University Theatre
Sessions in University Theatre
Generative AI products are everywhere. In this talk we’ll discuss the very nature of intelligence and how using generative AI actively with care for your audience is the way to standout when intelligence is abundant.
https://youtu.be/ujvWn6hog0QThe Good, the Bad, and the Exciting: The Real Role of AI Now and in the Future
AI is not a silver bullet. It is a tool, and the organizations that treat it that way are pulling ahead. In this keynote, Weston LaBar offers a practical framework for putting AI to work: build strategy around real problems, not the technology; understand how AI reshapes the workforce; and treat AI fluency as a core competency for every professional. Weston is a certified professional AI business strategist through the MIT Sloan School of Management, where his thesis on AI architecture was validated by MIT faculty. He has guest lectured on AI's role in sustainability at CSULB. Drawing on his work in logistics and workforce development, Weston cuts through the hype with lessons leaders can use immediately. Attendees will leave with a clear-eyed view of what AI can do, where it breaks down, and why the people, not the algorithm, still decide whether it works.
https://youtu.be/WLxDCByqFLUDecentralized AI: Safer, Faster, and Greener
As AI systems move from centralized clouds into personal devices, edge compute, and distributed networks, a pivotal question follows: can decentralization make AI not just more powerful, but safer, faster, and greener? Builders of personal, self-hosted AI, climate-tech and product leaders, and sustainable AI infrastructure experts examine the concrete patterns, from personal AI servers and embodied agents that keep data local, to AI-powered climate platforms, to low-carbon GPU clouds powering sovereign AI stacks, and what it takes to align incentives, protocols, and infrastructure with privacy, resilience, and sustainability.
https://youtu.be/PcgRVGy4AG4No Permission Required: Turning a Data Problem Into a Product
You do not need permission to build. Whether inside a company or outside one, start with what you have: data, tools, curiosity, insights into customer / stakeholder pain, and the ability to create useful artifacts. Build from means, not permission. Treat new ideas as searches. Make AI the accelerator. Balance exploration with guardrails. Hear from five founders and operators on landing on a problem worth solving, getting from idea to a first version, reaching the right audience, and what AI has changed about all of it. For anyone who is inspired to build and has been waiting on a title, a budget, or someone else's green light.
https://youtu.be/WWdGssU7XSULeaders at the intersection of data, AI, and real-world impact share the paths they took, the obstacles they navigated, and how we build a stronger, more representative data community.
https://youtu.be/ljp9Z7g626oBuilding a Data Career: Navigating the Data Job Market in the Age of AI
A recent grad, mid-job search, sits down with data professionals for a candid conversation on what it really takes to get hired right now.
https://youtu.be/7lExjo2fx9o