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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Top 10 AI Speaker Alexandra Samuel: The New Hybrid Work Is Humans + AI

What does Alexandra speak about?

The rise of AI and the rise of hybrid work aren’t two separate forces, Alexandra says. They’re deeply connected changes that are rapidly bringing us towards a new workplace and a new set of organizational challenges and opportunities. She says the new hybrid work isn’t just office plus home. It’s humans plus AI.

“The shift to hybrid work forced us to really think about the relationship between collaboration and culture,” she says. “What does it really mean to be part of a team? AI intersects with that because it makes it possible to collaborate by yourself.”

In grounded, immediately actionable talks, Alexandra draws on her 25 years of work on digital transformation and productivity to show you how to use AI to boost collaboration within hybrid teams, tackle digital overload, and drive innovation. She offers inspiring, creative case studies that will inspire your teams’ AI use, and leaves you with a roadmap for helping your team work smarter with AI.

“The power of AI doesn’t come from the fact that it can give you a complete sentence in a second,” she says. “It comes from working for an hour—but accomplishing in an hour with an AI what you couldn’t do with a roomful of people in a day.”

Who is Alexandra?

This top AI workplace speaker is the co-author (alongside MIT Sloan’s Robert C. Pozen) of Remote, Inc.: How to Thrive at Work… Wherever You Are. A practical and thoughtful roadmap to the new world of work, it’s been called “a must-read for today’s professionals” (Jenny Rooney, Chief Experience Officer of Adweek). She’s also the author of JSTOR Daily’s “Unfolding AI” column and Harvard Business Review’s Work Smarter with Social Media series, in which she uses her own practical experience to help people navigate the digital workplace.

She’s also a regular contributor to The Wall Street JournalThe Harvard Business Review, CBC, and more, and her articles on management, hybrid work, and tech culture have earned extensive media coverage. As the data journalist for the annual Forbes list of the World’s Most Influential CMOs, she has a deep understanding of how top brands and executives navigate digital transformation and the realignment of employee and customer experience in a hybrid world. She works regularly with companies like Twitter, Sprinklr and Microsoft on reports and workshops that address the biggest challenges in digital business.

How do I learn more about Alexandra?

Interested in learning more about this top AI workplace speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Alexandra and our other top AI speakers, or watch a short video on how ChatGPT can take your skillset to the next level:

Top 10 AI Speaker Justin Reilly: Your Company Needs to Become “AI First”

What does Justin speak about?

How can you use AI in your workday to make your business more productive and innovative? Justin has the answers. He says that it’s not enough to build your AI strategy around your existing systems. The companies that succeed will be the ones that put AI and machine learning at the heart of what they do and then build their services and customer experience around that.

In practical, grounded talks, Justin offers a six-step process to augmenting your business with AI, drawn from his own experience as former Head of Product at Verizon and current CEO of Wavelo, where he uses ChatGPT every day to understand the workings of his business. He shows you how to leverage the data you already have, find the diverse talent you need, and create an environment of open innovation. You’ll learn how to develop systems that you can trust, and use those systems to adapt and innovate better and faster than ever before. Audiences walk away inspired by the opportunities ahead and equipped with the tools to win in an AI First world.

“The future of businesses is product designed for exponential learning and deeply tied to human behavior,” Justin says. “If you look at a lot of what’s built today, it’s fairly unintelligent, and intelligence is an afterthought to the product: we bolt in APIs or try to overlay a personalization engine to get it done. The next wave of products is the inverse of that. Instead, we start with ‘This thing needs to learn.’ And then we decide where it needs to go and what properties it needs to have, and that’s going to fundamentally drive it forward.”

Who is Justin?

This AI strategy speaker has spent years building businesses around the immense capabilities of Artificial Intelligence. As Verizon’s Head of Product, he spearheaded their multi-billion dollar digital transformation program centered on machine learning. He’s currently the CEO of Wavelo, a division of Tucows that’s revolutionizing the software that powers telecom businesses, where he’s building the modern telecom platform aimed at adapting faster and innovating better for an AI First world.

Prior to Tucows, Justin founded Focus Health, Grey Seven Labs, and Qstir, and held leadership positions at a number of hyper-growth startups.

How do I learn more about Justin?

Interested in learning more about this top AI strategy speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Justin and our other top AI speakers, or watch a short video on the six steps to innovating around AI:

Top 10 AI Speaker Jeremy Gutsche: Make the Chaos of AI Work for You

What does Jeremy speak about?

Jeremy has spent his career helping the world’s biggest brands—from Google to Disney—innovate in times of uncertainty. Now that AI has brought us to a moment of incredible disruption, there’s no one better to guide us through the pitfalls and possibilities of the fast-paced AI future. As the CEO of Trend Hunter, he has firsthand experience spearheading an AI strategy for his business and leading his team through this change.

In energetic talks, Jeremy draws on his unique experience to show you how to help your company take advantage of this inflection point and accelerate your AI strategy. He explains the seven ways that you can get buy-in and investment from your team and your leadership: comfort, aspiration, ROI, and more. “The more you know about AI, the more that you’ll want,” he says. “The starting point is buy-in. People start off not getting it, but then they start to get it—and then they want AI, want more AI, and then want more from AI.”

A visionary yet grounded speaker, he also reveals the seven limitations that are holding you back from radical innovation—and the seven next steps you can use to tap into your biggest AI opportunities (from demystifying AI to planning out your “dream list”). He shows you the practical tools his team has been using to become more creative and productive, and helps you develop a personal action plan for your brand and organization. With his trademark enthusiasm, Jeremy helps audiences not only understand what they need to do today to get ahead, but also get excited about all the opportunities that are available in the future of AI.

Who is Jeremy?

This AI futurist speaker is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books (including Better and Faster and Create the Future), and is routinely featured in the media, from The Economist to WIRED to The New York Times. He’s been delivering AI workshops, advisory services, and 10,000 trend reports based on Trend Hunter’s AI platform for the better part of the past decade.

Jeremy is the winner of The Cisco Innovation Excellence Award and the BDC’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Before founding Trend Hunter, he was one of Capital One’s youngest Business Directors, where he grew a billion dollar portfolio of market leading products at the age of 28. Previously, he was a Management Consultant for the Monitor Group, advising Fortune 500 clients on top level strategy.

How do I learn more about Jeremy?

Interested in learning more about this top AI futurist speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Jeremy and our other top AI speakers, or watch a short video on two of the seven ways you can generate buy-in with your teams:

Top 10 AI Speaker Sal Khan: AI Won’t Destroy Education. It’ll Save It

What does Sal speak about?

Teachers and parents around the world worry that the explosion of AI will completely undermine education as we know it. But Sal Khan, founder of the non-profit Khan Academy, says that doesn’t have to be the case. “We’re at the cusp of using AI for the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen,” says Sal. Rather than helping students plagiarize, AI tools can become a personal mentor for every student, capable of lifting the struggling to the proficient, and the proficient to the extraordinary.

In his eye-opening and inspiring talks, Sal envisions an educational revolution where AI not only supplements teaching, but personalizes it. Drawing on his decade of experience as CEO of Khan Academy, he offers a blueprint for an educational system that caters to individual pace and learning style, supporting both students and teacher.

Pushing for innovation in education through open interaction, technological integration, and adaptive learning platforms, Sal is turning the traditional classroom into a community of collaborative, self-paced learning.

Who is Sal?

“A true pioneer in integrating technology and learning” (Bill Gates), Sal is the mind behind Khan Academy, the groundbreaking online platform that offers world class education to anyone, for free. He’s the author of The One World Schoolhousepraised by both Bill Gates and Al Gore for his reimagining and outline for the future of education, and the forthcoming Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing).

As a top AI education speaker, Sal is the forefront voice on education, technology, and AI. At the heart of his philosophy is a commitment to using AI as a catalyst for educational empowerment, proving that technology, when directed with purpose, can indeed turn any student into an exceptional one.

With over 137 million users, Khan Academy’s reach is a testament to Sal’s innovative approach to accessible education. And he’s not stopping there. He’s also been featured on 60 MinutesForbes, and named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list. Sal has also partnered with world-class institutions such as NASA, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and MIT.

How do I learn more about Sal?

Interested in learning more about this top AI education speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Sal and our other top AI speakers, or watch his TED Talk on how AI will save education:

Top 10 AI Speaker Douglas Rushkoff: Being Fully Human in the AI Future

What does Douglas speak about?

Rather than replacing human creativity, appropriately developed AI can augment human imagination and expression, Douglas argues. Instead of substituting for human relationships, AI can help foster collaboration and compatibility. Instead of doing students’ homework for them, AI can challenge them to do deeper analysis and dig for deeper insights. But “this all depends on our understanding of what makes humans fundamentally different from machines, and our willingness to embrace the novelty that comes from human actors working together toward human aims.”

In smart, hilarious talks delivered with his trademark charisma and energy, he breaks down how AI works, what it threatens if we turn to it for the wrong things, and how we can turn AI to work for humans, rather than the other way around. He draws on his multiple bestselling books and his decades of experience advocating for human autonomy in a digital age, challenging us to create the future we want: one that is still very much in our control to produce.

“Rather than repressing human agency, AI can unleash the creative potential of our organizations, if we dare,” he says.

Who is Douglas?

A “passionate visionary on the side of the angels” (Kurt Anderson, Evil Geniuses), Douglas has spent his prolific career revealing how media and technology are impacting culture, business, and the economy. He’s the bestselling author of 20 books, including Present Shock, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, and his most recent, Survival of the Richest. This top AI technology speaker has been a foremost voice on tech, media, and social justice for years—he even coined concepts like “viral media” and “social currency.”

His book Coercion won the Marshall McLuhan Award, and he was honored with the first Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity. Douglas has made many media appearances, including his Frontline documentaries Generation Like, about teens and social media, The Persuaders, about the arms race between marketers and the public, and The Merchants of Cool, about who really drives youth culture. He serves as a research fellow of the Institute for the Future, and founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, where he is a Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics.

How do I learn more about Douglas?

Interested in learning more about this top AI technology speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Douglas and our other top AI speakers, or watch his TED Talk on fostering human solidarity in the digital future:

Top 10 AI Speaker Nita Farahany: The New Frontier of AI? Your Brain

What does Nita speak about?

The integration of AI and neuroscience offers us unprecedented opportunity, says Nita: “Consumer neurotech devices could finally enable us to treat our brain health and wellness as seriously as we treat the rest of our physical well-being.” But it comes with a host of potential pitfalls. Now that AI can read our thoughts, how do we ensure our brains still belong to us alone?

As the director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, Nita is one of the world’s most essential and trusted voices on the rise of these technologies—she even spoke about “cognitive liberty” (the right to freedom of thought) at the New York Times DealBook Summit, alongside leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We haven’t yet passed the inflection point where most of our brains can be directly accessed and changed by others. But it is about to happen, giving us a final moment to make a change,” Nita says. “We can and should be hopeful and deliberate about the choices we make now to secure a right to self-determination over our brains and mental experiences. The possibilities, if we do so, are limited only by our imagination.”

Who is Nita?

This AI policy speaker is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke University. She and her writing have been featured in The Guardian, Bloomberg, TIME, WIRED, The New York Times, and many more. Her book, The Battle for Your Brain, has been called “a fascinating and provocative tour of technologies that have the power to transform our lives for the better and even what it means to be human” (Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, co-inventor of CRISPR technology).

Former President Obama appointed Nita to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, where she served for seven years. She currently serves on the National Advisory Council for the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke, as an elected member of the American Law Institute and on the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks for the World Economic Forum, among others.

How do I learn more about Nita?

Interested in learning more about this top AI policy speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Nita and our other top AI speakers, or watch Nita’s TED Talk on privacy and ethics in an age of AI:

Top 10 AI Speaker Radhika Dirks: AI Is Revolutionizing Possibility Itself

What does Radhika speak about?

Radhika is one of the world’s foremost voices on the human implications of AI—what this technology means for us, and how we can turn it to our advantage. In powerfully hopeful talks, she illuminates the limitless possibilities of generative AI in every field, then breaks down the strategy and tactics that every business leader needs to gain an edge in the AI future.

Every moonshot needs stepping-stones, Radhika says—you don’t get to Mars in one leap. You have to try different paths and pick up expertise in different fields, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process. But with generative AI, which draws from diverse sources of information across the internet, you can achieve these stepping-stones almost for free. “What used to take billions of dollars now takes thousands of dollars, or even hundreds,” Radhika says. “And most people don’t realize that. They’re still looking at what productivity tools they can use. But generative AI is so much bigger than that.”

Radhika draws on her wealth of experience in AI (from fintech to healthcare to data management) to show you and your organization how to navigate this new landscape of possibility. She’s worked in tiny startups and massive corporations, which makes her uniquely positioned to offer tailored solutions for any organization. Incorporating AI isn’t one-size-fits-all, Radhika says. But with her experience, she can help your organization develop a plan and take advantage of the opportunities of today (and tomorrow).

Who is Radhika?

This visionary AI innovation speaker has been a vital part of the conversation around AI since 2014, when her AI program predicted the rise of ISIS before The New York Times even coined the term. She’s been named to Forbes‘s 30 Women in AI to Watch and Deloitte’s top women in the AI world. She co-founded XLabs, the world’s first AI moonshot factory, where her technology found potential cures for 11 cancers within its first 1.5 years.

She was also a founding member of Shell’s $1.5B venture capital group and was COO of Rotary Gallop, a game theory-based fintech firm. Her work on quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence has been cited hundreds of times, and she’s been featured everywhere from Fast Company to the BBC.

How do I learn more about Radhika?

Interested in learning more about this top AI innovation speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Radhika and our other top AI speakers, or watch a short video about how generative AI is changing the core of who we are as humans:

Top 10 AI Speaker Kate Crawford: Artificial Intelligence Is “Neither Artificial nor Intelligent”

What does Kate speak about?

Artificial Intelligence is already playing a powerful role in our everyday lives—from the AI voice assistants like Alexa and Siri that we use every day, to the generative AI tools like ChatGPT that are already revolutionizing everything about our workplaces, homes, and even our identity. But despite that, we often think of AI as abstract and opaque.

Kate has been at the cutting edge of AI research for two decades and is uniquely positioned to help us understand what goes into the technology we use every day, what’s at stake if we don’t take control of it today, and how to forge a path towards a better future.

“We urgently need more forensic investigation that will reveal the fuller picture of how AI is designed, and the longer implications of these technical infrastructures,” Kate says. “Because the AI tools that we use today have profound implications for how we’re terraforming ourselves, our culture, and the Earth itself.”

In her smart yet accessible talks, Kate shows us how AI is “made” in the fullest sense: from data, human labor, and environmental resources. She draws from her 20 years of AI research around the world, as well as her journeys to field sites—from lithium mines to Amazon warehouses to Jeff Bezos’ rocket base. She reveals how AI is amplifying discrimination and inequality, and offers paths forward for research and policy that address the political, social, and economic effects of AI.

Who is Kate?

This top AI ethics speaker is a professor at USC Annenberg, a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research in New York, and the inaugural Visiting Chair for AI and Justice at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Her wide experience from two decades at the cutting edge of tech has made her one of the world’s leading AI researchers.

She’s the author of the award-winning Atlas of AI, a unique and grounded behind-the-scenes look at the complex topic of artificial intelligence. It was named to The Wall Street Journal‘s Five Best Books to Read to Get Smart About AI, and Nature called it “meticulously researched and superbly written.” She has also created award-winning collaborative projects with major artists around the world, like her “Anatomy of an AI System” with Vladan Joler and her viral app ImageNet Roulette with Trevor Paglen.

How do I learn more about Kate?

Interested in learning more about this top AI ethics speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Kate and our other top AI speakers, or watch an exclusive Lavin video about why rethinking the “infrastructure of AI” is so important:

Top 10 AI Speaker Nicholas Thompson: Behind the Scenes of the Silicon Valley Giants’ AI Strategy

What does Nick speak about?

Now that generative AI can write and draw—and do so many other tasks—as well as any human, what opportunities present themselves? What hazards need to be addressed? What parts of your work can be outsourced to Artificial Intelligence, and is that necessarily bad? And do creativity and the “human factor” matter even more in the face of increasing automation?

Nick Thompson has the answers. There’s no one more qualified than him to help you understand not only what generative AI is, but also how it affects you—and what’s next. “We’re driving 160 miles an hour with this technology and trying to make ethical decisions—which is a lot harder than when you’re driving 20 miles an hour—but they’re not going to slow down because of all of the money and power that’s at stake right now,” Nick tells Lavin.

In vital and inspiring talks, he maps out where we’re going for the next weeks, months, and years, showing us what we can be doing today to gain an edge, and how to make sense of the changes that are already underway.

Who is Nick?

Nick’s years of experience covering tech make him a leading analytical voice in the field, where he uncovers how each new development will impact us all. As CEO of The Atlantic, he’s led the team to National Magazine Award wins for unprecedented coverage of the Covid-19 Pandemic, new perspectives on 9/11, the case to return the national parks to Native American tribes, and more. Previously, as editor-in-chief of WIRED, he broke massive stories about Facebook’s hidden flaws, cyber-warfare, the Robert Mueller investigation, and numerous other topics, and oversaw work that won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Magazine Award, and has even led to Oscar-winning films. He’s also one of the top influencers on LinkedIn, where he has 1.7 million followers and posts a video every day about the most interesting thing in tech.

How do I learn more about Nick?

Interested in learning more about this top AI business speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Nick and our other top AI speakers, or watch an exclusive Lavin video about incorporating ChatGPT into your company:

Top 10 AI Speaker Ajay Agrawal: Why You Can’t Afford to Be 2nd in the AI Future

What does Ajay speak about?

It’s not good enough to be second in the AI race, Ajay says. As the bestselling co-author of Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction, he knows that whoever gains an advantage in AI first will maintain that advantage while everybody else scrambles to catch up.

“In many technological revolutions, it’s smart to be the fast follower. The leader is the one who’s paying for all the mistakes—and once they’ve figured that out, you can come in as a fast follower,” he says. “That’s a lot harder to do when the core technology improves with use. Let’s take the autonomous car industry: who’s going to want to drive in a car with the second-best AI?”

Ajay has spent over a decade at the cutting edge of AI business applications. A top AI leadership speaker and thought leader that other experts turn to, he knows how you can gain an edge and consolidate power in this fast-paced landscape. In his presentations, which are grounded by his practical insights and insightful examples, he gives you the tools you need to develop an AI strategy that works amidst the breakneck technological advancements of today.

Who is Ajay?

When business leaders and heads of state need an expert for their AI strategy, Lavin speaker Ajay Agrawal is the person they seek out. Ajay has served as advisor to the U.S. and Japanese governments on boards for innovation, leadership, and technology. He’s also the bestselling co-author of two books—his most recent, Power and Prediction, is “the best book yet that considers what AI will mean for all who participate in the economy” (Lawrence H. Summers, former World Bank Chief Economist).

As founder of the Creative Destruction Lab, which has expanded to 13 cities worldwide, Ajay has accelerated over 1000 AI startups in fields like biotech, healthcare, manufacturing, space, and more. He’s also the Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2022.

How do I learn more about Ajay?

Interested in learning more about this top AI leadership speaker? Get in touch with us at our Contact Us page, read more about Ajay and our other top AI speakers, or watch a short video about the outsized advantages of being first in the AI race: