Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

Today's Buzz: "It's hard to believe that only a few generations ago, women had three career options: teacher, secretary or a nurse. Fast forward to 2017 and women have blurred the lines of traditional gender roles. … women and millennials disrupting the workplace and changing the business world as we know it" (forbes.com). "Unlike previous generations who may have either looked at self-investment as self-indulgence or who simply didn't have the resources or technology available to make supplementary investments in themselves, today's badass millennial women are unapologetic about their desire to invest in their own success and well-being…She-conomy 2.0" (techcrunch.com). We'll ask four millennials for their take: Cait Scudder, Business Coach & Success Catalyst; Reena B. Patel, Parenting Expert & Behavior Analyst; Sharron Clear, Style, Beauty, and Lifestyle Influencer; Emilia Taneva, Bubbly Moments Blog & Orthodontist. Join us for Millennial Women Taking Charge: Badass Superstars.

The Buzz: "Despite the intrinsic contradiction, it's clear that artificial intelligence and machine learning are primed to play a leading role in HCM's future.…AI's ability to consume and analyze massive quantities of data, manipulate variables and discover patterns makes it ideal for candidate sourcing" (Adam Rogers). "The future of HR is both digital and human as HR leaders focus on optimizing the combination of human and automated work. This is driving a new priority for HR: one which requires leaders and teams to develop a fluency in artificial intelligence while they re-imagine HR to be more personal, human and intuitive…it's the combination of AI and human intelligence that will transform work and workers as we know it" (Jeanne Meister). We'll ask 4 experts for their take: Dr. Steven Hunt, SAP Innovation Office; Dr. Charles Handler, Rocket-Hire; Kevin Wheeler, The Future of Talent Institute; Ben Taylor, Ziff.ai. Join us for "HR Human vs AI: Who Will Be Hiring and Firing You?"

Here's today's Buzz: "If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked…you deserve to be hacked" (Richard Clarke). "People are doing things on free Wi-Fi that are really alarming" (Doug Shadel). "As the world is increasingly interconnected, everyone shares the responsibility of securing cyberspace." (newton lee). "Hackers find more success with organizations where employees are under appreciated, over worked and under paid" (James Scott). "…the idea that security starts and ends with the purchase of a prepackaged firewall is simply misguided" (Art Wittman). "If security were all that mattered, computers would never be turned on, let alone hooked into a network with literally millions of potential intruders" (Dan Farmer). We'll ask four experts about the future of Cybersecurity: George Rettas, Task Force 7 Radio; Dan Lohrmann, Security Mentor; Tom Pageler, BitGo; Andy Bonillo, Task Force 7 and Ciena. Join us for CyberSecurity Wars: Will Tech Help YOU or THEM?

Here's today's Buzz: In a Kantar Retail study, only 2% of US food and alcohol sales are made online. 84% of respondents in a 2017 Morgan Stanley study prefer to grocery shop in person. But change is coming to grocery! Supermarket chain Kroger plans to partner with Nuro on a driverless food delivery service. The futuristic grocery, kickstarted in 2016 by Amazon Go, offers a connected grocery store with no checkouts using deep learning, computer vision, and sensor fusion. Microsoft and Kroger announced data-driven connected grocery stores in Ohio and Washington. At Food Lion, Marty the Robot clean-sweeps the store a dozen times daily, scans shelves for out-of-stocks and ensures shelf pricing is aligned with front-end registers. We'll ask four experts if legacy grocery stores have an expiration date: Bill Bishop, Brick Meets Click; John Lert, Alert Innovation; Scott DeGraeve, Locai Solutions; Will Treasure, Javelin Group. Please join us for Grocery Expiration Date: Automate or Die?

The Buzz: "Like many technology driven industries, [Fintechs] regulations are horribly outdated, authored at a time when an app meant fries for the whole table, and spam was just canned meat. Imagine running a business under laws written before your industry or product ever existed…Congress directions for regulators about what "banks" are and do are based on how banking worked in the 1970s…Banks, as institutions, do not really exist anymore. Customer activities exist and financial services exist and they are part of a complex and perpetually shifting network of problems and solutions Customers expectations have changed every bit as much for financial services as for the music industry" (fortune.com). We will ask four experts about the future of banking as we know it: Penny Crosman, American Banker; Brett King, Breaking Banks Podcast; Usman Aijaz, Deloitte Consulting; Jerry Silva, IDC Financial Insights. You are invited to join us for Banking on the Future: Fintechs Finance Makeover.

Here's today's Buzz: Theceomagazine.com reported the rise of the 'fempreneur'. "It's fairly clear that women are starting businesses faster than ever…According to the ABS, 34% of businesses operators in 2014 were women…an increase in business ownership by females of more than 46% in the last twenty years." According to Inc.com, "the top 20 most influential millennial entrepreneurs all created an internet-based service… 87% of millennials believe the success of a business should be measured on its impact on the world" (forbes.com). "Millennial entrepreneurs…are changing the way companies function" (blog.markgrowth.com). Who are these FemPreneurs? What future do they envision for their companies and markets, and those who aspire to follow in their steps? We'll ask Tori Dunlap, Her First $100K; Makenzie Davies, davies and Dixon, Lorena Soriano, Isoline Consulting and Global Girls Give; Les Alfred, BalancedBlackGirls Podcast. Join us for Her First $100K: The Tech-Fueled FemPreneur.

The Buzz: "The transition from high school to college life is difficult enough for any number of students without considering a disability" (edsmart.org). Bryan Stromer describes Cerebral Palsy as a part of his identity: "If someone has already written me off because of the way I walk, it gives me the opportunity to prove them wrong and exceed their expectations, while also hopefully redefining how they think about disability" (forbes.com). The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973…many college campuses began to rethink their facilities…powered accessible doors, wheelchair ramps and elevators in all multi floor buildings" (collegechoice.net). We'll ask five experts about the future of higher education for students of all abilities: Patricia Parrish and Delaina Parrish, Fearless Independence; Ali Parrish, Physical Therapist; Gerry Altamirano, Disability Resource Center, Univ. of Florida; Jarrod Rowles, Numotion. Join us for Tech At College: Opening Doors for Unique-Ability Students.

Here's today's Buzz: Theceomagazine.com reported the rise of the 'fempreneur'. "It's fairly clear that women are starting businesses faster than ever…According to the ABS, 34% of businesses operators in 2014 were women…an increase in business ownership by females of more than 46% in the last twenty years." According to Inc.com, "the top 20 most influential millennial entrepreneurs all created an internet-based service… 87% of millennials believe the success of a business should be measured on its impact on the world" (forbes.com). "Millennial entrepreneurs…are changing the way companies function" (blog.markgrowth.com). Who are these FemPreneurs? What future do they envision for their companies and markets, and those who aspire to follow in their steps? We'll ask Tori Dunlap, Her First $100K; Makenzie Davies, davies and Dixon, Lorena Soriano, Isoline Consulting and Global Girls Give; Les Alfred, BalancedBlackGirls Podcast. Join us for Her First $100K: The Tech-Fueled FemPreneur.

The Buzz: "Drones in the sky, drones in the sea, drones on land: this is the future of human augmentation" (www.popularmechanics.com). "There are few pieces of technology that excite tech lovers and the general public quite like drones" (www.roboticsbusinessreview.com). "… Business execs with their finger on the pulse of tech trends and updates realize the myriad of benefits drones could offer by integrating the tech into their operations" (www.mondo.com). "From a military innovation, to an exciting hobby, to a technology that's transforming commercial industries, the use of drones has rapidly changed over the past years — and future opportunities in the field are limitless" (www.calu.edu). All true? We'll ask five experts: Robert Biggs, Phoenix Drone Pros; Christopher Todd, Airborne International Response Team; Kerry Brown, SAP; Patrick Egan, sUAS News; David Patterson, Ardenna. You are invited to join us for Look Up! It's Not a Bird or a Plane. It's A Drone! Are You Ready?

The buzz: "From tin-can robots to sophisticated, sentient virtual environments, artificial intelligence is a dominant theme in science fiction. With real-world advances in machine learning and deep learning, the gap between fact and fiction is narrowing. Real AI is not all about robots and self-aware computers. From Siri, search engines and motion-sensing video games to medical imaging and diagnostics, artificial intelligence is an increasingly significant part of our lives" Cray.com. Today we use various techniques to achieve AI with multiple levels of intelligence. We have made significant progress since the term artificial intelligence was first coined by John McCarthy and team in 1955 Mark Etwaru, CIO.com. How does AI in sci-fi match up with reality? We will ask the experts: Frank Diana, TCS and John H. Shannon, Seton Hall University and Gray Scott, Futuristic Now and Daniel Wellers, SAP. Please join us for Welcome To Your Digital Life: Science Fiction vs. Science Fact.