Conference News: New Conferences on Generative AI & Cyber Threats; U.S. News & World Report’s Event Update

New GenAI event: GPT DAO is a new community that was “spontaneously formed by developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts passionate about generative AI.” On 23 September, they plan to host a large-scale generative AI conference at the Mission City Ballroom of the Santa Clara Convention Center. The Generative AI Silicon Valley Summit is expecting 1000 attendees at this one-day event focused on the generative AI and LLMs transforming the world. According to the conference organizers, the summit will gather “cutting-edge entrepreneurial teams and investment institutions to jointly explore the future of this field.”

A First for FIRST: In 2016, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) and Siemens organized an event focused on Cyber Threat Intelligence and held it in Munich, Germany.  This gathering has since grown in popularity each time it was held since then. So, in 2023, FIRST will host its inaugural Cyber Threat Intelligence Conference from 6 -8 November at the Mercure Hotel MOA Berlin. According to the organization, “while the event has evolved since its humble origins in 2016, the main goal of the gathering has stayed true: to unite diverse stakeholders and provide an open forum for the development of new ideas.”

Speaking Opportunity: The National Association of Broadcasters will hold its fall NAB Show NYC 25-26 October, examining the latest advancements that are reshaping the world of media, entertainment, and technology. As part of the NYC event, NAB will hold a two-day Streaming Summit at the Javits Center, speaker proposals for which will be considered until 11 August. Accepted session formats include fireside chats (2 speakers), best practices technical presentations/case studies (1-2 speakers), and round-table sessions (4-5 speakers). Take note: Vendors that want to speak on-stage are required to sponsor; however, if you want to propose and end-user customers as the speaker, there is no cost to do so if they are selected.

Conference Organizer Q&A: We recently spoke withMichael Morella, who is an event producer and Managing Editor for U.S. News & World Report. Since June of 2020, U.S. News has hosted webinars on a fairly regular basis – sometimes as many as five per month, focused on topics in health, education, equity and other fields – and last fall, they added in-person events back into the mix.

Speaker Strategies: Why did you decide Fall 2022 was the right time for U.S. News to return to in-person and do a hybrid event? In planning our November 2022 program – the inaugural “The State of Equity in America” – the timing felt right: Our team was comfortable about the state of in-person gatherings at that point in the pandemic, as well as the safety protocols put into place by our venue. Our program felt timely, and while the audience and topics were national in scope, the event also put a special emphasis on New York City and New York state, so we felt that that ensured a certain foundation of speakers and audience members who were local to that city/state and for whom travel was not an added burden.

Speaker Strategies: Are there any new topics that you’re covering in the webinar series that you haven’t previously? We’re still mapping out our topics for the rest of 2023 and beyond, but some of the recent topics that we’ve been excited to explore include: Battling Health Disparities in Treating Chronic Kidney Disease, Confronting the Crisis of Inequitable Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes, Hospitals as Community Care Hubs for Autism, Tackling the Growing Pediatric Health Threat of Gun Violence, How Hospitals Are Combating Food Insecurity and Addressing Hunger, Making a Difference for Kids With Type 1 Diabetes, and more.

Speaker Strategies: What is the most important element of a successful event? It may sound obvious, but I think it’s the audience. From a programming standpoint, having a firm grasp of not only who your audience is, but what they want to hear and learn from a particular topic/speaker/panel is vital (especially in a virtual format). In preparing speakers and moderators, it’s critical to balance depth and breadth on a topic. And developing compelling and informative content for one’s target audience must be done with great care. You can have the best speakers in the world talking about the most cutting-edge ideas, but if the content is not framed appropriately for the people listening, it can only go so far.

Speaker Strategies: Who was the most memorable speaker you’ve ever heard/seen? I’ve heard a lot of celebrities, organization presidents, and CEOs across a great many sectors deliver powerful keynotes and participate in compelling panel discussions. But for me, some of the most memorable speakers I’ve heard have been individuals who have told their personal stories – cancer survivors who have shared their stories about a novel therapy, for example, or aspiring engineers from underserved communities who benefited from a particular educational program. While they may not be marquee names, I always find that the personal stories and anecdotes add such a level of depth and dimension to the more thought leader-oriented programming, often in unexpected and serendipitous ways. At our events, we often strive to incorporate voices of “real people,” so to speak, alongside executives to remind our audience of the impact of a particular program, effort, treatment and so on.

Coming Up Next Week: Jet-setting conference-goers have several appealing locales to choose from next week, from Berlin to Bermuda, and from Seoul to Shanghai. First up is Collision, the North American sibling event of Web Summit, which runs 26-29 June in Toronto and brings together “the people and companies redefining the global tech industry.” Across the pond and then some, hub.berlin (28-29 June) convenes about 5,000 global attendees at Station Berlin to explore the impact digitalization is having on AI, sustainability, mobility, and policy. WEBIT’s Summer edition will run as a one-day event in Sofia on 28 June, to help delegates understand how business and sectors such as healthcare and entertainment must “adapt to the new world of coexistence of people and machines.” The theme of this year’s Metacon (26-28 June; Seoul) will center around “Web 3.0 X Metaverse: The Future of Hyper Connected Experience.” Mobile World Congress Shanghai opens 28 June for a three-day gathering of the connectivity ecosystem in Asia. And for those seeking a symposium with a more tropical vibe, Bermuda Climate Summit is held 26 June at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.