Conference News: UN’s New AI Event; TNW Caps Attendance; AWE CFP

Next Up at The Next Web: Though its mission – to create a world where founders can thrive and turn big ideas into big businesses – remains unchanged, The Next Web/TNW conference has changes in store that will reimagine this year’s event into a “more exclusive, curated and higher quality platform.” Running 19-20 June at NDSM Amsterdam, TNW 2025 will streamline its agenda around three key themes: Growth & Venture, Next in Tech, and Enterprise Innovation. Organizers also announced plans to cap attendance at 4,500 to put a sharper focus on quality connections. And they will produce a new edition of The Assembly, an invite-only gathering of policymakers and business leaders to address timely topics like defence tech, deep tech, AI, climate tech, and other verticals that are especially relevant with the NATO Summit arriving in Amsterdam one week later.

The UN takes on AI: The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) is launching its first annual Global Conference on AI, Security and Ethics to address “the complex implications of AI for national, regional and global security and resilience.” The conference, which will gather the diplomatic community, leaders from the military, industry, academia, civil society organizations and research labs, is being organized as part the Roundtable for AI, Security and Ethics (RAISE) – an initiative led by UNIDIR in partnership with Microsoft. According to the conference organizers, this event is timely since “Policymakers and regulators worldwide have begun to recognize the urgency of shared understandings, norms and regulations that transcend national borders and individual interests, including in the context of AI’s applications for security and defence.” The Global Conference on AI, Security and Ethics will be held from Thursday, 27- Friday 28 March 2025, in person at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, and online. 

Submission Opportunity: Augmented World Expo™ (AWE) is the world’s largest conference and expo for professionals to learn, connect and grow their business in the XR ecosystem. The US event will take place from 10 – 12 June in Long Beach, CA and again focus on how to create VR content for gaming, how to use augmented reality in marketing, what to invest in next, how peers are experimenting with XR and more. If you have a case study or best practice to share, submit it via the online speaker application before the 11 February deadline.

Lunchtime Learning: Co-hosted by Chris Anderson, Head of TED, and curated and organized by Sam and Walter De Brouwer in collaboration with TED, TED AI brings attendees from around the world to San Francisco – home to many emerging AI technologies. The two day event gathers entrepreneurs, investors, enterprise leaders and academics to contemplate the future shaped by AI. The 2024 agenda was timely and you can see view the panels such as The Advent of SLMs and On-Device AI, AI and Agents and Acceleration vs. Deceleration in AI.

Coming Up Next Week: Warm up in Palm Springs with the Interactive Advertising Bureau/IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting (26-28 January), where attendees can expect to learn “latest trends, technology, need-to-knows to keep you at the forefront of digital advertising, marketing, and media.” Or enjoy the cozy confines of your own office for a slew of mid-winter virtual events, including a Reuters Vendor selection masterclass on 29 January to learn tech and data leaders from companies like JLL, Prudential, and Haleon decipher the rapidly evolving vendor landscape and select partners for their AI journeys. Cloud Security Alliance/CSA’s 2nd annual Virtual AI Summit runs on Pacific Time from 29-30 January, bringing together thought leaders, cybersecurity experts, and AI innovators to explore how AI is transforming business operations while addressing the challenges of securing AI systems and maintaining compliance with evolving regulations. Finally, Corinium Data & Analytics is held online 28-29 January, offering content and virtual networking for those who are leading their organization’s data and/or analytics strategy.