UW News

May 30, 2019

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things among topics at May 31 xTech + Impact Summit

UW News

Academics will gather May 31 at the University of Washington with policymakers, entrepreneurs, and representatives of corporations, foundations and nonprofits for a daylong seminar exploring the role of exponential technology and its impact on society.

The xTech + Impact 2019 Summit will bring UW researchers from many fields together with public officials, corporate practitioners and others to discuss how the rise in exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and Blockchain help build a healthy and ethical society.

The event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX), in the Steve Ballmer Building, 12280 NE District Way in Bellevue.

The event is co-hosted by the UW Evans School of Public Policy & Governance and GIX. Several Evans School  faculty will attend and discuss their research, including Akhtar Badshah, Mary Kay Gugerty, Joaquin Herranz and Dean Sandra Archibald. Jevin West of the Information School, co-creator of the iSchool’s popular “Calling BS” class and website, also will speak.

Giving an opening keynote will be Shwetak Patel, professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, as well as recently named co-executive director of GIX. Anat Caspi, also of the Allen School, the eScience Institute and director of the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology, will speak as well.

Badshah of the Evans School, who is organizing the event, said the summit is already over capacity with 280 expected attendees. He said while other universities have convened such conversations among academics, companies or policyholders, this is the first such dialogue across multiple sectors.

The summit will feature sessions on social justice and equity, exponential technology and entrepreneurship and financial services, data mapping, health and societal transformation and more.

Also attending will be U.S. Rep. Susan DelBene, D-Wash., State Senator Manka Dhingra and members of the Bellevue City Council.

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For more information or for press access, contact Badshah at akhtarb@uw.edu.

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