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Byron Reese
Futurist, Technologist, Founder of several high-tech companies; Expert on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and the Effect of Technology on the Workplace
Speaking across the globe, Byron brings great enthusiasm and talent for deciphering our common destiny and unlocking business opportunities within it. As a successful entrepreneur and award-winning futurist, Byron employs his perspective as a historian, futurist and technologist to illuminate how the technology of today can solve some of our most daunting global challenges.
As a futurist, he understands the unprecedented technological change upon us and explores the dramatic transformation of society it will bring. As a technologist and entrepreneur, he knows how to manage change and inspire innovation, while still meeting the immediate obligations and realities of operating a business.
Byron’s keynotes and appearances include SXSW, TEDx Austin, fortune 1000 companies (Dell Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Oticon, Swisslog) and universities (University of Texas, Queen’s University, TWU, Rice) and futurist conferences (PICNIC Festival in Amsterdam, Wolfram Data Summit, and the IEEE Conference) among others.
Byron set up his first business as an undergraduate at Rice University. He later founded and sold two companies: Hot Data, ultimately to Pitney Bowes; and PageWise to Demand Media. Today Byron is the CEO and publisher of Gigaom, a technology research and analysis firm focused on helping business leaders understand the implications of emerging technologies and their impacts on business, media, and society.
In addition to serving in a wide range of senior management roles, from CEO, to VP of Marketing, to Chief Innovation Officer, Byron has produced a diverse body of patented work, and given dozens of talks to both technical and non-technical audiences around the world.
A highly sought after keynote speaker, enlightening attendees across nations, Byron is an in demand forward thinker in his field.
AUTOMATION, AI, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
How will automation reshape the workplace? Will robots take all the jobs? Will artificial intelligence displace human intelligence? Are we destined to a future where we work harder and harder for less and less? Futurist, author and technologist, Byron Reese dispels the fearful myths around these topics and describes a world where workers of all skill levels use new technology to increase their own productivity. Byron explains, “Technology will continue to transform the workplace. That is certain. But it will do so by making humans more valuable. The biggest problems of tomorrow will not be a lack of jobs, but a shortage of humans to take advantage of all of the opportunities technology will offer.” While much of this talk focuses on how technology will reshape the workplace, Byron pays special attention to what workers can do today to maximize their productivity tomorrow. “A few simple rules,” he explains, “will help anyone position themselves to prosper in the world of tomorrow.”
ROBOTS AND JOBS
Daily, the media greets readers with a variant of “THE ROBOTS ARE COMING FOR YOUR JOB!” The logic is simple: Everyday robots get smarter, learn faster, and they will never ask for a raise. But Byron believes this simplistic reasoning is entirely wrong. "Just as electricity and the assembly line weren’t bad for workers, in spite of shrill predictions otherwise, AI and robots won’t be either," he says. "In fact, they will create so many new jobs that our bigger problem will be a labor shortage." Sharing insights from his upcoming book, "The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers and the Future of Humanity," released April of 2018 by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Byron invites us to explore the many advances leading to today's technological age, and then to consider the vast possibilities of the future, the coming Fourth Age. What skills will be useful to have in the future? Which technologies should we adopt? How will technology affect the workplace, the home, and society in general? Answering these questions, Byron suggests that the future is not going to be a frightening place where humans become displaced, but rather "one in which the things that make us human become incredibly valuable. We are entering a world of more choice and more opportunity than ever before," says Byron, and "the best response is to expand our dreams and expectations, not our fears and concerns."
THE JOBS OF TOMORROW
While audience members once commonly asked, "What should I teach my kids to make sure they have a job in the future?” Byron says today they ask, "What do I need to learn to stay relevant in the future?" And, "How do I keep from falling behind?" Everyone agrees that technology is changing the world. The question is how should we change in response to it? In this talk, Byron tells the story of technology's advancement from the invention of language until today. He explores what's to come in the next decade, and examines what we as individuals can do to make the most of changing times. What skills are useful to have in the future? Which technologies should we adopt? How will technology affect the workplace, the home, and society in general? In this empowering talk, Byron suggests that the future is not going to be a frightening place where humans become displaced, but rather "one in which the things that make us human become incredibly valuable."