Speaker Preview: Hear the people accelerating conversational AI

Modev will be hosting VOICE Summit 2021, a leading event for the voice, AI, and ambient computing ecosystems, virtually and in-person on December 7-8 in Arlington, VA. VOICE 2021 will focus on meeting market and consumer demands and expectations for conversational technology, with a particular focus on enhancing the customer experience (CX).

This year's speaker lineup is phenomenal. In fact, here’s just a small sample of the engaging discussions taking place at this edition of VOICE:

Richard Stern - Audio Everywhere: Using Streaming Media to Build Stronger Communities

Richard Stern, CEO of TuneIn, is an experienced digital consumer product executive with more than 25 years of industry experience. Previously, he led Audible's global product and design organizations as the company grew to become the leading subscription spoken-word audio company.

His talk will focus on how streaming media services can help build stronger communities on a local level.

'Local' is a key concept in Stern's talk. Starting from the premise that conversational audio is booming while local newspaper and radio engagement is declining, he proposes that streaming audio platforms could provide a lifeline for these services while strengthening communities. The logic is that streaming more local news and information empowers local communities by providing them with more relevant information on what is happening around them, which can foster positive change. That local focus on streaming can also offer local businesses new and affordable advertisement channels.

With more than 75 million monthly active users worldwide, connected mobile devices are set to become the primary channel for engaging with local content. And Stern will take us through how this transformation is taking place and where it will take us.

Diana Mingels - Conversational AI: The New Face and Image of The AI-First Enterprise

Diana Mingels is an Artificial Intelligence leader with over 14 years of experience who focuses mainly on Conversational AI technology and strategy. Currently, she is head of the NLG and NLU departments at Capital One Bank, spearheading the Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) efforts for Eno, Capital One's Intelligent Assistant.

At VOICE, Mingels discusses the importance of Conversational AI in the AI-driven economy and explains how it will become the new face and image of AI-First Organizations. As such, she tells us that there are two critical components to the ultimate success of voice-enabled intelligent solutions: the AI technology itself and its persona and character.

Mingels also believes that for conversational technology to realize its full potential, it must be harmoniously deployed and integrated into the entire organization's ecosystem to “voice-enable” all insights and data that the business generates. This AI-First strategy, spearheaded by Voice Conversational AI, will redefine business-to-human communication as it continues its march forward.

She will cover the current state of Conversational AI and some of its shortcomings from a technological and usage perspective. She will also discuss the best strategy for getting the most out of the tech today while setting your organization up for success in the AI-First future. 

Jeff Blankenburg - The Future of People

Jeff Blankenburg is currently the Principal Technical Evangelist for Amazon Alexa, a role in which he helps developers make Alexa even smarter. Before that, he spent eight years at Microsoft, primarily as an evangelist for any new technology he could get his hands on. Jeff has also spoken at conferences worldwide, including London, Munich, Sydney, Tokyo, and New York, covering topics ranging from software development technologies to soft skill techniques.

In his talk, Blankenburg looks at what the future of people might look like, from a technology perspective. Technology impacts human behavior; it changes the way we go about our daily lives. Hence, for him, technological advancements are also very much human advancements.

So, on the one hand, we have the actual technology: the sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc., which ultimately translate into human behavior: actual human beings, out and about in the world, doing stuff - the other hand. They go together.

Blankenburg's talk is about the technology that's shaping our world. But that technology also has a cultural component to it. And it's that cultural component that he focuses on as he projects this dichotomy between technology and culture into the future. 

Blankenburg's own call to action sums this up quite well, "Come hear about how sensors, context, ambient computing, and machine learning can be your future, too!"

View the schedule and join VOICE 2021 - the only conversation poised to shape the future of conversational AI, taking place both in-person in Arlington, Va. and virtually, Dec. 7-8.