Real Talk -
Harness the potential of AI
Unlock the exponential potential of AI
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT captured everybody’s attention in 2023, but AI has actually been shaping many of our daily choices for some time now: from viewing suggestions on streaming platforms to product recommendations in our social media feeds. While those applications may not have huge life-changing impacts, the latest innovations in AI are poised to help solve important real-world challenges across many different industries. So now is the time to take a closer look at how enterprises can harness the transformative potential of this technology.
In this Real Talk session, we explore the future of AI through the lens of those at the forefront of its innovation. Join our experts as they discuss why trust is so important to AI adoption as well as the critical role AI will play in the future of networks — and the role networks will play in harnessing the potential of AI.
Moderator: Michael Hainsworth
Fireside chat: Trust in the future of AI
Sean Kennedy, Vice President, AI Research Lab, Nokia Bell Labs
Trusting the recommendations served up by your streaming video platform is one thing. But are we confident in trusting AI to make critical decisions about every aspect of our lives, including our health or finances? In this fireside chat, Michael Hainsworth and Sean Kennedy discuss where AI is headed, why being able to trust in AI is so important to its future, and the guiding principles enterprises should follow to develop AI responsibly and ethically.
Panel: The exponential potential of AI and the network
ChatGPT helped AI go mainstream, offering us a glimpse of its potential to integrate into our daily lives and work. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Exciting new AI applications are on their way — and the network will have a crucial role to play. Join our panel to learn more about the kind of network these applications will need to be impactful and also how AI itself will shape the evolution of 6G network infrastructures.
Panelists:
- Sanja Scepanovic, AI Researcher, Nokia Bell Labs
- Anne Lee, Senior Technology Advisor AI & Data, Nokia Bell Labs
- Nicolas Kourtellis, Head of Systems AI Lab and Co-Director, Telefónica Research
- Rick Lievano, Chief Technology Officer, Worldwide Telecommunications Industry, Microsoft
Speakers
Sean Kennedy
Vice President, AI Research Lab, Nokia Bell Labs
Sean heads the Artificial Intelligence Research Lab inside of Nokia Bell Labs Solutions Research, leading a multinational team known for its strong innovation culture and industrial impact.
Seeking to solve the most difficult and important challenges facing industries today, Sean applies his expertise in mathematics and computing technologies to explore the evolution and future effects of AI. His current research focuses on moving beyond existing machine learning frameworks to develop systems that mimic the human capacity for analytical thinking.
Sean holds a joint PhD in mathematics and computer science from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Dr. Sanja Scepanovic
AI researcher, Nokia Bell Labs
Part of the Social Dynamics team at Nokia Bell Labs, Cambridge, Sanja’s research focuses on leveraging technology, AI and data to improve psychological health and well-being. In her role as AI researcher, she explores health through the lens of social networks and mobile sensing, as well as urban outcomes through remote sensing.
Prior to joining Nokia in 2018, Sanja contributed her expertise to various start-ups in Silicon Valley and Finland, including ICEYE, which is building the world’s first microsatellite SAR radar constellation. She holds a master’s degree in cryptography and mobile computing, and completed her PhD at Aalto University, Finland. She also holds a business and innovation doctoral degree from the EIT Digital Academy, and is the 2023 Nokia Ada Lovelace Honoree in recognition of her being a role model for women just starting their scientific careers.
Anne Lee
Senior Technology Advisor and Bell Labs Fellow, Nokia Bell Labs
An electrical engineer and computer scientist by training but a technologist at heart, Anne plays a vital role in the Bell Labs Corporate CTO group. She supports the CTO and CEO by analyzing the evolution of key technologies (such as artificial intelligence) and network architecture overall, seeking to identify new directions for the industry and their potential impact on Nokia’s portfolio.
A telecom veteran with more than 30 years of experience, Anne was the 2020 Nokia Ada Lovelace Honoree and recipient of the Bell Labs Fellow Award in 2005. Throughout her career, she has served as a technical team leader for multiple wireless projects and helped spearhead the introduction of new technologies, such as WebRTC. She holds multiple patents and has contributed to numerous publications, including serving as a guest editor for the Bell Labs Technical Journal.
Nicolas Kourtellis
Head of Systems AI Lab and Co-Director, Telefónica Research
Nicolas leads the Systems AI Lab at Telefónica Research in Barcelona, where he explores issues related to cyber privacy such as privacy-preserving machine learning and federated learning on the edge. His work also focuses on cyber safety, modeling and detecting abusive or fraudulent content on social media using data mining and machine learning techniques.
Nicolas earned his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of South Florida, USA, and has an extensive research portfolio that includes more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and six filed patents. He is an active contributor to numerous technical program committees and has presented his research at events such as Mobile World Congress. He was ranked among the world's top two percent of scientists by Stanford University in 2022.
Rick Lievano
Chief Technology Officer, Worldwide Telecommunications Industry, Microsoft
As CTO for the worldwide telecommunications industry at Microsoft, Rick spearheads initiatives that aim to harness the full capabilities of Microsoft’s cloud, AI and edge technologies to drive innovation and transformation in the telecom landscape. He is passionate about helping telecom service providers achieve more by infusing AI across their business, from network operations to customer engagement.
Rick brings more than two decades of experience in developing and delivering cutting-edge solutions and state-of-the-art architectures to telecom service providers worldwide. He is a TM Forum certified professional and actively contributes to that organization’s collaboration sub-committee, helping to shape and promote best practices and standards within the telecom sector. Rick is an enthusiastic speaker and participant in many industry communities, and an advocate of open and interoperable frameworks.
Michael Hainsworth
Host of Nokia Real Talk
Michael Hainsworth is an accomplished interviewer, veteran news reporter, and lifelong geek. He is also a professional and gracious conference host, panel moderator, and master of ceremonies. Michael has interviewed more than 16,000 guests during his 18 years at Canada’s Business News Network, and as Senior Anchor distilled the day’s most important financial and technology stories into understandable and engaging reports for 2.2 million viewers on the network and the CTV Evening News Canada-wide.
He spent 11 years in radio and played a central role in 680 News reaching a milestone 1 million listeners. He has hosted fireside chats, moderated panels, and acted as MC for events such as the Deloitte Fast 50, the retail industry’s premiere event DX3, the annual IMPACT A.I. conference in Ottawa, Bytes & Brews, and Canada’s biggest technology investment event, the annual Cantech Conference.