Consumer Protection

Chatbots and Beyond: Product Safety in the Age of AGI
This panel examines the risks of AI products amid rapid advancement of model capabilities. Have our guardrails kept pace and can we build them for systems we don’t fully understand? Topics include risks of deepfakes, disinformation, model bias, and social polarization. Panelists from model safety, consumer policy, and product trust and safety will discuss current mitigation efforts and the remaining gaps, including guardrails, evaluation standards, and liability frameworks.

Panelists: Alice Marwick, Director of Research, Data & Society; David Bledin, Sr. Director of Trust & Safety and Responsible AI, Google; Stacy Hobson, Director of AI Implementation, RTI International, Ziad Reslan, Product Manager - Safety, OpenAI; Beth Goldberg, Head of Research & Development, Jigsaw (Google)

Workforce & Automation

The Orchestrated Enterprise: Navigating the Collision of AI Velocity and Operational Reality
As AI agents transition from software tools to digital teammates, companies are caught between the drive for rapid technological adoption and the strict realities of industry compliance. This panel explores how leaders must completely redesign their legacy management structures to deploy, govern, and integrate a mixed workforce of humans and machines.

Panelists: Tim Carney, Senior VP & GM - Healthcare, EliseAI; Jeff Schwartz, Professor, Colombia Business School; James Baron, Professor, Yale

Capital Efficiency

Value Check: Is the Massive Wave of AI Investment Economically and Socially Justified?
Is the unprecedented surge in AI investment delivering real economic returns, or is it driven by signaling and hype? This panel will explore how capital is being allocated, who ultimately captures value, and whether these investments will yield a net societal benefit or create tradeoffs in addition to financial gains.

Panelists: Chuck Ng, Co-Founder, SAIR, Investor, Databricks; Jason Lau, Chief Innovation Officer, OKX; Sasson Darwish, Managing Director & Co-Head, TMT Investment Banking Group, BTIG; John Barrios, Associate Professor, Yale School of Management

Embodied AI

Robot Ready: How Close is the "Real World" Breakthrough?
While Large Language Models have mastered the digital realm, the physical world remains an unforgiving frontier of unpredictability and safety risks. This panel explores the technical and social hurdles we must clear to move from controlled laboratory demos to robust, everyday robots that actually work in the wild.

Panelists: Marynel Vázquez, Assistant Professor, Yale Computer Science; Vijay Raghavan, Principal Compiler Architect, XPENG; Brian Streem, Founder & CEO, Vermeer; Ted Wittenstein, Senior Lecturer, Yale

Breakout Sessions

Breakout 1: Building AI Startups (Room 2220)
De'Lon Dixon, Founder, ThinkTech

Breakout 2: AI Slop, Agent Advertising, and What Still Matters (Room 2200)
Kevin Lee, Founder, Didit

Breakout 3: What is AI Policy and Why Should You Care? (Room 2210)
Justin Curl, Advisor, Cognition AI

Breakout 4: Where Is the Smart Money Going? AI Investing in the U.S. and Beyond (Room 2400)
Vicky Kuang, Investor, Draper Associates
Austin Cai, Chief Growth Officer, XTrace

Breakout 5: AI in Defense from the Frontlines of Ukraine (Snyder Forum)
Brian Streem, Founder, Vermeer

Fire Side Chat: Superintelligence Should Be Banned

The Buckley Institute will host a moderated debate focused on the stakes of AI development in a global context, providing deeper insights into America’s strategic position, and the tradeoffs we make in attempting to regulate this crucial industry.

Panelists: Malo Bourgnon, CEO, MIRI; Nico Sahi, Yale School of Management; Tori Cook, Buckley Institute;