VOICE 2021 - Day 1

Today, December 7th is the opening day of VOICE 2021, the AI industry's flagship event shaping the future of voice, AI, and ambient computing. The summit is being relocated to National Landing from New Jersey, where it attracted 7,000 attendees in its first two years. VOICE 2022 is planned for October and is expected to bring more than 5,000 participants in its second year in the area. And they're in for a treat.

To kick things off, Pete Erickson, CEO and founder of Modev, will take the stage at 8:45 AM to welcome everyone and set the event's tone. This year's VOICE is focused on enhancing the customer experience (CX) in conversational AI. 

The power and potential of rich voice customer experiences are difficult to overstate. Rich and immersive CX can reduce costs, drive industry growth, and foster innovation - but only if it's done right. VOICE 2021 features the best minds on that front, and they're eager to share their knowledge and experience. CX is the next frontier in conversational AI, and VOICE 2021 is right at the edge. You're in the right place.

After Pete's opening, the event takes off with our guest speakers. Here's a sneak-peak of the first three:

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

This year's keynote comes from TuneIn CEO Richard Stern. He will be discussing how streaming media services can strengthen communities through enhanced local content. 

Stern's talk starts by acknowledging that conversational audio is booming while local newspaper and radio engagement are in sharp decline. He contends that streaming audio platforms could provide a lifeline for these services while simultaneously strengthening communities. Streaming more local news and information offers communities more relevant information on their immediate surroundings, which can foster positive change - knowledge is power, after all. 

Stern's talk is full of insights into what it means to provide meaningful customer experiences. You don't want to miss it.

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

Following that, we'll hear from Diana Mingels, head of the NLG and NLU departments at Capital One Bank. She will be discussing the importance of conversational AI as the pillar of the forthcoming AI-driven economy. For Mingels, conversational AI is on course toward redefining business-to-human communication. 

However, conversational AI needs to be deployed harmoniously and fully integrated across the entire organization to realize its full potential. As such, she will conclude by sharing what she considers the best strategy to set your organization up for success by optimizing conversational AI tech today and being ready for the impending AI-First future. 

Mingel's talk will definitely help you take a lot of the guesswork out of properly deploying AI tech in your organization. That's no small incentive.

Jeff Blankenburg - The Future of People

Our third speaker will be Jeff Blankenburg, Principal Technical Evangelist for Amazon Alexa. Blankenberg parallels technological advancements with human advancements. Technology tends to modify human behavior, which in turn impacts technological innovation. The two are indissociable. 

His talk is about the technology that's shaping our world. That means the sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc. But that technology also has a cultural component to it. Technology translates into new human behavior, new ways of doing things and thinking about things. That cultural component is the focus of his talk.

Blankenberg will present his view on 'the future of people' from a technological perspective, and his insights are invaluable. Understanding how technology shapes human behavior is one of the keys to providing next-level AI customer experiences. Must-hear.

That's just a tiny teaser of day one of VOICE 2021. We have a host of other engaging speakers scheduled for VOICE 2021 today and tomorrow. View the schedule and join VOICE 2021 - the only conversation poised to shape the future of conversational AI, Dec. 7-8.