MARTIN FORD
LEADING EXPERT ON THE ROBOT REVOLUTION, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, JOB AUTOMATION AND THE IMPACT OF ACCELERATING TECHNOLOGY ON WORKPLACES, THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
Martin Ford is a futurist and the author of three books: Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it (2018), the New York Times Bestselling Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future (winner of the 2015 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and translated into more than 20 languages) and The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future (2009), as well as the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm. His TED Talk on the impact of AI and robotics on the economy and society, given on the main stage at the 2017 TED Conference, has been viewed more than 2 million times. Martin is also the consulting artificial intelligence expert for the new Robotics and AI ETF from Lyxor/Societe Generale (Ticker ROAI), which is focused specifically on investing in companies that will be significant participants in the AI and robotics revolution. He holds a computer engineering degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a graduate business degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written about future technology and its implications for publications including The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, The Guardian and The Financial Times. He has also appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including NPR, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and PBS. Martin is a frequent keynote speaker on the subject of accelerating progress in robotics and artificial intelligence—and what these advances mean for the economy, job market and society of the future.
PANELISTS
Following Martin Ford’s keynote, a panel of Pierce County leaders in education, business, community and workforce development will discuss local efforts to address the changing workforce and prepare workers and employers for a more automated workplace. Panelists include:
- Jaleesa Trapp, MIT doctoral student and Tacoma STEM education advocate who helped start the Industrial Design Engineering and Art (IDEA) School
- Andrew Fry, Director and Lecturer at UW Tacoma, School of Engineering and Technology and chair of the South Sound Technology Conference
- Deborah Tuggle, founder of Bite Me Cookies, which manufactures cookies for wholesale and retail distribution
- Ron Thalheimer, plant director at Niagara Bottling in Puyallup
- Carl Wenngren, Mechatronics Instructor at Clover Park Technical College
- Deb Curley, a Data Scientist at MultiCare Health System. She develops algorithms for machine learning models that are used to improve care and services at the organization, and has developed a data science training program for her team
VISIT THE FUTURE
Students from college and high school robotics and mechatronics programs across Pierce County will demonstrate robotics projects and visit with attendees. Refreshments will be served.
PIERCE COUNTY'S FUTURE OF WORK REPORT
Futurists and authors like Martin Ford have warned us for years about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the “threat of a jobless future”.
Our analysts at WorkForce Central have put together a report on the Future of Work in Pierce County to find out what effect machines, artificial intelligence and the internet will have, and what it means for us