of leaders who wish to explore these ideas further.”

Speakers from the Post-Industrial Summit 2024

The summit brings together 32+ speakers from leading organizations, including, but definitely not limited to:

  • Alfred Shen: Lead Generative AI Specialist at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
  • Dr. Sohini Roychowdhury: Global Head of AI at Accenture.
  • Jeremiah Owyang: General Partner at Blitzscaling Ventures, AI Fund.
  • Frode Odegard: CEO of the Post-Industrial Institute.
  • Dr. Edgar Kalns: Specialist Leader, Conversational AI and Generative AI at Deloitte Consulting.
  • Dr. Trond Undheim: Research Scholar on the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative.
  • Col. David Vernal (Ret.): Sloan Fellow at Stanford GSB, Former National Security Council.
  • Laureen Knudsen: Chief Transformation Officer at Broadcom.

Highlights from the event’s agenda

This two-day event features hours of keynotes and talks, breakout sessions, fireside chats, and networking opportunities. Here are some highlights from the exciting schedule:

  • The New Transformation Landscape: Dr. Trond Undheim and Col. David Vernal (Ret.) discuss navigating the complexities of today’s global situation with AI, moderated by Frode Odegard.
  • AI and The Post-Industrial Enterprise: Frode Odegard explores how decentralization and AI are reshaping organizational structures.
  • Transformation within the Global 2000s: Laureen Knudsen examines large enterprise transformation efforts and the impact of technologies like Generative AI.
  • Industries in Transformation: Insights from Jay Onda, Kei Onishi, and Dr. Zafer Sahinoglu on how AI is revolutionizing various industries, chaired by Deborah Magid.
  • The Future of AI Platforms: Alfred Shen discusses the upcoming capabilities and limitations of AI platforms, specializing in the advancements beyond Generative AI.
  • AIs because the Interface to Organizations: A panel with Julianna DeLua, Dr. Sohini Roychowdhury, and Dr. Edgar Kalns on how AIs have gotten the front of enterprise operations.
  • Faster Innovation with AI Assistants: William Zeng and Alfred Shen, chaired by Stefan Petzov, explore AI’s role in enhancing innovation and product development speed.
  • The AI Boom: Jeremiah Owyang delves into AI’s significant economic and cultural impacts, predicting dramatic changes in productivity and lifestyle.

Key information in regards to the Post-Industrial Summit 2024

  • Date: February 28-29, 2024
  • Venue: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
  • Focus: The summit goals to delve into AI’s transformative role in organizations, offering enterprise leaders the chance to attach, discover AI’s enterprise impact, and construct an AI transformation roadmap.

For registration details, session schedules, and more information on the speakers and topics, please visit the Post-Industrial Summit 2024 website.

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