January 8, 2025 | 12:45pm – 1:50pm
Tobias Peyerl, PhD
Lead, Strategic Intelligence, OpenAI
Title:
Approaching the Intelligence Horizon: Navigating the Future Impact of AI and the Journey Toward AGI
Abstract:
We are entering a transformative era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands ready to redefine the boundaries of human capability and organizational potential. Much like the industrial and digital revolutions that revolutionized production and connectivity, today’s rapid advancements in AI are propelling us toward the realization of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) within the next decade.
In this keynote address, we will explore the imminent breakthroughs anticipated in AI technology over the next few years, including systems capable of sophisticated reasoning and autonomous problem-solving across diverse domains. These advancements promise to unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency, innovation, and creativity, offering profound opportunities for businesses of all sizes and sectors.
Key discussion points will include:
- The Path to AGI: An overview of current and emerging AI capabilities, highlighting how incremental advancements are collectively steering us closer to machines that can match and augment human intellectual tasks comprehensively.
- Transforming Business Landscapes: Insight into how enhanced AI systems will revolutionize organizational operations, decision-making processes, and customer engagement, enabling smarter, more adaptive, and scalable solutions that drive competitive advantage.
- Societal and Economic Implications: An examination of the broader impact of advanced AI on employment, education, and economic structures, including potential challenges such as workforce displacement and the shifting nature of work.
- Ethical and Responsible AI Development: A discussion on the critical importance of guiding AI evolution with robust ethical frameworks, inclusive policies, and proactive regulatory measures to ensure that technological progress translates into equitable and sustainable benefits for all.
- Preparing for an AI-Integrated Future: Strategies for leaders and policymakers to effectively adapt to and capitalize on forthcoming AI developments, emphasizing the need for continuous learning, agile infrastructure, and collaborative innovation ecosystems.
As we stand on the threshold of this exciting yet complex future, this address aims to equip attendees with a forward-looking perspective on harnessing AI’s full potential while thoughtfully addressing the accompanying responsibilities and challenges.
Bio:
Tobias Peyerl leads the Strategic Intelligence and Analysis team at OpenAI, contributing to the organization’s mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. Since joining OpenAI in early 2024, Tobias has been instrumental in identifying and mitigating potential risks associated with advanced AI systems, ensuring their safe and responsible development and deployment. His team proactively monitors emerging threats across AI applications, global compute infrastructures, and national security domains, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and fostering collaborative efforts to uphold the highest safety standards. Through enhancing and sharing OpenAI’s safety tools and intelligence freely, Tobias empowers businesses and stakeholders worldwide with tailored guidance and innovative solutions, reinforcing trust and accountability in the AI ecosystem. His leadership positions the Strategic Intelligence and Analysis team as a cornerstone in preventing AI misuse and guiding the ethical evolution of AGI technologies.
Prior to joining OpenAI, Tobias served as the Head of the Intelligence Analysis and Trust Risk Governance Teams at Google for six years. In this role, he led cross-product risk intelligence teams that proactively anticipated, communicated, and addressed strategic risks threatening the safety of billions of users and the integrity of Google’s services. His tenure at Google was marked by a profound commitment to strategic policy-making and geopolitical analysis, particularly in preventing violent extremism and terrorism.
Tobias’s extensive experience also includes his work at the United Nations Headquarters as a political affairs officer, where he led the drafting and implementation of the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. Beyond his professional roles, he serves as a guest lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he educates PhD, MBA, and JD students on business strategy within the global political economy and contemporary challenges in international security. He has also shared his expertise as a guest lecturer on Global Policy-Making at Columbia University in New York City.
Tobias holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute in Geneva and has pursued studies in law and international relations at Harvard Law School, Sciences Po Paris, New York University, and Humboldt University in Berlin. His diverse educational background and experience underscore his dedication to fostering a secure and equitable future through responsible AI advancement.
January 9, 2025 | 12:45pm – 1:50pm
Keith Heyde, PhD
Director, Infrastructure Strategy & Delivery, OpenAI
Title:
Building an AGI: From Component Building Blocks to Integrated Assemblies – How AI-Enabling Technologies are Reshaping the Global Hardware Industrial Base
Abstract:
The development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) hinges on a diverse ecosystem of enabling technologies, from GPUs to essential hardware components. These building blocks are essential for scalable AI systems and the eventual realization of AGI.
This keynote will cover the critical technologies driving AI advancements, with the focus on both current and near-future hardware innovations. It will address the role of high-performance chips, the growing energy demands, and the thermal constraints as AI systems grow in scale and complexity.
I will also examine the global hardware supply chain, identifying vulnerabilities and discussing strategies being implemented to ensure a consistent supply of critical components for AI development.
I will present a “Three-Legged Stool” framework that will emphasize the interplay between computational power, capital expenditure, and energy efficiency—three factors crucial for advancing AI towards AGI. Solutions for addressing these challenges, including technological shifts and infrastructure improvements, will be highlighted.
The keynote will also assess the broader impact of scaling AGI on the hardware supply chain and explore strategies to support AGI-enabling infrastructure, along with real-world examples of these innovations.
The hardware technologies critical to enable an AGI-supporting infrastructure are technical, nuanced, and complex. This keynote will provide a workable framework for understanding the technical, market, and business implications of AI-enabling hardware, offering insights into the challenges and solutions on the road to AGI.
Bio:
Keith Heyde recently joined the Infrastructure Strategy & Delivery team at OpenAI. He will be involved with The Stargate Project, a new company set to invest $500 billion into AI infrastructure over the next four years.
Prior to joining OpenAI, he led Meta’s Data Center Hardware Manufacturing & Supply Chain teams, overseeing AI, compute, and storage equipment configurations while managing Meta’s hardware manufacturers and integrators. His team shapes and optimizes a multi-billion-dollar global hardware ecosystem and supports Meta’s large cluster launches. Since joining Meta in 2021, Keith led teams in Data Center Equipment Manufacturing, Quality Engineering, and AI Configuration, providing the expertise needed to scale Meta’s AI infrastructure across platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Before Meta, Keith led US Operations and Global Launch at Wing, a GoogleX spin-off focused on drone-enabled deliveries. His work expanded Wing into new markets and connected hardware development with community adoption and aviation policy.
Keith’s background includes consulting for Boston Consulting Group, where he worked on projects ranging from US Navy readiness to launching a predictive maintenance startup. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon, with a focus on hybrid control architectures, along with degrees in Fluid Mechanics, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics.
Keith currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, their two dogs, and an abundance of forests, mountains, and nature.