The Great AI Debate

Speakers

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  Numa Dhamani

  Head of Machine Learning, iVerify

  Numa Dhamani is the Head of Machine Learning at iVerify, co-author of Introduction to Generative AI (Manning Publications), and a Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a natural language processing expert with domain expertise in trust, safety, and security. Numa has developed machine learning systems for Fortune 500 companies and social media platforms, as well as for start-ups and nonprofits. She has advised industry leaders and organizations, served as the Principal Investigator on the United States Department of Defense’s research programs, and contributed to multiple international peer-reviewed journals. She is also deeply engaged in the technology policy space, supporting think tanks and nonprofits with data and AI governance efforts. Numa is passionate about working towards a more secure digital world, building responsible artificial intelligence, and advocating for transparency and accountability in technology. She holds degrees in Physics and Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin.

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  Bryon Jacob

  Bryon Jacob is an independent technology advisor and AI strategist based in Austin, Texas, where he works with early-stage startups on technology strategy, AI implementation, and fundraising. He previously served as Chief Technology Officer at data.world, leading the company through a successful acquisition, and spent a decade at HomeAway (now VRBO), from just after founding through its IPO and acquisition by Expedia. Bryon's AI expertise began in graduate school at Case Western Reserve University, where he studied both symbolic AI and machine learning. He has authored widely cited research on how knowledge graphs can improve large language models' accuracy over structured data, and is a founding board member of the Austin AI Alliance.

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  Byron Reese

  Byron Reese is a longtime serial entrepreneur who has started a half dozen companies over the past thirty years. He is the author of several bestselling science books. His AI book, The Fourth Age, sold 500K copies in 14 languages. He holds numerous technical patents and is the former host of what was the #1 AI podcast, Voices in AI. Byron is currently CEO of an AI startup called PhotoOp AI. He and his wife have resided in an old Victorian home in Georgetown for a quarter of a century where they homeschooled their four children.

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  Dr. Sharon Strover

  Dr. Strover is the Philip G. Warner Regents Professor in Communication at the University of Texas in the School of Journalism and Media where she teaches communication technology and policy courses and co-directs the Technology and Information Policy Institute. She is a founding member and former Chair of Good Systems, the UT-Austin Grand Challenge research project examining Ethics in AI. Her current research projects examine AI, surveillance technologies and public policy; broadband network deployment and economic development; libraries and digital literacy; and the digital divide. Sharon has worked with several international, national and regional government agencies, foundations, and advisory groups on communications policy matters, including Facebook, the EU, The Institute for Library and Museum Services, The US Department of Agriculture, the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Micron, and Texas state agencies such as the Department of Information Resources and Health and Human Services and the Texas State Library and Archives, among others.