Conference News: From VoIP to AI; HumanX ‘X’plains their Differentiator; MWC LV CFP

VON to the Next One: Visionary Pioneer in VoIP and Digital Communications and co-founder of Vonage Jeff Pulver is creating a new conference set to take place on 17 June in New York. According to his recent post, he was inspired to launch the event, dubbed AI/COMM, after recognizing a critical need for AI literacy in the communications and cable industry. Pulver stated that the “agenda is carefully curated to cater to a wide range of interests and expertise levels—from those merely “AI Curious” to seasoned professionals aiming to integrate AI into their business strategies.” He is known for bringing together thought leaders for compelling conversation as the founder of VON, one of the technology world’s first high-tech conference series on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

New for Nurses: Last week was National Nurses Week. One of the conferences that is recognizing the challenges of this critical and admirable profession is HLTH. At the 2024 conference, taking place in Las Vegas in October, there will be an expanded Nurse Innovators Pavilion and a new content program, which “will address the multifaceted challenges faced by nurses as frontline clinicians.” All together Nurses@HLTH will serve as a dedicated place for networking and focused knowledge sharing as well as offering a platform dedicated to showcasing nurse-led innovations.

Submission Opportunity: The transformative benefits of 5G-enabled tech for businesses are center stage at Mobile World Congress/MWC Las Vegas, held 8-10 October. From now until 27 June, the team that runs MWCLV – a partnership between GSMA and CTIA – will accept speaker proposals that align with three conference themes: Enterprise transformation; AI networks; and 5G EdgeCloud. Compelling speaker submissions should feature real-life use cases and case studies on how 5G-enabled technology helps enterprises become more effective, efficient, and competitive, spanning industries as wide ranging as transportation, fintech, healthcare, aviation, sports & entertainment, logistics and robotics, and manufacturing.

Conference Manager Q&A: A few weeks ago, the team behind Money2020, HLTH, ViVE, and Shoptalk announced a new gathering: HumanX, running 10 – 13 March 2025 and funded by Primary VC, Foundation Capital, FPV Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz. We checked in with HumanX Co-founder & CEO Stefan Weitz to learn more about his vision and plans for the March 2025 conference.

Speaker Strategies: How did you determine when and where to host your conference? The conference will be held at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the most elegant and technically advanced property in Las Vegas. We wanted to be in a state that understood the power of the coming AI economy, and Nevada offered just that.  From education to healthcare, the state impressed us with its eye toward responsible innovation in AI. March is an ideal time of year in Vegas for weather, but March 2025 is also when we believe that the first wave of AI hype will be settling, and organizations will need a steady hand to help them navigate through the coming consolidation.

Speaker Strategies: How do you plan to differentiate HumanX from other AI conferences? We see HumanX as more of a catalyst than a conference. The signature HumanX gathering, where 4000+ leaders across industries will come together to explore more fully the potential and perils of their AI journeys, is one of three synergistic offerings. We also have AInsight, our AI advisory service, and the HumanX Foundation, which will take the research and outcomes from our gathering to help craft standards, policies, and regulations that will help preserve innovation while mitigating the risks of this new technology superpower.  Considering the changes that AI will bring, our focus is to create durable systems with responsible regulation and oversight. 

Speaker Strategies: What topics are you most interested in covering at the new conference? The first gathering of HumanX will focus on practical and practicable applications within eight specific industries, including Healthcare, Finance, and Cybersecurity. Topics will range from infrastructure and tools to consumer retail, business operations, marketing technology, and administrative applications of AI. The emphasis will be on industry-specific challenges, with a balance of industry leaders’ insights and shared experiences from different sectors.  We will have an entire track dedicated to policy (both public and private) and a very special content section focused on breakthroughs.

Speaker Strategies: What is the most important piece of a successful presentation abstract/topic description? The world is awash with AI prognosticators, heralding the arrival of this Promethean technology with grand visions of where we might be headed.  And while those can be very useful, successful presentations at HumanX should convey a practical and actionable understanding of AI applications. They will offer unique and even contrarian insights into the latest trends, strategies, and future directions of AI. Additionally, presentations must present clear value to attendees, with takeaways that are impactful and can be applied directly to their organizations or fields.

Coming Up Next Week: One can argue the spring conference season reaches its busiest week, starting with Fortune Brainstorm: Health, held 20-21 May in Laguna Beach and exploring how the healthcare industry as a whole can become more resilient. Heading to the East coast, WSJ Future of Everything Festival gets underway 21 May at Spring Studios in New York. Future of Everything spotlights global newsmakers discussing transformative trends with a diverse speaker lineup, from the Bayer CEO to the FTC chair to Gloria Estefan. MIT Technology Review welcomes tech industry leaders to Cambridge for not one, but two signature programs: First up is Future Compute (21 May), Tech Review’s “executive classroom for digital leadership;” followed by EmTech Digital (22-23 May), to explore with a wider audience what AI looks like for business and society. Members of the tech ecosystem and beyond will also say “bonjour” next week to VivaTech, held 22-25 May in Paris for startups, corporate leaders, and investors, as well as C2 Montréal, which runs 21-23 May to facilitate collaboration and networking within Quebec’s business and creative communities.