Announcing Robo Madness: The AI Explosion, March 31 at Google

Robo Madness: The A.I. Explosion

After decades of research, artificial intelligence has hit the big time. So has robotics.

Now companies of all sizes are using A.I. and robotics technologies from deep learning to computer vision to natural language processing to build their businesses—and impact our daily lives. Think Google, Facebook, Amazon, iRobot, Toyota, and a whole new generation of startups that are already starting to transform retail, advertising, social media, transportation, home automation, and other industries.

Yet many opportunities remain untapped and many questions are still unresolved. To get to the root of these, and to highlight what’s really happening in the field, Xconomy is organizing its second annual Robo Madness conference in the Boston area. It will be the afternoon of March 31 at Google’s offices in Kendall Square, Cambridge. Should be an amazing crowd, and the focus will be on both A.I. and robots.

We’re hard at work on the agenda, but here are a few speakers to highlight so far:

Colin Angle, CEO and Co-founder, iRobot
Larry Bohn, Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners
Scott Eckert, CEO, Rethink Robotics
Jana Eggers, CEO, Nara Logics
Rob May, Founder & CEO, Talla
Dan Roth, Founder & CEO, Semantic Machines
Conor Walsh, Founder, Harvard Biodesign Lab, Harvard University
Jeremy Wertheimer, Vice President of Engineering, Google

There will be a series of interactive talks, panels, and chats—and, of course, demos. And plenty of networking time for our audience and speakers.

Some themes we will tackle: What are the real opportunities and risks for entrepreneurs and investors? How might A.I. and robotics reshape the competitive landscape of business and society? What about the future of jobs and the longer-term concerns over A.I.? And what can Boston-area innovators do to harness the region’s strengths in technology, talent, and research?

We’ll have some major updates soon, but you can grab a ticket now at our special rate. (Last year’s event sold out quickly—just saying.) Hope to see you all on March 31.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.