Keynote Speakers

Farm Credit Services of America Main Stage

Matt Waite | 9 - 9:45AM

‘The Human is Still the Most Important Part’

Pulitzer Prize Winner | Professor of Practice in Journalism , UNL

AI hype is everywhere, and so are the doomers. So where are we? Is AI the new oil? Electricity? Fire? The end of white-collar work? Coming for all of our jobs? The answer is all of this, and none of it. Let’s get practical and talk about where AI is and isn’t, especially when accuracy and authenticity are critical business functions.


Main Stage Panels

AI Discussion Panel | 10 - 10:45AM

‘Beyond Prompt Engineering: How Enterprise AI is Actually Changing Business’

Narayanan Nair, Farm Credit Services of America

Emily Kenney, The Standard

Preston Badeer, Contemporary Analysis

Skyler Meints, DMSi Software

Moderated by: Nathan Watson, Contemporary Analysis

Conscious Code - Ethics in AI Panel | 1:15 - 2PM

Dr. Deepak Khazanchi , UNO School of IS&T

Matt Waite, UNL

Jack D. Horgan, Koley Jessen

Stephen Ivaskevicius, Mutual of Omaha

Maggi Thorne, AIM

Moderated by: Boaz Ashkenazy, Augmented AI


Breakout Topics

Demystifying AI

ROOM 210

Trent Minneman| 11 - 11:45 AM
'Beyond Blogs and Bots, Harnessing AI for Real-World Business Innovation’

Owner/Founder, Marigold One11

AI is reshaping industries and redefining the way businesses operate. While customer service bots and content generation are well-known applications, AI's capabilities reach much further. This talk, "Beyond Blogs and Bots," will delve into practical AI applications that can significantly impact your business. Learn how AI-driven insights can enhance decision-making, streamline operations, and create new lead generation opportunities. We will discuss case studies, specific AI powered tools, and actionable strategies that showcase the real-world benefits of AI in various business contexts. Whether you're a small business owner, non-profit, or a corporate executive, this presentation will equip you with the knowledge to safely and effectively grow your business.


Aaron Blythe | 2:15 - 3:00 PM
'GenAI in Action'

Customer Engineer-Analytics, Google

Aaron will be showing demos of how Generative AI is being used by Enterprise companies to exhibit the utility of the technology. He will walk through a day in the life of how GenAI can be used at your company with Demos. He will then go over Enterprise concerns that you should be considering as you bring GenAI into the fold of your company's capabilities


Nicole Donnelly | 3:15 - 4:00 PM
'AI is the New Seller'

Founder, AI Smart Marketing

Join us and hear the latest AI voice conversations and you'll understand how important and effective AI agents are in many roles, including booking and discovery calls. You will get a sneak peek at what is possible, learn how scalable & affordable AI for sales and nurturing your customers really can be.

In 2023, Nicole and her team trained over 7,000 executives (mostly business owners). Giving them 50% of their time back (on average), resulting in 5M hours of time saved! These teams span the globe from the government in Abu Dhabi to local Seattle businesses. AI is vital and you must use it or you will get left behind.

With 18 years of experience as an entrepreneur, and using AI since 2015, Nicole knows how to leverage AI to supercharge your teams and your business. Founder of AI Smart, award-winning prompt engineer, and successful global entrepreneur passionate about using AI. Recent engagements in the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, UAE, Panama, Costa Rica, Canada, US, and virtually in over 30 additional countries!


AI & Business Applications

ROOM 211

Narayanan Nair| 11 - 11:45 AM

‘Creating a Successfull Artificial Intelligence Story’

Senior Vice President/Chief Data Officer, Farm Credit Services of America

As AI rapidly evolves, it acts as both a catalyst and disruptor in business and markets, requiring frequent updates to AI and business strategies. Companies need an AI strategy aligned with their business goals, market conditions, and competitive pressures, identifying key value opportunities and risks. Effective implementation involves prioritizing business-related AI initiatives and setting planning goals to develop a mature AI operating model. In this discussion, Narayanan will share Farm Credit Services of America's AI strategy and our roadmap for delivering value through AI while managing risk.


Sudhir Gajre| 2:15 - 3:00 PM
'The Magic of The Pre-Trained Transformer'

Managing Director of GenAI, Lovelytics

Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPT), which underpin advanced GenAI technologies such as ChatGPT, are predominantly recognized for their 'Generative' functions. The current industry landscape emphasizes generative applications like chatbots and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems for tasks such as question-answering and summarization. However, this focus often neglects the significant potential of the 'pre-trained' transformer component, which is essential for numerous high-value applications that are currently under explored.

This session will examine the 'pre-trained' aspects of transformers and their application in various contexts. I will present a structured methodology for identifying and leveraging these use cases, categorize the types of applications that benefit from pre-trained models, and provide a practical demonstration to illustrate these principles.


Boaz Ashkenazy & Larry Arnstein | 3:15 - 4:00 PM
'The Strategic Role of GenAI For Business'

Co-founder & CEO, AugmentedAI

Join us for an engaging presentation and discussion with Boaz Ashkenazy, Co-Founder and CEO of Augmented AI, and Larry Arnstein Co-Founder and CTO of Augmented AI, where we explore the transformative potential of Generative AI for business.

The current industry landscape is increasingly recognizing the strategic adoption of GenAI to create significant business value. This discussion will emphasize practical, low-cost solutions that drive innovation and growth focusing on discovering and implementing solutions that blend technical feasibility with substantial business benefits.  This presentation will provide insights into how GenAI can be leveraged to unlock new opportunities, offering a roadmap for businesses to follow in their GenAI adoption journey.

https://simplyaugmented.ai/shiftaipodcast/