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There are many well-known festivals celebrating movies, music and the arts. But only Austin’s South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) fuses the leaders of these creative industries with those who provide thought leadership on the most pressing economic, political and technological issues of the day. Starting tomorrow, Stern Speakers’ Amy Webb, Hugh Herr, Arun Sundararajan, Jeff Hancock, Ayanna Howard, Elizabeth Teisberg and Scott Wallace will be joining many top names in music, media and showbusiness in this annual celebration of the human mind in all its intellectual energy.

Here are the must-see sessions starting tomorrow:

Jeff Hancock, founder of Stanford University’s Social Media Lab, is a global authority on the psychology of social media and online interaction. An expert on how technology impacts human psychology, Hancock is exploring ways in which artificial intelligence can be used to diagnose and treat mental illness in humans. Hancock will deliver his presentation, “Robot Meets Freud: Bots in Mental Health,” at the Fairmont Manchester EFG on March 9, 2018 from 3:30 to 4:30 pm.

Hugh Herr, professor, leader and founder of the MIT Center for Extreme Bionics, is the leading man in a dramatic and inspirational life story, beginning with his losing the use of his legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago, continuing today with his mission to end disability forever. The subject of the National Geographic film, “Ascent: The Story of Hugh Herr,” he is leading his team to make major strides in the field of bionic limbs that help people realize their full physical potential. An emotionally charged speaker whose TED Talk ended with a standing ovation, see and hear Herr at the Austin Convention Center on March 12, 2018 from 9:30 am to 10:30 am.

One of our newest clients, Ayanna Howard, is a professor and chair of the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a specialist on AI, assistive technologies, and robotics. In this presentation ­­– drawing on her own experience as a woman of color in a field in which she is in the extreme minority – Howard will focus on how racial bias afflicts the development of AI, a problem of concern due to the inevitable central role that this technology will come to play in everyday life and work. Dr. Howard will be speaking at the JW Marriott on March 10, 2018 from 9:30 to 10:30 am.

Elizabeth Teisberg and Scott Wallace, professors at UT Austin’s Dell Medical School, are leading experts on and advocates for value-based health care. Focusing on patients and outcomes rather than on delivery and costs, the duo has pioneered health care models that have had demonstrable success in a field that’s often static and lacking in innovation. Originators of the Experience Group Method of health care, which uses patient-to-patient interaction to draw conclusions about diagnoses rather than merely relying on doctor-to-patient communication, Teisberg and Wallace will address the challenges of health care delivery at the Austin Convention Center on March 12, 2018 from 9:30 to 10:30 am.

Amy Webb, renowned futurist and author of the best-selling book, “The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream,” will be revealing her eagerly awaited annual Tech Trends Report for 2018. This yearly synopsis of the most important developments in technology details how every industry and market will be impacted, and what your business can do to survive and thrive. A must-see feature for business leaders and policymakers, Webb will be at the Austin Convention Center Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Must-see Speakers at the SXSW 2018 Conference was last modified: October 14th, 2022 by Brian Sherry