Brian Merchant Keynote Speaker

• How AI Will Transform The Way We Work

Lessons from the Industrial Revolution, the Luddites — on through today.

AI is fast on the rise as the revolutionary new tech of the day. But technology and automation have been disrupting and reorganizing the way humans work for over two hundred years. As such, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from the past — as to what happens when automation hits the workplace, how it can help or hinder human jobs, and the disasters that await if it's deployed too fast, or without input from those it stands to disrupt. This talk, from the author of a history of the first major saga of the machine revolution, and the first clash between man and machines — the Luddite uprising — will delve into the dangers and promise of AI, and into the lessons from history how technology can empower, not erase, the modern worker.

• The Human Cost of A.I. AND Automation

The robots are coming for our jobs'—thanks to artificial intelligence and automation, the ubiquitous notion lurks, back of mind, for just about every member of the modern workforce, from stock trader to warehouse stocker. But the robots aren't coming; they're already here. Businesses and institutions are beginning to adopt automated systems and AI software that are driving them to slash jobs and hours right now. Yet the phenomenon is just beginning. To understand where we're headed, this talk will examine the human impact of automation through a historical lens, beginning with the first cohort of workers to lose their jobs to automation at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution—the much maligned and much misunderstood Luddites. What happens when machines are deployed to take human jobs, when those humans have few or no other options? What can be done to stop the riots and uprisings that machines have unleashed before—and when and how might we expect to see chaos again if we fail? We'll explore the answers here.

• Rethinking the Luddites in the Age of A.I.

AI is on the rise, and it promises to transform the way we live and work. Those who criticize it are often called Luddites — but what if we've got the real Luddites all wrong? This surprising and illuminating talk delves into the true history of the 19th century Luddites, reveals that the infamous machine breakers were not anti-technology, but anti-poverty, and examines what we might learn from their example. What happened the first time that machines came for our jobs — and how can we avoid a similar crisis today?

• The World Behind The Screen

As you read this, a smartphone is almost certainly within reach. How did this one device become the thing we cannot leave home without? And how much do you really know about what goes into creating it? To understand the true story of our era's most ubiquitous device — and the unheralded innovation, twisting supply chains, and invisible labor that make it possible — is to begin to understand what makes the modern world tick. Using the iPhone as a lodestar, this talk explodes, explains, and demystifies the vast and teeming world behind the screen.