Tech's Naughty or Nice List: A 2026 Review | Presentation

Speakers

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  Rabbi Neil Blumofe

  Neil is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Agudas Achim, a flourishing synagogue community. He produces an annual series exploring technology, Judaism and urgent, moral questions of our time inviting noted business, academic, and thought leaders to join him. He is active in Austin civic life, most notably organizing evenings of jazz and conversation at the historic Cactus Cafe on the University of Texas campus. These Wednesday Night Jazz Meetings investigate identity, heritage, and meaning, and connect Judaism, spirituality, and African-American traditions all within the storied history of the United States.

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  Sherri Greenberg

  Sherri is a professor of practice and fellow of the Max Sherman Chair in State and Local Government at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and she is a professor of practice at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Additionally, she is the LBJ School Assistant Dean for State and Local Government Engagement. She is a primary researcher for, and Chairperson of, Good Systems, Ethical AI at UT Austin. Greenberg serves on the Austin Smart City Alliance Board of Directors, and the Austin Forum on Technology & Society Advisory Board. Previously, she was a member of the Central Health Board of Managers, and a member of the City of Austin Housing Investment Review Committee.

  Greenberg has served as a senior advisor to Austin Mayor Steve Adler. She was a Texas state representative from 1991 to 2001, and she chaired the House Pensions and Investments Committee and the Select Committee on Teacher Health Insurance. She also served on the House Appropriations, Economic Development, Elections, and Science and Technology Committees. Previously, Greenberg was the City of Austin capital finance manager and a public finance officer at Standard & Poor's.

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  Bryon Jacob

  Bryon is an Austin-based technology advisor and founder of Nexvane, where he helps growth-stage companies with AI strategy, AI engineering, and fractional CTO leadership. He was previously CTO of data.world, leading the company through its acquisition, and spent a decade at HomeAway (now Vrbo), from just after its founding through its IPO and acquisition by Expedia. His AI work began in graduate school at Case Western Reserve University, and his widely cited research shows how knowledge graphs make large language models more accurate over business data. He is a founding board member of the Austin AI Alliance.

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  Byron Reese

  Byron 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 creator and former host of 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.