DataDotOrg launches Activate AI: Economic Opportunity Challenge

AI Made Simple and practical. In today’s Sunday Session 4.2, I’m joined by Sebina, Solutions Engineer at Microsoft, to explore how M365 Copilot is transforming how we work. We’re going beyond the buzzwords with real demos, accessible tools, and a candid conversation on AI adoption. 🎓 Hosted by FabAcademic – Unfiltered [https://lnkd.in/dqyVUEME] 🕔 Today (Sunday) @ 17:00 SAST #AIForEveryone #CopilotMadeSimple #Microsoft365 #FutureOfWork #WomenInTech #FabAcademicUnfiltered #ElevateHer Women in Tech South Africa

Just came from this incredible session at SF TECH WEEK by a16z hosted by Sasha Newman-Oktan and InstaLILY AI bringing together Women in AI. We’re moving into an era where AI doesn’t just compute, it acts. That shift makes questions about accountability, governance, and leadership more urgent than ever. It was inspiring to hear from leaders like Hilary Headlee, Vivienne Wei, Paige Bailey, and Lianna Whittleton on what it takes to design autonomous systems that align with human goals. Biggest takeaway for me: designing AI that can make decisions and act autonomously isn’t just a technical challenge, it’s an institutional one. How we assign responsibility and structure decision-making today will shape the real-world impact of AI tomorrow. Also, shoutout to Aura Tea & Coffee for keeping us caffeinated! ☕ #WomenInAI #TechWeek #AIgovernance #FutureOfWork #ChoiceArchitecture

From silos to intelligent ecosystems - here’s what’s really driving the shift. Last month, I found myself in a quiet moment before filming for a recent video. The studio lights were warming up, and I was reflecting on how far we’ve come - from siloed partnerships to dynamic, multi-party ecosystems that are reshaping how we deliver value in the local market. What struck me most was the energy I see building in our sector teams. Whether it’s healthcare, public sector, or financial services, the appetite for collaborative AI is real. We’re not just talking about tech - we’re talking about trust, interoperability, and shared outcomes. The video captures a glimpse of that momentum, but the real story is what’s happening behind the scenes: industry teams leaning in, clients asking smarter questions, and our alliance teams building bridges across capabilities. It is incredibly rewarding to be part of a movement that’s not just transforming how we work, but why we work together. https://lnkd.in/gT_eH-sY #KPMGAustralia #AIAlliances #CollaborativeAI #TechTransformation

Currently in Vienna for FabCon and what stands out isn’t just the announcements, but how the conversation has matured. Last year was about possibility. This year it’s about scale and design: - Migration paths that meet the complexity of real-world landscapes. - Governance embedded as part of the foundation. - Experiences shaped to work for both specialists and decision-makers. - AI moving from potential to practical, with more concrete use cases woven throughout the platform. What’s equally striking are the investments being made in governance, interoperability, and AI. They show a clear direction: this isn’t about chasing features, it’s about building the foundation for the next decade of data and business infrastructure. That’s the real signal from Vienna: this is no longer just a technology story. It’s an operating model story about how organizations adapt, scale, and turn data into business infrastructure. #FabConEurope European Microsoft Fabric Community Conference

🚀 Big takeaways from Zoomtopia 2025 🚀 - SMBs are getting powerful new tools to help them scale. - Zoom is investing $10M to bring AI into education. - Engagement features (polls, reactions, feedback) keep virtual connections human. - In CX, AI is there to reduce friction so people can focus on empathy. - New releases like AI Companion 3.0, photoreal avatars, and Zoom + Cisco room integration are changing how we collaborate. This year’s theme says it all: “For the People.” Technology should make work easier and connections stronger. 📖 Full recap here: https://lnkd.in/epn2kcRF

And that's a wrap on #SFTechweek! What a week — TECH WEEK by a16z brought the tech world together to debate, demo, and connect capital to founders. Here’s where I saw a lot of action (this is my post 1 of 2 on SF Tech Week. Next one will be about finance): - AI Agents Everywhere: From GTM workflows to enterprise-wide deployments, the big questions were: What’s real, what’s hype, and what’s next? Practitioners shared their views on what works and what has failed. - Deep Tech Is Having a Moment: Investors are doubling down on hard tech, digital infrastructure, and the reindustrialization wave. - Data Still Rules: Amid all the AI and agent buzz, one message was loud and clear — the quality and freshness of primary data still make or break your AI. Great models are useless without great inputs. - Humans Still Matter: AI is freeing teams to think more strategically and creatively — but we still need people to validate responses and guide agent decisions. And as we enter the era of mixed human-robot teams, roles, career paths, and workforce design will all evolve in fascinating ways. One of my favorite events was a panel discussion of Women in AI hosted by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and InstaLILY AI - showcasing a panel of leaders from Insight Partners,Salesforce,Google DeepMind and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati discussing experiences from the field of the evolving tech landscape and the implications for companies. I struggled to attend all the events I wanted to attend and the sheer breadth of the applications and companies represented at SF Tech Week was exciting. Industries from Health to Marketing to Defense to Manufacturing to FinTech to Cybersecurity to Energy - everything in between and more were there.

The pressure in tech right now feels like a dam about to break. AI isn't tomorrow's promise, it's today's disruption, and leaders know it. Every boardroom is juggling 2 realities: how to harness AI at scale and how to fix a leadership gap that's left too many voices out of the design room. This is more than transformation, it's triage. Ignore either thread, and you're not just behind, you're irrelevant. That's why TechFutures 2025 (Oct 7–9, Pier 17 NYC) matters. It's not another expo of shiny demos. It's the convergence of AI's defining landing moment with the inclusion imperative shaping who gets to lead the future. Microsoft Americas President Deb Cupp said it clean: "We are in this incredible journey, this new era of AI. For those who think they can just ride it out, it's not going to happen." Kara Swisher sharpens it: hype comes in cycles, but this one cuts deeper. What's unfolding with AI will impact every layer of society, not just companies. And Sean Downey, President of Americas & Global Partners at Google, reminds execs that AI doesn't erase the human edge, it hands it back, letting people double down on big ideas, emotional intelligence, creative fire. But a summit is only as strong as its room, and this one is stacked. 5,000+ decision makers across tech, #business, #media & #culture. 65,000 sq ft of waterfront energy at Pier 17, blending structured sessions with unscripted collisions: lawn games, rooftop happy hours, basketball courts where the next partnership gets inked over a 3-pointer. SXSW creativity meets Cannes Lions precision with WNBA-level drive. On stage, the mix is just as electric: Susan Bird and Megan Rapinoe bringing competitive gravity, Mastercard President & CTO Ed McLaughlin on fintech's frontlines, The Walt Disney Company's Rita Ferro shaping global media spend, LinkedIn's Jessi Hempel translating industry signals, and Kara Swisher, still the sharpest pen in the game. The architect behind it, Leanne Pittsford, doesn't just build events. She engineers ecosystems. From a 30-person happy hour in SF to a 70K-member global force with Lesbians Who Tech, to acquiring Women Who Code in 2025 after its 2024 shutdown, she's kept the largest community of women & nonbinary technologists intact, half a million strong. That's not programming, that's preservation of influence. TechFutures isn't optional. When AI adoption collides with who gets to lead, the stakes aren't incremental, they're existential. This is where the next decade gets defined. The only question is whether you'll be watching from the outside, or in the room when the reset happens. #Summit #AI #Leadership #Networking #CommunityLearning #PeerLearning #Partnership #Technology #Innovation #Disruption #TechEcosystem #NYCTech If software engineering peace of mind is what you crave, Vention is your zen.

Last week at Zoomtopia, I sat down with innovator, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen. Marc’s insights are highly relevant to how we approach AI at Zoom, moving at the speed of today’s ‘tech revolution’ to apply the latest AI advancements to how we connect and collaborate.Zoom Here are my top 5 takeaways from our conversation: 1. The next tech revolution is here: Every generation has its own tech revolution, from the Internet to cloud computing to AI – the eras that matter yield entire industries and new ways of doing things.  2. AI is the new Internet, on hyperspeed: Today’s AI era is what the Internet era was 30 years ago– but happening at a much faster pace.  3. AI + industry evolution = invest: The companies to watch are those harnessing AI while their industries rapidly change- think the intersection between AI and crypto or AI and biotech. 4. Hands-on learning, at work: Urge employees to experiment with AI, freeing up time so they can try new ideas and prototype new systems. 5. Equipping the next generation: Students must learn how to responsibly use AI, both in K-12 and higher ed. We couldn’t agree more at Zoom and have pledged $10M to bring this to life. Marc shared a great example of his son coding on his own, then using AI to debug the code. Students still need to learn the fundamentals, but AI can help them learn, improve and grow.

Quite a thoughful takeways esp the expression of AI, AI x industries application, and AI assists to learn, train and growth.

Some conversations deserve more than a conference room recording. Brendon Riha, Head of Imprint Media Productions, captured a rare dialogue between two AI industry leaders mapping out the future of artificial intelligence. When tech giants come together to discuss what’s next, the content needs to match the magnitude of the moment. That’s exactly what we build—media that honors the importance of the message.