Data Tech 2025: Full Schedule

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TBA

Demontrating the Value of AI

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

AI is a hot topic for everyone today. But how do you show the value of AI to your organization? This is a question many are asking. Being able to show the value and risk of LLM's, AI agents and various other AI tools go a long way in positive adoption of the tools. This presentation walks you through the various metrics and methods of demonstrating the value of AI in a way that speaks to the business and leadership.

Speakers

Edward Chenard, MBA

Freelance Consultant, Echenard

Over a decade of building various data and analytics teams at Fortune 500's and startups. Currently helping companies to build AI Agents for workflow automation.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

2 - Mostly Business

Track AppliedAI

TBA

AI for Innovation: Leveraging AI for Materials Discovery

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

The ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to learn patterns within vast datasets is revolutionizing research and development. Throughout the innovation cycle, AI presents opportunities to accelerate processes, synthesize information, and predict outcomes. It is important to be realistic about the capabilities and limitations of AI and cultivate projects that leverage its strengths. Using examples from materials discovery, the potential benefit of AI for research will be demonstrated with concrete examples from Seagate Technology.

Speakers

Matthew Hauwiller, PhD

Senior Engineer, Seagate Technology

Matthew is passionate about the development and impact of new technologies, from the atomic to global scale. He employs AI to drive innovation of next generation data storage technologies that are more cost-effective and sustainable.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

3 - Mix of Business & Technical

Track AppliedAI

TBA

AI-Powered Business Intelligence: Chatbots for SQL Data Analysis

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

In this talk, we will explore how AI-powered chatbots can transform business intelligence by enabling non-technical users to query SQL databases and generate insights without relying on pre-built dashboards. Using open-source tools, we will cover techniques for building these chatbots, ensuring they understand natural language queries, retrieve accurate data, and generate visualizations. Additionally, we will address key considerations such as enforcing security rules and optimizing AI performance. Attendees will leave with a practical roadmap for implementing AI-driven business intelligence solutions in their organizations.

Speakers

Piers Concord

Principal Software Engineer, Kinetic BI

Principal Software Engineer specializing in AI, leading the development of AI-powered enterprise platforms, including hiring management, supply-chain optimisation.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

3 - Mix of Business & Technical

Track AppliedAI

TBA

AI Agents: Revolutionizing Enterprise Innovation

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, AI agents stand as a beacon of both innovation and thoughtful design. At the core of our AI Agent Architecture is a sophisticated, multi-layered framework that integrates high-performance data ingestion, modular AI inference engines, and a secure communication layer ensuring seamless interoperability with legacy systems. Robust analytics and continuous monitoring further empower this architecture to dynamically optimize performance, ensuring reliability and resilience in an ever-changing digital world.

Our approach unlocks transformative business use cases. Conversational AI agents revolutionize customer engagement by delivering personalized, intuitive support that adapts to individual needs. Automated processes streamline operational workflows, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency. Predictive analytics harnesses the power of data synthesis to forecast market trends and drive strategic insights. Advanced fraud detection utilizes real-time anomaly recognition to safeguard assets and mitigate risk. Finally, strategic decision support aggregates diverse data streams, empowering leaders with comprehensive insights for informed choices.

Join us as we explore this convergence of technology and human insight—a future where AI agents not only drive business innovation but also foster a deeper understanding of our world. Embrace a journey where intelligent systems and human creativity merge, unlocking value and redefining the very fabric of the Enterprise.

Speakers

Michael Arulfo

Principal Enterprise Architect, Boston Scientific

Mike is an unstoppable force who turned a rich, multi-decade career in enterprise architecture into cutting-edge innovation at industry giants like Boston Scientific, Optum.AI, EverNorth, 3M and the Mayo Clinic Mike serves as the Chairman of BETA.MN

Jim Wilt

Chief Architect, WVE - Business Technology Strategy

Hi! I'm a technology executive recognized for innovations in Aerospace, Manufacturing, Cloud & Operating Systems, Data Analytics, Health, Fintech, and Retail to name a few. Today, I focus on Generative AI augmented Software & Platform Modernization/Digital Transformation through... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

4 - Mostly Technical

Track AppliedAI

TBA

AI invoice screener

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

The presentation will showcase how AI can streamline invoice processing by identifying anomalies, flagging discrepancies, and integrating seamlessly with existing enterprise systems. By implementing this technology, businesses can enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve decision-making processes.

Speakers

Vivek Raman, MS

Sr Data Architect, First source Bank

I am an AI enthusiast and Data Engineer with extensive experience in developing AI-driven solutions for data analytics and education. I strive to combine technical expertise with a commitment to driving innovation and knowledge in the AI space.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

4 - Mostly Technical

Track AppliedAI

TBA

AI on a Shoestring: Building and Deploying Small Language Models for Business Impact

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

Small Language Models (SLMs) offer a practical, cost-effective, and privacy-friendly alternative to Large Language Models (LLMs) for many use cases. This session explores how to create, fine-tune, and deploy AI solutions using an open-source SLM on consumer-grade hardware. Attendees will learn to compare and select models, apply LoRA-based fine-tuning, and optimize efficiency with quantization while balancing performance, all through a hands-on chatbot use case. This talk combines business insights with technical steps for leveraging SLMs in real-world applications—ideal for developers, researchers, and AI enthusiasts.

Speakers

Rajeev Bukralia, DSc

Associate Professor, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Dr. Rajeev Bukralia is an award-winning educator and thought leader in artificial intelligence and data science. He is a tenured associate professor and the founding director of the MS in data science program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

4 - Mostly Technical

Track AppliedAI

TBA

Off the Grid, On Your Laptop: Local LLMs for Mental Model Brainstorming

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

Discover how to harness the power of local LLMs to create your own AI-powered mental model assistant—all while staying completely offline. This hands-on session demonstrates building a privacy-preserving AI system on your laptop using open-source tools like Ollama and Streamlit. Through live coding and practical examples, you'll see how to develop an AI thought partner that helps discover and refine mental models without relying on cloud services or external APIs.

Attendees will learn how to:
1. Set up and run powerful LLMs locally on their laptop for complete privacy and control
2. Build an interactive AI assistant using Ollama, Streamlit, and DeepEval that operates entirely offline
3. Create and implement custom knowledge bases to enhance the AI's capability for mental model discovery
4. Develop and test prompt engineering strategies for reliable, consistent results from local LLMs

This session is perfect for developers and tech leaders interested in exploring the practical possibilities of running AI locally while maintaining data privacy and reducing cloud dependencies.

Speakers

Jared Olhoft, MBA

VP of Engineering, Collaboration.AI

VP of Engineering at Collaboration.AI, Jared Olhoft brings 20+ years of tech leadership across multiple industries and startups. The former Marine combines disciplined execution with innovation in practical AI solutions.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

4 - Mostly Technical

Track AppliedAI

TBA

Riding the AI Tidal Wave – How Data & Software Professionals Can Thrive

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

AI is no longer just a tool—it’s becoming an autonomous force in data, analytics, and software engineering. Large foundation models, particularly multimodal LLMs, are automating tasks that once required human expertise. AI engineers are solving complex problems, writing code, and advancing at a pace that will soon reshape entire professions.

This talk will:

Illuminate how AI is transforming data and software roles.
Demonstrate real-world AI capabilities in coding, analytics, and decision-making.
Provide a strategic playbook for professionals to adapt and lead.

Key Takeaways:

Understand the Impact – How AI is changing the professional landscape.
Recognize the Risks – Why ignoring this shift could lead to job displacement.
Leverage AI to Your Advantage – Practical strategies, tools, and skills to stay ahead.
AI won’t replace you—but someone using AI will. Attendees will leave with a clear action plan to ride the wave, not be crushed by it.

Speakers

Arun Batchu, MS

VP, Research and Advisory, Gartner, Inc.

I research Software and AI Technologies, and advise Technology Leaders

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

4 - Mostly Technical

Track AppliedAI